| “ | You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, Mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live here with gentlemen's children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mama's expense. | „ |
| ~ John Reed |
John Reed is a the secondary antagonist in Charlotte Bronte's literary classic Jane Eyre. He is Jane's abusive and greedy cousin and the son of Mrs. Reed.
Biography[]
John Reed is the fourteen-year-old cousin of the story's heroine, Jane Eyre. Jane's parents died when she was a baby, and so her aunt Reed took her in. However, she and her three children mistreated Jane and John was chief among them. When Jane is 10, John confronts her for reading one of his books. John insists that Jane refer to him as "Master Reed" and tells her that she has no right to read "his" books before he throws a book at her so hard she bleeds. Enraged, she compares him to the Roman emperors, murderers and slavedrivers and he attacks her, she fights back, for which Mrs. Reed punishes her by locking her in the "red-room", where Mr. Reed died.
After Jane is let out of the red room, John and his sisters act on orders from Mrs. Reed and do not speak to her. The only exception is when John attempts to chastise Jane and she glares at him with such rage that he tells on her to his mother, who tells him that he should have stayed away and should not associate with her, to which Jane responds that John is not fit to associate with her. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Reed sends Jane to the Lowood School run by Mr. Brocklehurst and she never sees John again.
Years after Jane leaves, John moved to London and began gambling. By associating with the wrong people, he ended up in debtor's prison twice and both times Mrs. Reed payed the debts for him. He squandered all his allowance from his mother and eventually she cut him off. Penniless, John committed suicide.
Personality[]
John Reed is a cruel and sadistic bully who delights in tormenting others, especially Jane. He does not appear to care about anyone but himself, not even his doting mother, who he calls "old girl" and whose dresses he rips up. He was apparently sent home from school for attacking his teacher, and enjoys doing things such as killing pigeons and setting hounds on herds of sheep. Later, he becomes addicted to gambling and accrues multiple debts, for which he is thrown into prison. According to Mrs. Reed, he got angry and threatened her when she stopped giving him money. This further supports the idea that he only cares about himself.