# Mrs. Reed — Jane Eyre character guide

> Mrs. Reed in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Reed, Dear Mrs. Reed, Aunt Reed

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

Jane's wealthy aunt, who keeps her orphaned niece as a grudged charity and calls her coldness Christian discipline.

## Who they are

Mrs. Reed presides over Gateshead Hall with a favorite-child's favoritism and a settled dislike of the small, questioning girl left in her care, excluding Jane from the family circle and punishing her for not being lovable on command. She is not a monster but something more ordinary and more chilling: a respectable woman whose resentment of a dependent child hardens into lifelong cruelty. Her treatment of Jane sets the novel's moral baseline, teaching the reader exactly what Jane is up against and what she refuses to become.

## Relationships

### [Jane Eyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/jane_eyre)

_rivalry_

Abusive aunt-niece relationship marked by Mrs. Reed's cruelty and Jane's resentment.

### [Bessie Lee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/bessie_lee)

_professional_

Servant-employer relationship, with Bessie loyal but often caught between Mrs. Reed's harshness and Jane's plight.

### [Jane Eyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/jane_eyre)

_rivalry_

Abusive aunt-niece relationship marked by Mrs. Reed's cruelty and Jane's resentment.

### [Bessie Lee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/bessie_lee)

_professional_

Servant-employer relationship, with Bessie loyal but often caught between Mrs. Reed's harshness and Jane's plight.

### [Bessie Lee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/bessie_lee)

_professional_

Servant-employer relationship, with Bessie loyal but often caught between Mrs. Reed's harshness and Jane's plight.

### [Jane Eyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/jane_eyre)

_rivalry_

Abusive aunt-niece relationship marked by Mrs. Reed's cruelty and Jane's resentment.

## In the story

### [Jane Eyre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/chapters/jane-eyre)

Jane's aunt, who is cold and neglectful, favoring her own children over Jane.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/chapters/i)

Jane's aunt, who excludes Jane from the family circle and orders her locked in the red-room after the altercation with John.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/chapters/ii)

Mrs. Reed is mentioned as the one who ordered Jane to be locked in the red-room and is remembered for her aversion to Jane.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/chapters/iv)

Shaken by Jane's outburst, she tries to regain control but ultimately leaves the room.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/chapters/xxi)

On her deathbed, still bitter and resentful toward Jane, confessing her hatred and the lie she told John Eyre.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters/mrs_reed
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jane_eyre_se/characters