Jane Eyre
John Reed
The bullying cousin
Jane's spoiled older cousin, who tormented her at Gateshead and never grew out of it.
John Reed is the son of Mrs. Reed, a greedy, spoiled boy who can do no wrong in his mother's eyes. He bullies Jane constantly and tells her she has no business to take their books because she is a dependent.
He is cowardly as well as cruel, relying on his mother's protection. He is the cause of the red-room: it begins when he throws a heavy book at Jane's head. He is a picture of what unchecked indulgence can do.
“Take that for your impudence in answering me!”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
John finds Jane hiding behind the window curtain with Bewick's book and says she has no right to it. He throws the book at her and cuts her head. Jane fights back out of desperation, and it is she, not John, who is dragged away and locked up.
Years later, Jane receives news that John has died and that his mother is dying. His story ends in waste.
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