Jane's inclination towards reading was a cause...

Jane Eyre is a character of great complexity. She is not a heroine in the literal sense of that word. She is definitely not of the gregarious, socialising type and she is not averse to loneliness as she has been subjected to it, all her life. In this instance, an incident of great rarity happens, as Jane initiates the conversation. We later come to know that this character has an essential role to play in Jane’s life and influences her greatly. The cause for the conversation, I believe, is none other than Jane’s inclination towards reading. People who love to read are always on the lookout for a new book. Helen Burns’s (for such was the name of the stranger) book had a rare intriguing title (Rasselas) which aroused Jane’s interest and she was already thinking of borrowing it. This need could not be met unless a conversation was initiated. In Jane’s own words (as found in Chapter 5), “I hardly knew where I found the hardihood... for I too, liked reading, though of a frivolous and childish kind”. The conversation after this tells us that Jane is a very inquisitive child. She is strange in that she does not solely think of food and shelter like a normal 10 year old but also about who owns the institution she is studying at and other such details. She is also eager to find out Burns’s opinions, to lay ground, to form her own opinions. Though not a conversationalist by nature, we find that once Jane ventures to talk, she is not bothered about the other person’s discomfort but only about quenching her own curiosity.