Flashcards for Jane Eyre

Adèle Varens

Adèle Varens is Mr. Rochester's ward and Jane Eyre's pupil at Thornfield Hall.

Mr. Rochester's ward and Jane's pupil at Thornfield

Bertha Mason

Bertha Antoinetta Mason is Rochester's legal wife, kept hidden away in the upper floors of Thornfield Hall.

Rochester's first wife, kept hidden on Thornfield's third storey

Bessie

Bessie is the nursemaid at Gateshead Hall and the closest thing to a warm human presence in Jane's early childhood.

nursemaid at Gateshead, later Bessie Leaven

Blanche Ingram

Blanche Ingram is a young aristocrat who emerges as a rival for Edward Rochester's affections during the house-party at Thornfield Hall.

aristocratic rival for Rochester's hand

Diana Rivers

Diana Rivers is one of Jane Eyre's cousins and naturally takes the lead among the trio at Moor House.

Jane's cousin, sister of St. John and Mary

Edward Rochester

Edward Fairfax Rochester is the master of Thornfield Hall, where Jane Eyre works, and he is the man she ultimately marries.

master of Thornfield Hall, Jane's employer and eventual husband

Grace Poole

Grace Poole works as a servant at Thornfield Hall, but her true role is hidden from most of the household.

servant at Thornfield who keeps watch over Bertha Mason

Helen Burns

Helen Burns is Jane Eyre's closest friend at Lowood School and one of the most compelling characters in the novel.

Jane's closest friend at Lowood, dies of consumption

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre narrates her own story as the protagonist of the novel.

narrator and protagonist, orphan who becomes governess at Thornfield Hall

Mary Rivers

Mary Rivers is one of Jane Eyre's cousins and the sister of Diana and St. John Rivers.

Jane's cousin, sister of St. John and Diana

Miss Temple

Miss Temple — her full name is Maria Temple — is the superintendent of Lowood School and plays an important role in Jane Eyre's early years.

superintendent of Lowood School, Jane's teacher and supporter

Mr. Brocklehurst

Mr. Brocklehurst is the clergyman in charge of Lowood Institution, the charity school where Mrs. Reed sends Jane Eyre.

stern clergyman who manages Lowood School

Mr. Mason

Richard Mason is Bertha Mason's brother and a planter and merchant from the West Indies, linked to Rochester through their families' business in Jamaica.

Bertha Mason's brother, whose arrival disrupts the wedding

Mrs. Fairfax

Mrs. Fairfax is the housekeeper at Thornfield Hall and the first person Jane Eyre meets upon her arrival.

housekeeper at Thornfield Hall

Mrs. Reed

Mrs. Reed is Jane Eyre's aunt by marriage and her guardian at Gateshead Hall, significantly impacting the early, difficult years of Jane's life.

Jane's aunt by marriage, guardian at Gateshead

St. John Rivers

St. John Rivers is the clergyman of Morton and Jane's cousin.

clergyman at Morton, Jane's cousin, aspiring missionary

“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.”

Jane reflects on her thoughts in Chapter XXVII while in the library at Thornfield, as Rochester begs her to remain and share his life in France.

Jane Eyre · Chapter XXVII

“I was a discord in Gateshead Hall: I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage.”

This is Jane's personal reflection in Chapter II, as she finds herself alone in the red-room after Bessie and Miss Abbot have brought her there.

Jane Eyre · Chapter II

“Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavour, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned.”

Still in Chapter IV, Jane has just delivered a furious speech to Mrs. Reed, telling her that she is not loved and is deceitful.

Chapter IV

““If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.””

Helen speaks these words in Chapter VIII, after Jane has been publicly humiliated by Mr. Brocklehurst and is sobbing on the floor of the empty schoolroom.

Helen Burns · Chapter VIII

“Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do”

This passage is found in Chapter XII, where Jane reflects on her inner life at Thornfield before meeting Rochester.

Chapter XII

“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!”

Jane delivers this speech in Chapter XXIII, set in the garden at Thornfield, just as Rochester tells her she must leave for a post in Ireland.

Jane Eyre · Chapter XXIII

““I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you.””

This declaration appears shortly after in Chapter XXIII, as Rochester urges Jane not to leave him.

Jane Eyre · Chapter XXIII

“A Christmas frost had come at midsummer; a white December storm had whirled over June; ice glazed the ripe apples, drifts crushed the blowing roses”

This passage is from Chapter XXVI, right after the interrupted wedding.

Chapter XXVI

““My daughter, flee temptation.” “Mother, I will.””

This exchange occurs in Chapter XXVII, where Jane sees a moonlit maternal figure encouraging her to escape temptation.

Chapter XXVII

“I felt how—if I were his wife, this good man, pure as the deep sunless source, could soon kill me, without drawing from my veins a single drop of blood”

Jane considers this in Chapter XXXV, during a long and painful argument with St. John Rivers about his proposal for her to join him in India as his wife.

Jane Eyre · Chapter XXXV

“Jane! Jane! Jane!”—nothing more.”

These three words — "Jane!

Chapter XXXV

“Reader, I married him.”

The opening line of Chapter XXXVIII is one of the most well-known in English literature.

Jane Eyre · Chapter XXXVIII

fire

Fire serves as a potent symbol in the novel, representing passion, danger, and transformation.

Helen Burns and the grave at Brocklebridge

Helen Burns represents the endurance of a patient Christian spirit and the hope for spiritual equality that transcends earthly struggles.

imprisonment and enclosure (the cage)

Images of cages, locked rooms, barred windows, and confined spaces frequently symbolize the social and psychological constraints imposed on Jane and other characters.

the red-room

The red room at Gateshead symbolizes the emotional and social confinement that Jane endures as a powerless child.

the torn/ripped veil

The wedding veil that Bertha Mason tears in two the night before Jane's wedding symbolizes the hidden truth that endangers Jane's happiness.

Thornfield Hall

Thornfield Hall represents Rochester's hidden past and the dangerous attraction it has for Jane.

Imagery

Brontë crafts vivid sensory images throughout the novel.

Simile

Brontë frequently employs striking comparisons to emphasize emotional and moral contrasts.

Metaphor

Extended metaphor runs throughout the novel to convey inner states that plain description fails to capture.

Juxtaposition

Brontë contrasts characters, settings, and images to deepen meaning.

Foreshadowing

Events and images suggest future disasters with unsettling precision.

Irony

Brontë uses irony to highlight the disconnect between how things appear and their true nature.

Foil

Several characters are deliberately designed to reflect Jane's nature.

Pathetic Fallacy

The natural world often mirrors or intensifies the emotional tone of key scenes.

First-person narration

Jane shares her story in a way that feels personal and reflective, engaging directly with the reader.

Symbolism

Objects and places carry a lot of symbolic weight.

over-application

Excessive hard work or study, especially to the point of harming one's health. Here it suggests John's pale appearance comes from studying too much.

noun · Chapter 1

retrospective

Looking back over past events or experiences in one's mind. A retrospective rush of thought means memories of the past flooding in all at once.

adjective · Chapter 2

heterogeneous

Made up of things or people that are very different from each other and do not naturally fit together. Here it describes Jane as a mismatched outsider among the Reed family.

adjective · Chapter 2

animadversions

Critical or censuring remarks about someone's performance or behavior. Here it means the fault-finding comments Miss Scatcherd makes after each girl recites her lesson.

noun · Chapter 6

expostulations

Earnest, reasoned objections or protests made in a gentle effort to persuade someone to change their ways. Helen's expostulations are mild and rational rather than angry.

noun · Chapter 6

shame-facedness

A quality of modest, bashful self-restraint; the outward appearance of humility and propriety. Used here in the religious sense of dressing and behaving with decent, unshowy modesty.

noun · Chapter 7

deferentially

In a manner that shows respectful submission and polite regard for someone's higher rank or importance. Miss Temple receives the visitors with extra courteous respect.

adverb · Chapter 7

superstitiously

In a way driven by irrational fear that unseen or supernatural forces are at work. Here Jane means she would have felt an unreasoning, fearful dread rather than logical alarm.

adverb · Chapter 11

superintendence

The responsibility of overseeing and managing something, especially an institution's resources or operations. Here it refers to Brocklehurst's exclusive control over the school's food supply.

noun · Chapter 13

disembarrassed

Free from awkwardness or self-conscious discomfort; perfectly at ease in a social situation. Jane sits down without any sense of embarrassment despite being in an unfamiliar grand house.

adjective · Chapter 13

opera-mistresses

Female companions or lovers kept by a wealthy man who were typically associated with the opera world, regarded as socially disreputable. Rochester uses the term for the succession of women he maintained before Jane.

noun · Chapter 15

impenetrability

The quality of being impossible to understand or see through; utter inscrutability. Jane uses it to describe Grace Poole's face, which gives nothing away and cannot be read.

noun · Chapter 16

superciliousness

An attitude of cool contempt or scornful superiority toward others, expressed in looks and manner rather than words. Here it describes the silent disdain the Ingram party conveys without directly speaking.

noun · Chapter 21

gentleman-highwayman

A well-born robber who held up travellers on the road, a romanticised figure from earlier centuries regarded as dashing rather than merely criminal. The phrase flatters Rochester by imagining him as a daring, roguish man of action.

noun · Chapter 18

breeches-pocket

A pocket in breeches, the close-fitting knee-length trousers worn by men in that period. Rochester means he is carrying the engagement ring hidden in his trouser pocket.

noun · Chapter 24

out-manoeuvred

Outfoxed or defeated by a cleverer move; having one's plans blocked by circumstances or an opposing force that proved smarter. Rochester means fate or providence has blocked his scheme.

verb · Chapter 26

loose-principled

Having weak or absent moral standards; willing to behave dishonestly or immorally without much scruple. Rochester asks if Jane thinks him morally unprincipled and dissolute.

adjective · Chapter 27

self-approbation

A feeling of satisfaction or approval of one's own conduct; the inner sense that one has acted rightly. Jane says she has none of this comfort—she cannot even respect herself after leaving Rochester.

noun · Chapter 27

church-militant

A theological term for the body of Christians still living on earth and actively fighting sin, as opposed to those already in heaven. St. John sees himself as a soldier in this earthly struggling church.

noun · Chapter 30

fraternisation

The act of treating people as brothers or equals, especially across class or social boundaries. St. John uses it sarcastically to mock the idea that Jane, now wealthy, can claim equal brotherhood with him.

noun · Chapter 33

vindictiveness

A strong desire to punish or harm someone in revenge for a real or imagined wrong. Jane insists St. John is not motivated by a wish to hurt her, even though his manner feels punishing.

noun · Chapter 35

inconsiderateness

The quality of acting without thinking about how one's words or actions affect others. Jane admits her sudden proposal to live with Rochester was thoughtless of others' feelings.

noun · Chapter 37

impracticable

Impossible to carry out in practice; not workable given the actual circumstances. Jane finds she cannot return to being a governess because her new responsibilities make it unworkable.

adjective · Chapter 38