The protagonist of the novel, Jane Eyre grows up feeling alienated and ostracized. Treated as an outcast by her cousins and Aunt Reed she, righteously, develops a desire to be out of their care. Her aunt, who wants to be rid of Jane, decides to send her off to school.

During an intense dispute with her Mrs. Reed, Jane states, “I am glad you are no relation of mine… You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so.” (Chapter 4, pg 45) This reveals not only her need for love and equality, but also her sense of justice and perception of injustice. These characteristics are also evident throughout the remainder of the book, such as when she is looking for a relationship. Once she discovers Mr. Rochester's previous marriage to Bertha Mason, Jane decides against marrying him. She reasons that instead of being his wife, she would be made his mistress, thus losing her self respect. Later, Jane refuses to marry St. John Rivers due to the lack of love that there would be in the relationship. In the end of the novel, she finds a perfect balance of love, freedom, and equality in Mr. Rochester, therefore choosing to marry him.

Mrs. Reed

Mrs. Reed's undying hatred of Jane was caused by her deceased husband, who had cared for their niece more than their own children. When on his death bed, he made her swear to continue raising Jane. Although she keeps her promise, Mrs. Reed detests her niece, and treats her with hardly any respect whatsoever. Nine years after she sent Jane to school, Mrs. Reed's health deteriorates. Jane returns to Gateshead and attempts to reconcile with her unloving aunt. Despite her requests for forgiveness, Mrs. Reed ignores Jane's apologies, and continues resenting her niece until she perishes.

Mrs. Reed's grudge towards Jane reveals her jealousy; this envy is merely a result of her niece receiving better treatment than her own children. She is selfish and unjust because she cares more about herself and her own jealous feelings than of her mistreatment of Jane. Finally, her ability to mistreat Jane without any cross feelings exposes her pitiless and unsympathetic nature.

Bessie Lee

As the maid at Gateshead, Bessie is frequently required to take care of Jane, and is her main source of enjoyment as a child. She is nicer to Jane more often than any other resident at the mansion. At times, Bessie sings to her and tells her stories of fairies, which Jane always finds pleasure in. Once, she even criticizes Mrs. Reed for being too harsh on Jane, which shows that she has sympathy towards the mistreated girl. Because of Bessie's kindness, Jane appreciates her more than the other ruthless inhabitants of Gateshead.

Helen Burns- Helen Burns's character contrasts with Jane's right from the start. Although Jane is religious, Helen's faith is undying until the day of her death. She continuously acts the way she feels God would want her to, and both accepts and forgives whatever unkindness comes her way. It is her belief that God will reward the good, and punish the evil. At first, Helen feels Jane is naïve when the latter would disagree with what she said, or say that she, herself, is unable to be as forgiving. Throughout their friendship at Lowood, Helen teaches Jane much about religion, God, and His ways. Soon, however, Helen becomes ill and passes away, with Jane in her arms, saying “I have faith; I am going to God.”

Edward Rochester

Soon after meeting him, Jane falls in love with Mr. Rochester, her master, despite his higher social and economical class. Regardless of the unconventionality of the couple, Mr. Rochester returns this love. It was neither her appearance that he finds attractive, nor her wealth. He is fascinated by her mind, and how interesting an individual she is. Deeply in love with Jane, Rochester provides her with the opportunity to have a relationship filled with affection, devotion, and passion towards each other. However, he holds a well kept secret, which he conceals even from Jane. Early in his life, he married a young woman from a rich family out of pure greed. Bertha Mason, his wife, “Caught the germ of insanity,” according to Mr. Rochester, soon after their marriage. She had to be pent up in a third story apartment within Thornfield Hall, a mansion of his, for the remainder of her existence. Once this is revealed to Jane, she is forced to make a decision. She feels she would lose her self esteem and pride if she's made his mistress, so she chooses to leave him. After Bertha's death, almost a year later, Jane visits Mr. Rochester, and rebuilds their relationship. In spite of his blindness and amputated hand, their love towards one another has not tapered. Even though in the eighteen hundreds, the common belief was that men are superior to women, Jane now considers herself his equal. With Bertha dead, and there being no hindrance to a marriage, they wed, and live together, forever blissful.

Mr. Rochester's unorthodox love for Jane catches even her off guard. His love for a woman, who is physically plain, yet mentally deep, shows that he's not shallow. Furthermore, Jane not only works for him and is of lower class, but is also poor; therefore, in loving her and proposing to her, he proves that he isn't worried about what other people think of him. Moreover, Rochester is exceedingly caring of the ones he loves. One such example is when he discovers that Bertha had snuck into Jane's room at night; he shudders at the thought of what could have happened to her. Finally, caring for Bertha, despite her insane state, exemplifies his humane personality.

Blanche Ingram

Greedy and superficial, Blanche is a wealthy member of the upper class, who scorns Jane for looking plain and for her “dependant” status. She seems to love Mr. Rochester, but in reality, it is only his money she seeks. When Rochester spreads a rumor that his fortune is only one third of what is supposed, Miss Ingram instantly ceases to like him, consequently proving that it was out of pure greed that she wanted to wed him. Mr. Rochester had only been feigning his desire to marry her in order to make Jane jealous. This fails to work, however, because Jane believes that she is superior to Blanche; therefore, she doesn't see a reason to be jealous.

Bertha Mason

As a youth, Mr. Rochester's father and brother suggest that he marry Bertha Mason due to the large fortune which he would acquire. They don't tell him, though, that a history of insanity runs in her blood. Her mother, who Edward believes to be dead, is actually living in an insane asylum. Rochester and Bertha never become thoroughly familiar with each other before he makes the quick decision to marry her, mistaking the feelings he holds for her as true love. Bertha then turns mad soon after their wedding. Her insanity can be considered a consequence for his quick and greedy action of marrying her. He suffers the consequences for his greed, as his marriage is a terrible mistake; it affects not only his future happiness, but Jane's thoughts of him as well. Although Jane and Rochester eventually marry, it is because of Bertha's existence that Jane originally flees Thornfield Hall.

St. John Rivers

St John Rivers serves as a foil character to Edward Rochester. Mr. Rochester is emotional, and described as “fiery” by Jane, whereas St. John is distant, cold, ambitious, unemotional, and he doesn't reveal his feelings openly. Exceptionally religious, he is highly dedicated to his career as a minister in Morton; however, he still intends to leave for India to be a missionary as soon as possible. Like Mr. Rochester, he also proposes to Jane, his cousin. A marriage between him and Jane would give her the opportunity to make a larger difference in the world than she could make otherwise. However, this benefit comes with a downside- to wed him would mean to abandon love and passion. Jane can't give up this essential requirement of her heart, so she refuses his proposal.

Diana Rivers

 Diana's kind and selfless disposition accounts for the care she gives Jane while Jane is ill. Similar to Jane, Diana Rivers holds a career as a governess as well. They both are also very knowledgeable and interested in learning. Diana is Jane's cousin, but she additionally serves as Jane's role model. She is handsome, a good leader, and independent. According to the novel, Jane contemplates, “If in our trio there was a superior and a leader, it was Diana.” (Chapter 30, pg 406)

Mary Rivers

 Also holding a career as a private governess, Mary Rivers has much in common with her sister, Diana, and her cousin, Jane. The many traits shared between those three relatives make them inseparable. Thinking about Mary and her sister, Jane reflects, “Our natures dovetailed, mutual affection of the strongest kind was the result.” (Chapter 30, pg 406) Jane admires her, too, for being an independent woman, who is able to provide for herself; this further proves that women are equal to men.

One major theme in Catch-22 is that the human body is not immortal. Death will occur at one point or another, and there is an innumerable amount of causes that could bring it about. Yossarian realizes this on his mission over Avignon, after Snowden was injured. Yossarian tries to save him, yet he is unable to do so. He witnesses Snowden slow death, and can't do anything to help, except say, “there, there.” The fact that there is nothing Yossarian could do to keep him from dying shows Yossarian that death is unavoidable. Realizing this, he makes the decision to prolong life as long as possible, and at all costs. He begins to see danger lurking around every corner, and is afraid to fly any more missions, realizing the risk involved in flying them. As more and more of his friends are killed in combat, he reasons that the next mission he flies could be his last, so he refuses to fly anymore. He realizes how precious his life is, and feels that it's a miracle that he's survived as long as he has.

Throughout Catch-22, the narrator's attitude towards women is that they are only for sex, and that they are inferior to men. Not only is almost every woman in this novel is a prostitute, but also the way the men act towards them is very degrading. At one point, Yossarian remarks, “Women are crazy.” (Chapter 28, page 315) Furthermore, Orr asks, “Did you ever screw Nately's girl?” and also, “Did you ever screw my girl?” (Chapter 28, pg 314) The way those two questions are worded implies that the two girls are merely possessions, rather than individuals. Moreover, when discussing Yossarian's new roommates, the author writes, “They were worse than women,” (Chapter 32, pg 347) which is obviously demeaning of them. Finally, Nately says to his girl friend, “Don't argue with me, I'm the man and you have to do whatever I say.” (Chapter 33, pg 356) This statement suggests that men are superior women, and that women must obey them.

Another major theme in this novel is the difference between sanity and insanity. Throughout the novel, people constantly are calling each other crazy and insane. Most people in Yossarian's squadron believe that he and Orr are the craziest ones there, for separate reasons. Yossarian is believed to be crazy because he is petrified of flying missions, and because he thinks everyone is trying to kill him. Orr, on the other hand, is considered insane because his plane has been shot down during almost every mission, yet he still flies. However it seems that they, out of everyone, have the clearest view of the absurdities of both the war and the bureaucracy. Unlike the people who call them crazy, they both understand the dangers of war, and try to escape from them. As Yossarian sees it, the people who truly are insane are the men who continue to go to combat and put their own lives at risk.

The tone throughout Catch-22 is wry, sarcastic, and very satirical. One example of the satire in the novel is when Yossarian's bomb squadron is ordered to bomb a tiny, peaceful, undefended village, reducing the whole community to rubble without warning them first. The “reason” they have to do this is to “knock the whole village sliding down the side of the mountain and create a roadblock that the Germans will have to clear.” (Chapter 29, pg 325) This ridiculous mission would cause many deaths, and it is completely unnecessary. Right during the briefing, Colonal Korn even admits that they don't care about the roadblock, as long as the bombs are placed close together, in order to look nice in a photograph.

A second example of the satire in Catch-22 is when the chaplain is being interrogated in the cellar. The officer states, “We accuse you also of the commission of crimes and infractions we don't even know about yet. Guilty or innocent?” (Chapter 36, pg 386) The chaplain responds, “I don't know,sir. How can I say if you don't tell me what they are first?” (Chapter 36, pg 386) Then, they suddenly mark him down as guilty, without any evidence whatsoever to back up their absurd accusation. A final example of Joseph Heller's satirical tone is when Doc Daneeka gets reported as being killed. He is marked down as “dead” because he's on the flight roster of the crashed plane, even though he is clearly living all the while. He even goes to the Gus and Wes to get his temperature taken, and they say, “You're dead, sir... That's probably the reason you always feel so cold.” (Chapter 31, pg 341) Also, Sergeant Towser was heavy hearted, because of “Doc Daneeka, the new dead man in the squadron, who most certainly was there and gave every indication of proving a still thornier administrative problem for him.” (Chapter 31, pg 340) The fact that Doc Daneeka is still obviously living, and yet everyone is acting as if he's dead, is completely ridiculous and very satirical.

A major theme in this work of literature is the gender obstacles for women of that time period. Bertha Mason, an important character of the novel, represents the confined wife of the nineteenth century, who's only job is thought to be in the kitchen. She symbolizes what would happen to a woman after being pent up for so long. Throughout the story, Jane must overcome this barrier. She must prove herself to be both equal to men, and also autonomous. She accomplishes this by running away from Thornfield and acquiring a job as a teacher of poor children. Once she confirms to herself her independence, she then marries Mr. Rochester, now confident that she is his equal.

Another theme in Jane Eyre is the barriers of social classes in the Victorian era. Even as a child, Jane is criticized for being poor, such as when John Reed states, “You are a dependent… You have no money… You ought to beg, and not live here with gentlemen's children like us…” (Chapter 1, pg 15) This quote shows that children as young as fourteen, like John, are already criticizing people of lower social status. Furthermore, Blanche Ingram openly detests Jane for her low position in society, as well. Moreover, the treatment Jane received when Hannah answered the door at Moor's End also suggests this theme. Seeing her as a beggar, Hannah presumed she was a bad person. After becoming acquainted with her, she apologized to Jane for her prejudice. By the end of this novel, Jane proves that her poverty does not make her an inferior person.

Many times throughout this work, Bronte even criticizes the upper castes through the personalities of the people in them. Miss Ingram's character is snobby, greedy, and unkind. She only wants to marry Mr. Rochester for his money, and therefore is portrayed as a nasty person. Jane's cousin, John Reed, was cruel and abusive to her as a child, and later developed gambling problems. Mrs. Reed is an unjust and heartless woman, who treated Jane with contempt. All three of these characters are in the upper class, and they are all used by Charlotte Bronte to express her opinion of that caste.

The red room, which Jane gets locked in as a child, symbolizes both imprisonment and also what a marriage to St. John Rivers would be like. When Jane is trapped inside the third story room of Gateshead, the very room that her Uncle Reed died in, she experiences emotional and physical imprisonment. Nobody listens to her cries or lets her out of the room; her terror builds up until she eventually faints. If she accepted St. John's proposal, and traveled with him to India, Jane would also be emotionally confined. She knew that if she married him, she must abandon love and passion forever. And yet, when speaking to her Diana Rivers about St. John, she states, “Yet, if forced to be his wife, I can imagine the possibility of conceiving an inevitable, strange, torturing kind of love for him, because he is so talented…” (Chapter 35, pg 481) And if she did develop this love for him, Jane continued, “He would not want me to love him; and if I showed the feeling, he would make me sensible that it was a superfluity, unrequired by him, unbecoming in me.” (Chapter 35, pg 481) Therefore, Jane feels that if she married him, she would have to conceal any love her heart felt forever; that is, if such feelings were felt at all. So, due to this imprisonment that she'd experience if she married St. John, Jane refuses his proposal.

Throughout her work, Bronte uses incredibly detailed descriptions to help her readers form a better picture of whatever is described. One such example is, “the stream descending the ravine, swelled with past spring rains, poured along plentiful and clear, catching golden gleams from the sun, and sapphire tints from the firmament.” (Chapter 34, pg 464)

However, she uses imagery not only to describe the environment, but also to describe people. Mr. Rochester is often described as being fiery. On the other hand, Charlotte Bronte frequently compares St. John Rivers to ice, not only in his actions, but also in his feelings and speech.

Charlotte Bronte treats Jane with a compassionate and hopeful tone. Whenever Jane is experiencing hardship and trial, this becomes more noticeable. Bronte begins to describe Jane's emotions in such situations to help the audience better understand the way she's feeling. This is not only during physical hardships, but during emotional suffering as well, such as when Jane flees from Thornfield Hall, while she is still in love with Rochester. Charlotte Bronte chooses this attitude towards Jane to influence the readers into viewing her through the same sympathetic perspective.

The same night that Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane for the first time, half of the great horse-chestnut tree splits away, due to a bolt of lightning. This is foreshadowing of Jane “splitting” away from Mr. Rochester. Additionally, Jane's dream, in which she sits atop the remnants of Thornfield Hall, foreshadows its future destruction. Charlotte Bronte uses these two instances of foreshadowing to add excitement and anticipation to her novel, making it much more interesting to read.