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Jane is a friend of Holden’s and his crush, one of the few girls he genuinely respects and admires. Because he thinks so highly of her, Holden is terrified at the possibility that Jane might be as phony as everyone else or that she might reject him. His feelings for her are so intense that the very thought of Stradlater having sex with her contributes to Holden’s decision to leave Pencey because Holden’s intense jealousy provokes the fight with Stradlater. Holden’s care for Jane stems from how he had the opportunity to get to know her as a person over the summer instead of in the context of a date. Thus, he has seen Jane as a unique individual who cares about her dog, plays checkers in a unique manner, and has a difficult home life. However, he understands that Stradlater is only interested in Jane as a girl to go out with. If Jane were to have sex with the popular, conventional Stradlater, it would signify that Jane likes shallow, flashy men. Holden would lose his ideal of Jane as a genuine person and believe he has no chance with her. Thus, Stradlater’s date with Jane becomes extremely threatening to Holden’s psyche.
Holden’s feelings toward Jane combine his desire to protect innocence with his sexual desires. Jane has a difficult home life, with an alcoholic stepfather. Although Jane tells Holden that her stepfather has never sexually assaulted her, Holden appears to doubt whether that’s really the case. Holden also implies in the novel that he has suffered sexual abuse and is particularly sensitive to the importance of protecting children. Thus, Jane is someone Holden can relate to as a victim and offer protection to. However, Holden clearly also has romantic and sexual feelings for Jane. After Jane’s stepfather yells at her, Holden comforts her by holding her and kissing her. Jane doesn’t allow him to kiss her on the mouth, keeping their relationship in an ambiguous space. Similarly, Holden describes Jane holding the back of his neck at the movies as both something intimate and childish. The way Holden and Jane’s relationship never quite becomes sexual mirrors Holden’s complicated feelings toward sex and adulthood. There is both desire and fear to cross that threshold.
