The Reeds of Gateshead, her mother’s family
The Jane Eyre family tree begins with an orphan of ten at Gateshead Hall. Jane lives with Mrs Reed and her three children, John, a schoolboy of fourteen, Eliza and Georgiana.1 Mr Reed was Jane’s mother’s brother. He took her in as an infant, and as he died he made his wife promise to bring her up as one of her own.2
Jane’s mother, Jane Reed, married a poor clergyman against her family’s wishes, and her father cut her off. Both parents died of typhus within a month of each other.3
John Eyre, the uncle in Madeira
At Lowood Bessie tells Jane that her father’s brother called at Gateshead on his way to Madeira.4 In Chapter 21 Mrs Reed, dying, shows Jane a letter from John Eyre, unmarried and childless, who wished to adopt her and make her his heir. Mrs Reed had written back that Jane was dead.8
John Reed has died in London, said to have killed himself, and the news brought on his mother’s stroke.8 Georgiana marries a wealthy man of fashion, and Eliza takes the veil.9
The Rochesters on the Jane Eyre family tree
At Thornfield Jane teaches Adèle, the daughter of a French opera dancer, Céline Varens. Céline said that Mr Rochester was the father, but he sees no proof of it.7 The chart draws that line as uncertain.
The wedding in Chapter 26 is stopped by Richard Mason, who declares that Rochester married his sister, Bertha Mason, fifteen years before in Jamaica.10 His father had meant the estate for his elder brother Rowland and found Edward a wife with thirty thousand pounds.11 Until Chapter 26 the chart shows Bertha only as the laugh on the third storey.
Jane first takes Mrs Fairfax for the owner of Thornfield, but she is the housekeeper. Her husband was a second cousin of Rochester’s mother, who was born a Fairfax.5 The death of Rochester’s elder brother Rowland, without a will, made him master of the estate about nine years before Jane arrives.6 In the last chapter Rochester has the sight of one eye again, and sees that their first-born son has his own black eyes.16
The Rivers cousins on the Jane Eyre family tree
Jane flees Thornfield and is taken in at Moor House by St John, Diana and Mary Rivers. They mourn an uncle, their mother’s brother, who quarrelled with their father and left his fortune to another relative.12
In Chapter 33 St John explains the link. His mother, Mrs Rivers, was born an Eyre, and her brothers were Jane’s father and John Eyre of Funchal. The Rivers are Jane’s first cousins, and the fortune of twenty thousand pounds is hers. She shares it equally with them.13 St John asks her to India as his wife, and she will go only as a fellow missionary.14
Where each tie is revealed
Each card gives a chapter in which the Jane Eyre family tree changes.
Chapters 1 to 3
The Reeds
Volume I.
- Mr Reed was her mother’s brother.
Chapter 10
An uncle
Volume I.
- Her father’s brother sailed for Madeira.
Sources4
Chapter 21
The letter
Volume II.
- John Eyre wished to make her his heir.
Sources8
Chapter 26
A wife
Volume II.
- Rochester is married to Bertha Mason.
Sources10
Chapter 33
Cousins
Volume III.
- The Rivers are her first cousins.
Sources13
Chapters 36 to 38
Ferndean
Volume III.
- Bertha dies in the fire, and Jane marries Rochester.
How to read this Jane Eyre family tree
A double line is a marriage and a cross marks a death. The novel never names the Eyre grandparents, so a dashed brown line joins John Eyre to his brother and sister instead.
To build a Jane Eyre family tree of your own, open this chart in the editor or start from the story charts. The notation is set out in the genogram symbols.
Everyone on the Jane Eyre family tree
| Portrait | Person | In the story | Life | On the chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Jane EyreThe narrator | Living at the end | Orphan, governess and heiress. | |
 | Sarah ReedHer aunt by marriage | Dies in Volume II | She hides John Eyre’s letter. Sources8 | |
| MR | Mr ReedHer mother’s brother | Dead before the novel | He takes Jane in. Sources2 | |
| JR | John ReedHer cousin | Dies in Volume II | He bullies Jane. | |
| ER | Eliza ReedHer cousin | Living at the end | She becomes a nun. Sources9 | |
| GR | Georgiana ReedHer cousin | Living at the end | She marries well. Sources9 | |
| GR | Grandfather ReedHer mother’s father | Dead before the novel | He cuts off his daughter. Sources3 | |
| JR | Jane ReedHer mother | Dead before the novel | She dies of typhus. Sources3 | |
| ME | Mr EyreHer father | Dead before the novel | A poor clergyman. Sources3 | |
| JE | John EyreHer father’s brother | Dies in Volume III | He leaves her his fortune. | |
 | Edward RochesterHer husband | Living at the end | Master of Thornfield. | |
 | Bertha MasonRochester’s first wife | Dies in Volume III | She dies in the fire. | |
| RM | Richard MasonBertha’s brother | Living at the end | He stops the wedding. Sources10 | |
| AV | Adèle VarensRochester’s ward | Living at the end | Her father is uncertain. Sources7 | |
| MR | Mrs RiversHer father’s sister | Dead before the novel | Mother of the Rivers cousins. Sources13 | |
 | St John RiversHer cousin | Living at the end | He goes to India. | |
| DR | Diana RiversHer cousin | Living at the end | She marries Captain Fitzjames. Sources16 | |
| MR | Mary RiversHer cousin | Living at the end | She marries Mr Wharton. Sources16 |
Questions about the Jane Eyre family tree
How is Jane Eyre related to the Rivers
They are first cousins. Their mother was the sister of Jane’s father and of John Eyre.13
How is Jane related to the Reeds
Mr Reed was her mother’s brother, so John, Eliza and Georgiana are her first cousins.2
Who is Bertha Mason
Rochester’s first wife, the sister of Richard Mason, married in Jamaica fifteen years before the novel’s wedding.10
People and sources
A page of its own lists the 17 numbered sources this article cites. It also gives the credits of the pictures and this page as a reference in the APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard styles, ready to copy.