# Jane — Short Fiction character guide

> Jane in Short Fiction by H. G. Wells.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0004-the-jilting-of-jane

## Snapshot

A housemaid whose young man is stolen by a milliner, and who attends the wedding with a bag of left-off boots and a plan of her own.

## Who they are

Jane works in the narrator's household, scrubbing steps with a certain viciousness after William is lured away by an older woman with hair not gold to the roots. She accosts the wedding party in the street, is bundled aside, and then quietly asks leave to watch the ceremony. Her hard face and the unexplained boots in her bag give the story its sly, simmering comedy of wounded pride and developing character.

## Relationships

### [William](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/characters/william)

_family_

Jane and William are likely siblings or close relatives, sharing a domestic life and mutual concern.

### [William](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/characters/william)

_family_

Jane and William are likely siblings or close relatives, sharing a domestic life and mutual concern.

## In the story

### [The Jilting of Jane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-jilting-of-jane)

The narrator's maid, who is jilted by her fiancé William after a three-year engagement.

### [The Flowering of the Strange Orchid](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/the-flowering-of-the-strange-orchid)

Wedderburn's housekeeper and remote cousin, who dislikes the strange orchid and warns him about it.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/iii)

Davidson's sister, who cares for him and arranges his transport, and later rescues him from a horrifying vision.

### [Mr. Brisher's Treasure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/chapters/mr-brisher-s-treasure)

Mr. Brisher's former fiancée, a respectable and musically inclined young woman from a devout family in Colchester.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/characters/jane
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_25_se/characters