JE

With the middle and upper classes, respectability and a good reputation were extremely important. As a single Victorian woman, Jane has no family to make enquiries on her behalf about the propriety of working as a governess at Thornfield Hall. This is an essential plot device for chapter 10: had enquiries been made, it is likely that she would not have accepted a position looking after an illegitimate child, who is reputed to be the daughter of a supposedly single man with a history of mistresses.