The women of Thornfield

Mrs Fairfax

Mrs Fairfax is a woman in circumstances similar to Jane's situation:

She is a lady, the widow, rather than daughter, of a vicar, and therefore socially above the status of the servants, yet like the governess, is dependant on employment for an income.
She is described as worthy and kind, but unlike Jane:
- She is unimaginative, unable to meet with Rochester as an equal
- She represents the voice of convention regarding the role of women and is disturbed by the idea of Jane marrying her master.

These charaters are French: they are depicted as vain, frivolous and materialistic, and Céline is seen (at least in Rochester's eyes) as faithless:

Céline, who is the lover and dependant of several men, acts as a kind of warning for Jane; Céline's lifestyle could easily be the kind of life Rochester is offering Jane after it is revealed that he is not in a position to marry her
Even before the wedding, Rochester tries to treat Jane as a kind of doll, or as a woman of the harem, buying her dresses and jewellery, her chains/bracelets being associated with captivity: she has to convince him that she is not that kind of woman.

Blanche Ingram is the main example of a negative role model. She is someone who is quite unlike Jane, and whom Jane has no desire to resemble:

She is represented as physically large and healthy and much more conventionally attractive than Jane. She possesses all the social advantages that Jane lacks: money, position, confidence and the admiration of her family and friends
However, she is revealed as vain, proud, lacking in imagination and careless of the feelings of others. Her remarks about governesses also reveal a streak of cruelty and a pleasure taken in humiliating those whom she considers to be of lower social status than herself
Rochester allows Jane to believe that he plans to marry Blanche, but in a sense he is using her to demonstrate to Jane what it is he does not want in a wife and why he prefers Jane's less immediately obvious attractions
In thematic terms, Blanche could also be seen as contributing to the novel's critique of the use and abuse of wealth, power and privilege.