Adèle Varens

Adèle Varens is Edward Rochester's young ward, a French child of seven or eight years who came to Thornfield from the Continent within the past six months, bringing with her the fluent French language and Continental manners. She is a charming, animated child—quick to form attachments, eager to learn, and delighted by small pleasures and attentions. Though she is not remarkably bright or talented, she is capable of improvement through patient instruction, which becomes Jane Eyre's charge as Adèle's governess. Adèle's affection for Jane Eyre grows quickly, and she becomes a source of quiet joy in Jane Eyre's daily life at Thornfield, offering uncomplicated companionship and the legitimate outlet for Jane Eyre's capacity to nurture and teach.