Jane Eyre Relationships

The
Relationships
Of Jane Eyre
Hunter King and
Christopher Kotajarvi
Helen Burns
❖ When Jane first starts attending Lowood, she notices a girl in the courtyard reading a
book. Jane is fascinated with books, so she decides to strike up a conversation with her
fellow bookworm.
❖ Helen’s way of empathy teaches Jane the power of killing people with kindness and of
respecting your elders.
❖ Helen isn’t completely afraid of death, in fact she doesn’t mind it. Perhaps it was an
escape from Lowood, but she was ready to be in the presence of God.
❖ Charlotte Bronte allows the reader to admire Helen by showing instances of her being
mistreated by the people at Lowood, and how she was empathetic in response.
❖ Helen sticks to her beliefs of good will buy showing empathy to her abusers.
❖ Helen’s grave is marked with the word “Resurgam” which is Latin for “I shall rise again.
Jane gave Helen a proper memorial 15 years after her death because she had matured
into an adult, and was the only person (besides Miss Temple) that cared enough about
Helen to give her a proper memorial.
Mrs. Reed
➔ Mrs. Reed acts as a caretaker for Jane because she promised Mr. Reed that she would
care for her. She gives Jane the basic necessities to live, but otherwise completely
ignores her. In chapter 21, Mrs. Reed reveals that she hated Jane because Mr. Reed
defended Jane’s mother when she was disowned for marrying a man of lower status.
Mrs. Reed was jealous of how attached Mr. Reed was to Jane and her mother. Jane
hated Mrs. Reed for a long time seeing as how she was severely mistreated growing
up, but she changes and shows forgiveness - probably because of what she learned
from Helen Burns (“love thy neighbor” and such)
➔ Mrs. Reed tries explaining that Jane died, so that she wouldn’t receive the inheritance,
but she ultimately failed when Uncle John received a letter about Jane getting married
to Mr. Rochester.
➔ Through being isolated and left to fend for herself, Jane ultimately becomes a strong
and independent woman
➔ Mrs. Reed’s reappearance is important to the story, as it showcases the changes Jane
had and that she’s not spiteful toward Mrs. Reed anymore.
St. John Rivers
★ St. John and Jane Eyre always had this sort of love-hate relationship throughout the entire time they
were together. St. John was skeptical of Jane, but still invited her into his home so he could help
her. Jane thought he was always pretty stern, but still generous for helping her out of poverty. St.
John is definitely an attractive man to women in their current society because he is a generous
minister looking to go to India for religious purposes. Religion was huge in that time. Jane, however,
rejects his offer of marriage because they don’t love each other. Jane believes that marriage should
be between two people who are in love. Jane has had almost everything taken away from her, but
she clinged onto her beliefs and made the final decision not to marry St. John.
★ St. John is comparable to that of Helen Burns because they are both extremely religious and kind
toward others.
★ St. John is presented in a light that doesn’t exactly paint him as an antagonist, but it doesn’t exactly
paint him in a heroic type picture either. He’s just a man trying to serve in his religious studies and
he looks at marriage in a smart way rather than romantic.
★ The end of Jane Eyre closes with a letter from St. John describing his achievements but also his
anticipation of death. Perhaps Charlotte Bronte wanted it to end this way to show the importance of
sticking to one's beliefs, as St. John still fulfills his purpose in India even though Jane rejected his
marriage proposal.
Mr. Rochester
➢ Jane and Mr. Rochester’s relationship is complicated to say the least. Mr. Rochester definitely falls for Jane when
they meet, as, unlike the other women surrounding him, Jane isn’t interested in his money. She doesn’t even find him
physically attractive either. She tells Mr. Rochester the truth about her feelings and doesn’t act all lovey-dovey. Mr.
Rochester is a difficult character for Jane to fall in love with however, as he is very controlling and secretive.
➢ The readers typically have mixed feelings toward Mr. Rochester due to Jane Eyre constantly recounting occasions
when he would ask Jane if a person can be forgiven or if morality actually mattered. He keeps Bertha Mason a
secret for almost the entire time Jane is with him, and because of his numerous secrets, the readers are left feeling
overwhelmed and often are left with ill feelings toward Mr. Rochester.
➢ Mr. Rochester is kind, however, in the way that he doesn’t care about societal standards on social class. He falls in
love with Jane, even though she is definitely considered inferior to him in this time period. When Thornfield burns
down, he risks his life to make sure his servants are safe, and loses his sight because of it. But his heroic efforts
don’t really cancel out his horrible actions though. He let an innocent woman take the blame for an insane woman’s
actions and cheated on his wife!
➢ Mr. Rochester’s eyes are symbolic for the power he has over Jane. She finds herself lost in his eyes, and when he
loses his sight after Thornfield is destroyed, she finally feels as if she finally has some power because he needs her
to help him with daily activities.
➢ There is this sort of supernatural aspect of their relationship. When Jane resides in the Moor House, she hears Mr.
Rochester calling out to her, and that’s what compels her to return to him. When they reunite, Mr. Rochester recounts
how he called out to her at night and thought he heard her actually respond. While this could be an unexplored
supernatural concept, it could be a symbolic concept showing the strong connection between the two lovers.

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