In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, the orphan who becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall is Jane Eyre.
Jane loses both parents as a young child and is raised by her unkind aunt, Mrs. Reed. After a difficult childhood at Gateshead and years at the harsh Lowood Institution, Jane works first as a teacher before advertising for a governess position. She is hired by Mrs. Fairfax to teach Adèle Varens at Thornfield Hall.
Thornfield’s owner, Edward Rochester, becomes Jane’s employer and eventual romantic partner. The house also contains a disturbing secret: strange noises and unexplained incidents are connected to Bertha Mason, Rochester’s hidden wife. This is why Bertha Mason is a common mix-up, although she is not the governess.
Helen Burns is Jane’s beloved friend at Lowood, while Blanche Ingram is a socialite who appears to be Rochester’s preferred bride. Neither holds Jane’s role. Jane’s independence, moral resolve, and insistence on emotional equality make her one of Victorian literature’s defining protagonists.