Jane Eyre Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Jane Eyre

The plain, small, passionate orphan-narrator who wants love without losing herself. She survives abuse, a grim school, and a broken engagement, and ends rich, married, and free.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Red Room; Part 2: Lowood's Dead and Living Consciences; Part 3: Thornfield: Fire, Veil, Ruined Wedding; Part 4: Moor House to Ferndean: Voice, Fortune, Marriage
Themes:: Self-respect over passion; Class and independence; Christianity: two rival versions; Madness and confinement; The plain woman's inner life

Edward Fairfax Rochester

The sardonic master of Thornfield who falls for his governess and hides a mad wife in the attic. Fire blinds him and costs him a hand; humbled, he wins Jane back honestly.

Appears in:: Part 2: Lowood's Dead and Living Consciences; Part 3: Thornfield: Fire, Veil, Ruined Wedding; Part 4: Moor House to Ferndean: Voice, Fortune, Marriage
Themes:: Self-respect over passion; Class and independence; Madness and confinement

St John Rivers

The cold, devout clergyman who saves Jane from starvation and wants her as a missionary wife out of duty, not love. He goes to India alone and is implied to die there.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Red Room; Part 3: Thornfield: Fire, Veil, Ruined Wedding; Part 4: Moor House to Ferndean: Voice, Fortune, Marriage
Themes:: Self-respect over passion; Christianity: two rival versions

Bertha Mason

Rochester's Creole wife from Jamaica, confined with congenital madness under Grace Poole's care. Her laughter, fires, and fatal leap from the burning roof drive the plot's darkest turns.

Appears in:: Part 3: Thornfield: Fire, Veil, Ruined Wedding; Part 4: Moor House to Ferndean: Voice, Fortune, Marriage
Themes:: Madness and confinement

Mrs Sarah Reed

Jane's resentful aunt, who locks her in the red room and slanders her to Brocklehurst. Dying of a stroke, she confesses burying the letter that would have made Jane an heir.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Red Room; Part 3: Thornfield: Fire, Veil, Ruined Wedding

Adèle Varens

The French girl Jane tutors at Thornfield, abandoned by her dancer mother and left in Rochester's guardianship. She stays in the couple's lives as she grows up.

Appears in:: Part 2: Lowood's Dead and Living Consciences; Part 4: Moor House to Ferndean: Voice, Fortune, Marriage

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Helen Burns

Jane's pious Lowood friend who endures punishment with Christian patience and teaches her not to nurse grudges. She dies of consumption in Jane's arms.

Appears in:: Part 2: Lowood's Dead and Living Consciences
Themes:: Christianity: two rival versions

Blanche Ingram

The beautiful, talented, snobbish heiress Rochester courts to make Jane jealous. Jane sees her heartless streak and refuses to compete.

Appears in:: Part 3: Thornfield: Fire, Veil, Ruined Wedding

How they are connected

Key relationships

Edward Fairfax Rochester Jane Eyre
Fire blinds him and costs him a hand; humbled, he wins Jane back honestly.
St John Rivers Jane Eyre
The cold, devout clergyman who saves Jane from starvation and wants her as a missionary wife out of duty, not love.
Bertha Mason Edward Fairfax Rochester
Rochester's Creole wife from Jamaica, confined with congenital madness under Grace Poole's care.
Helen Burns Jane Eyre
Jane's pious Lowood friend who endures punishment with Christian patience and teaches her not to nurse grudges.
Mrs Sarah Reed Jane Eyre
Jane's resentful aunt, who locks her in the red room and slanders her to Brocklehurst.
Adèle Varens Jane Eyre
The French girl Jane tutors at Thornfield, abandoned by her dancer mother and left in Rochester's guardianship.
Adèle Varens Edward Fairfax Rochester
The French girl Jane tutors at Thornfield, abandoned by her dancer mother and left in Rochester's guardianship.
Blanche Ingram Jane Eyre
The beautiful, talented, snobbish heiress Rochester courts to make Jane jealous.
Blanche Ingram Edward Fairfax Rochester
The beautiful, talented, snobbish heiress Rochester courts to make Jane jealous.

Go deeper

Jane Eyre themes & symbols

Self-respect over passion · Class and independence · Christianity: two rival versions · Madness and confinement

Themes explained

Read the full Jane Eyre summary

The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

Open the summary