Character Analysis — Supporting Characters

While Jane dominates the novel, the supporting characters serve essential dramatic, thematic, and structural functions. Understanding their roles — and how they relate to Jane — is key to a sophisticated GCSE response.

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Character Relationship Map

                MRS REED
               (oppressor)
                  |
              childhood
                  |
             JANE EYRE
            /    |     \
     Rochester  Helen   St John
     (love)    (faith)  (duty)
        |                  |
     Bertha             Diana &
     Mason              Mary Rivers
     (foil /            (true family)
      double)
        |
     Blanche
     Ingram
     (foil to Jane)

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Edward Rochester — The Byronic Hero

Rochester is the novel's central male figure — a complex, morally flawed character who serves as both Jane's romantic interest and her greatest temptation.

Rochester as a Byronic hero

The Byronic hero (named after Lord Byron) is a literary type characterised by:

Byronic trait	How Rochester displays it
Dark, brooding manner	Sardonic, moody, secretive about his past
Moral ambiguity	Keeps Bertha imprisoned; deceives Jane about his marriage
Passionate nature	Falls deeply in love with Jane despite social conventions
Troubled past	Tricked into marrying Bertha; has lived a dissolute life abroad
Social rebellion	Rejects class distinctions by loving a governess

Rochester's character arc

  Deceptive Master → Passionate Lover → Exposed Bigamist → Humbled Penitent → Equal Partner
    (Chs 11–20)        (Chs 21–25)        (Ch. 26)           (Chs 36–37)       (Ch. 38)

Key Rochester quotes

"I have a right to get pleasure out of life: and I will get it, cost what it may" (Chapter 14)

This reveals Rochester's self-justifying philosophy — he believes his suffering entitles him to take what he wants, regardless of moral consequences.

"I would not — I could not — marry Miss Ingram... it is you I want" (Chapter 23)

Rochester's proposal crosses every social boundary — class, wealth, and beauty. He values Jane's mind and spirit above all social conventions.

"Jane — you are my sympathy — my better self — my good angel" (Chapter 27)

After the bigamy is revealed, Rochester casts Jane as his moral compass. But note the possessiveness: "my... my... my." Even in his most sincere moments, Rochester seeks to possess Jane.

Rochester's symbolic punishment

Rochester's blinding and maiming in the fire are symbolically necessary:

Function	Explanation
Moral purgation	He has "paid" for his deceptions through suffering
Power equalisation	He is no longer Jane's social superior or employer
Dependence reversal	He now needs Jane, rather than her depending on him
Biblical resonance	Echoes "if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out" (Matthew 18:9)

Examiner's tip: A sophisticated response will discuss whether Rochester's punishment is fair or excessive. You might argue that Brontë must diminish Rochester to create a marriage of equals, because Victorian society offered no other way for a woman to be truly equal to her husband.

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Bertha Mason — The Madwoman in the Attic

Bertha is one of the most discussed characters in English literature. She is Rochester's first wife, a Creole woman from Jamaica, imprisoned in the attic of Thornfield Hall.

Bertha's functions in the novel

Function	Explanation
Gothic device	Creates mystery, fear, and atmosphere at Thornfield
Plot obstacle	Her existence prevents Jane and Rochester from marrying
Jane's "double"	Represents the passionate, angry side of Jane taken to its extreme
Symbol of patriarchal oppression	A woman literally imprisoned by her husband
Colonial figure	Her Creole identity raises questions about race, empire, and "othering"

Bertha as Jane's double

Critics (especially Jean Rhys in Wide Sargasso Sea and Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar in The Madwoman in the Attic) have argued that Bertha represents Jane's repressed rage and passion:

Jane's contained anger	Bertha's uncontained violence
Fights John Reed as a child	Attacks Richard Mason with her teeth
Rages internally at injustice	Sets fire to Rochester's bed
Suppresses desire to stay with Rochester	Destroys Thornfield Hall entirely
Channels anger into principled speech	Expresses anger through physical destruction

Bertha and colonialism

Bertha is described in dehumanising, racialised language:

"the clothed hyena rose up, and stood tall on its hind-feet" (Chapter 26)

"the lunatic sprang and grappled his throat viciously, and laid her teeth to his cheek" (Chapter 26)

Rochester describes Bertha using animal imagery that strips her of humanity. Some critics argue that Brontë participates in Victorian racial prejudice by associating Bertha's Creole identity with savagery. Others argue that Brontë is exposing how Rochester dehumanises Bertha to justify his own behaviour.

Examiner's tip: Bertha is an excellent character for demonstrating alternative interpretations. You could argue that she is simply a Gothic villain, OR that she represents the dangers of patriarchal control, OR that she is a victim of colonial and gendered oppression. The best answers will acknowledge multiple readings.

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St John Rivers — The Cold Christian

St John is Jane's cousin and the novel's most significant foil to Rochester.

St John vs Rochester

Aspect	Rochester	St John
Passion	Overwhelming, all-consuming	Deliberately suppressed
Religion	Unconventional, somewhat cynical	Devout, rigid, duty-driven
What he offers	Love without morality (Ch. 27)	Morality without love (Ch. 34)
Danger to Jane	Loss of self-respect	Loss of identity and feeling
Physical presence	Dark, powerful, physically imposing	Cold, marble-like, beautiful

Key St John quotes

"God and nature intended you for a missionary's wife... you are formed for labour, not for love" (Chapter 34)

St John reduces Jane to a tool for his religious mission. He sees her usefulness, not her humanity.

"I want a wife: the sole helpmeet I can influence efficiently in life, and retain absolutely till death" (Chapter 34)

The words "influence" and "retain absolutely" reveal St John's desire for control — dressed up in religious language. His proposal is not love; it is acquisition.

St John's dramatic function

• Foil to Rochester — represents principle without passion (the opposite extreme)
• Final temptation — Jane must reject his cold duty just as she rejected Rochester's passionate immorality
• Critique of Evangelicalism — Brontë questions a faith that suppresses human feeling
• Structural parallel — Jane's refusal of St John mirrors her refusal of Rochester, completing her moral education

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Helen Burns — The Spiritual Guide

Helen is Jane's first true friend, and her influence echoes through the novel long after her death.

Helen's philosophy

"I live in calm, looking to the end" (Chapter 6)

"Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs" (Chapter 6)

Helen represents patient, forgiving, otherworldly Christianity. She accepts suffering as God's will and looks forward to the peace of heaven.

Helen's function

Function	Explanation
Moral influence	Teaches Jane patience, forgiveness, and spiritual depth
Structural contrast	Her passive acceptance contrasts with Jane's active resistance
Symbol	Represents a form of goodness too pure for the material world
Pathos	Her death is the novel's most emotionally devastating moment

Examiner's tip: Helen gives Jane spiritual depth without extinguishing her fire. Jane absorbs Helen's moral seriousness but retains her own passionate nature. This balance between Helen's influence and Jane's innate spirit defines Jane's character for the rest of the novel.

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Mrs Reed — The Cruel Aunt

Mrs Reed is Jane's first oppressor and represents the hypocrisy of Victorian respectability.

Key Mrs Reed moments

Moment	Significance
Locks Jane in the Red Room	Physical and psychological oppression of a child
Tells Brocklehurst Jane is a liar	Weaponises authority against the powerless
On her deathbed, admits withholding Jane's inheritance letter	Even dying, she cannot forgive Jane's independence