In the introduction to a compilation of essays on the Bronte sisters, Harold Bloom notes that Rochester himself remarks that "Jane is indomitable; [and] as Jane says, she is altogether 'a free human being with an independent will'" (2). As feminist critics Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar have noted, this description put forth here by Bloom and many other similar characterizations were noticed and accepted strikingly by the contemporary readers and reviewers of Jane Eyre:

It seems not to have been primarily the coarseness and sexuality of Jane Eyre which shocked Victorian reviewers . . . but . . . its "anti-Christian" refusal to accept the forms, customs, and standards of society -- in short, its rebellious feminism. They were disturbed not so much by the proud Byronic sexual energy of Rochester as by the Byronic pride and passion of Jane herself. (Bloom 3)

The contemporary reactions to Jane Eyre, however, may be more accurately viewed as an expression indicative of a so-called "Victorian prudery" (Winnifrith 76), for Jane's character, like Rochester's, lies closer to the conventional than the Byronic on a continuum of possible characterizations.

While Jane can be seen as primarily conventional, there are three characteristics which provide the strongest examples of Jane Eyre as a Byronic heroine: her refusal to repent, her intellectual and emotional superiority, and her rejection of value systems and moral codes. Throughout her childhood at Gateshead Hall and later at Lowood, appeals are constantly made to Jane to repent. The earliest appeal also appears in Chapter Two; the order is given by Miss Abbot as Jane is locked in the "red room": "Say your prayers, Miss Eyre, when you are by yourself; for if you don't repent, something bad might be permitted to come down the chimney, and fetch you away" (45). Of course, following this appeal, there is no mention by the narrative Jane of her repentence. In a conversation with Rochester, however, Jane's response to Rochester contradicts this:

"When fate wronged me, I had not the wisdom to remain cool: I turned desperate; then I degenerated. Now, when any vicious simpleton excites my disgust by his paltry ribaldry, I cannot flatter myself that I am better than he . . . . I wish I had stood firm-God knows I do! Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre: remorse is the poison of life."

"Repentance is said to be its cure, sir." (167, ch.14)

While it is done so hesitatingly ("Repentance is said to be its cure," she emphasizes), Jane's reply indicates that she accepts what she has said to Rochester as true.

An equally important characteristic of a Byronic hero is that of superior intellectual and emotional capacity. Millicent Bell points out that Jane is "threateningly intelligent, forthright to the point of bluntness, submitting herself mentally to no one, not even when she finally does improbably win a man's love. Her unsubmissiveness, her independence is her social fault" (263). Yet Jane is at the same time submissive, and she desires to be so. Rochester asks her, "And will you stay with me?" To this, she replies:

Certainly-unless you object. I will be your neighbor, your nurse, your housekeeper. I find you lonely: I will be your companion-to read to you, to walk with you, to sit with you, to wait on you, to be eyes and hands to you. Cease to look so melancholy, my dear master; you shall not be left desolate, so long as I live. (460, ch.37)

Her willingness to serve the deserving Rochester, which is clearly indicated in this passage, is not slavish, but instead it indicates Jane's compassionate nature; she is not at all the characteristically dark, brooding, and mysterious Byronic heroine.

In some ways, Jane does exhibit Byronic qualities to a greater extent than Rochester. She constantly questions authority and established value systems, which she essentially rejects. Jane is also painfully self-conscious, even at a very young age. The opening paragraph to Chapter Two (after Jane has been banished to the "red room" by Mrs. Reed) provides an example of both:

I resisted all the way: a new thing for me, and a circumstance which greatly strengthened the bad opinion Bessie and Miss Abbot were disposed to entertain of me. The fact is, I was conscious that a moment's mutiny had already rendered me liable to strange penalties, and like any other rebel slave, I felt resolved, in my desperation, to go all lengths. (44)

But despite the weak appearance of a Byronic heroine, Jane's character ultimately does not escape the conventional. Jane is most happy when she is serving others.