Sir George Lynn

Sir George Lynn appears during the extended house-party at Thornfield Hall in late spring, a gathering that brings together the local gentry and aristocracy and throws into sharp relief the social distance between Jane Eyre and the world of her employer, Mr. Rochester. He is one of the party of visitors who arrive on Thursday afternoon, riding as one of four equestrians who gallop up the drive ahead of the open carriages, and he is described as a very big and very fresh-looking country gentleman. His physical presence is substantial and his manner that of a solid, unrefined member of the landed class, a contrast to the more polished or languid figures around him.

Role in the House-Party and the Charades

Sir George Lynn is selected by Mr. Rochester to be one of his party in the evening's charades, a theatrical entertainment that occupies the guests. In the first tableau, he is seen enveloped in a white sheet, standing before a table on which lies a large open book, while Amy Eshton, draped in Mr. Rochester's cloak, stands at his side holding a book. The scene is a pantomime of a marriage ceremony, with Miss Ingram and Mr. Rochester kneeling at the table. Later, during the charades, Sir George Lynn is part of the group that consults in whispers after each scene, and it is Colonel Dent, as spokesman for the opposing party, who calls out the guessed word. Sir George's participation is that of a willing and unremarkable member of the company, lending his bulk and his presence to the spectacle without any display of particular wit or individuality.

Political and Social Standing

Sir George Lynn has recently been elected member for Millcote, a fact that Mrs. Fairfax mentions when speculating on the duration of the house-party: after the Easter recess, he will have to go up to town and take his seat. This political role places him within the governing class of the county, a man of property and influence. During the evenings, he is often found standing before the sofa of the dowagers, coffee-cup in hand, occasionally putting in a word while the two proud older ladies confabulate. He is also one of the gentlemen who discuss politics, county affairs, or justice business with Colonel Dent and Mr. Eshton, forming part of the masculine sphere of governance and landed interest that operates alongside the more decorative social performances of the ladies.

Contrast with Jane Eyre's Perspective

Jane observes Sir George Lynn and the other guests from her position as a governess, seated in the shade behind a window-curtain, acutely aware of her own exclusion. She compares the gallant grace of the Lynns, the languid elegance of Lord Ingram, and even the military distinction of Colonel Dent with Mr. Rochester's look of native pith and genuine power, and finds that she has no sympathy in their appearance or expression. Sir George, as part of this company, represents the conventional, unreflective world of wealth and station that Jane must navigate but to which she does not belong. His presence, like that of the other guests, serves to heighten the tension between Jane's inner life and the external social order that threatens to separate her from Mr. Rochester.

Narrative Significance

Sir George Lynn is a flat character in Forster's sense, built around a single idea of the bluff, prosperous country gentleman and MP. He has no individual story arc, no surprising depth, and no direct interaction with Jane. His function is structural: he helps populate the social world of Thornfield during the critical period when Jane's love for Mr. Rochester is tested by the apparent courtship of Blanche Ingram, and he provides one more piece of evidence that Mr. Rochester moves in a sphere of wealth, politics, and landed power from which Jane, as a poor governess, is excluded. His presence, along with that of the other guests, creates the crowded, glittering backdrop against which Jane's solitary struggle and eventual triumph of self-respect are measured.