Jane Eyre — The protagonist and narrator, Jane is an orphaned girl caught between class boundaries, financial situations, and her own conflicted feelings. In her youth and again as a governess, Jane must depend on others for support. Jane feels isolated, and strives for her personal freedom and meaningful connections with others—to find the loving family she never had. Jane is intelligent, imaginative, and principled. She defies many restrictive social conventions, especially those affecting women. As the novel progresses, Jane learns to temper her passions with self-control—she controls her feelings with judgment based on self-respect and Christian humility. She must reconcile her contradictory desires to be both independent and to serve a strong-willed man. Religion helps Jane to gain a mature understanding of herself as a self-respecting individual who credits her feelings, but also defers to God.
Edward Fairfax Rochester — The wealthy master of Thornfield Hall and Jane's employer and, later, her husband. Over the course of his life, he grows from a naive young man, to a bitter playboy in Europe, to a humble yet still strong man worthy of Jane. Both share similar virtues and seek their personal redemption. Yet Rochester errs in giving more rein to his feelings than his judgment and in expecting the world to submit to his will, as when he tries to marry Jane while still concealing Bertha and his secrets. In his distress after losing his eyesight, Rochester comes to accept his need of guidance and respect for God. His final strength comes from his newfound humility.
Adèle Varens — Jane's young pupil at Thornfield, who is Mr. Rochester's ward. As Jane reforms Adèle's "French" characteristics with an English education, she symbolically restores Mr. Rochester's morality from his previous lifestyle.
Céline Varens — Adèle's mother, Céline Varens is a flirty French singer who was also Mr. Rochester's mistress. As Rochester's mistress, Céline was essentially a hired woman, submitting to the shallow status of a dependent. She represents the opposite of what Jane wants in her relationship.
Blanche Ingram — A beautiful socialite who wants to marry Mr. Rochester. Blanche embodies the shallow and class-prejudiced woman of the old aristocracy.
St. John Rivers — A parson with two sisters at Moor House, and Jane's cousin. Much like Jane, St. John is a restless character, searching for a place and purpose in life. Like Mr. Rochester, St. John has a commanding personality, but the two men contrast in their range of feelings. St. John relinquishes worldly happiness for a commitment to his religious principles. His stern religious faith makes him self-denying and cold.
Rosamond Oliver — A rich and beautiful woman who supports Jane's school at Morton. She loves St. John, but marries a wealthy man when it becomes clear that St. John's focus is on his missionary work.
Diana and Mary Rivers — Jane's cousins and St. John's sisters. Similar to Jane in intellect and personality, they show Jane heartfelt compassion that contrasts with St. John's more dutiful sense of charity.
Mrs. Fairfax — The housekeeper at Thornfield Hall.
Grace Poole — The mysterious servant at Thornfield who watches over Bertha Mason. Her name suggests religious grace, which Rochester cannot find until Bertha's suicide.
Bertha Mason — Rochester's insane Creole wife from Jamaica who is locked away on the third floor of Thornfield. Bertha is portrayed less as a human being than as a Gothic monster or a vampire. Because of her Creole or mixed race parentage, Bertha reveals Victorian prejudices about other ethnicities. She represents Rochester's monstrous secrets.
Richard Mason — The timid brother of Bertha Mason, and Rochester's former business partner in Jamaica.
John Eyre — Jane and the Rivers' uncle. A successful wine merchant who leaves Jane an inheritance of 20,000 pounds.
Uncle Reed — As Jane's maternal uncle, he adopts the orphaned Jane and makes his wife promise to care for her as their own child.
Mrs. Reed — Jane's aunt by marriage, and the matron of Gateshead Hall. Mrs. Reed feels threatened by Jane, who has superior qualities to her own children. Mrs. Reed represents the anxiety of a wealthy and conservative social class, which acts defensively to protect itself from independent minds like Jane's.
John Reed — Mrs. Reed's son, and a bully.
Georgiana Reed — A spoiled daughter of Mrs. Reed, and later a superficial socialite.
Eliza Reed — Mrs. Reed's third child, who is more reserved and stern than her siblings.
Bessie Lee — A house servant of Mrs. Reed, Bessie is the only person at Gateshead to treat Jane with any kindness.
Mr. Lloyd — An apothecary.
Mr. Brocklehurst — The parson and hypocritical overseer of Lowood Institution. Mr. Brocklehurst advocates a severe religious program of self-improvement—denying the body to save the soul. But unlike St. John Rivers, the pampered Mr. Brocklehurst does not practice what he preaches.
Maria Temple — The headmistress of Lowood school. Ms. Temple serves as a mother figure and a model of intellectual refinement, gentle authority, and emotional sensibility for Jane and Helen. Both girls feel a deep connection to Ms. Temple.
Helen Burns — Jane's best friend at Lowood, and a model of personal strength and even temperament for Jane. Helen is a withdrawn intellectual with an optimistic religious view of universal salvation that contrasts with St. John's beliefs.
Miss Scatcherd — A cruel teacher at Lowood school.
Miss Abbot — A servant at Gateshead.
Mr. Briggs – The lawyer who, during Jane's first wedding ceremony with Rochester, reveals that Rochester is already married to Bertha Mason.
Sources: Text - LitCharts.com. For more information read the book.
