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Diana and Mary Rivers are Jane’s cousins, although the three are not aware that they are related when they first meet. They are both kind, intelligent, and independent young women who welcome Jane into their home and their lives at a time when Jane needs it most. They provide a loving sanctuary for her which gives her time to heal after the ordeal with Mr. Rochester and Bertha Mason. The two sisters are especially important to Jane because they provide a new type of companionship that Jane has never experienced before. Though she's had a few positive female influences throughout her life, they have all been superior to her in some way: Bessie was much older than she, Miss Temple was her teacher, and Mrs. Fairfax concealed the true nature of Mr. Rochester’s past. Jane’s easy friendship with Diana and Mary is different because the Rivers sisters (two poor, young, orphaned governesses) are Jane’s equals. Jane blossoms under the loving cultivation of their friendship—so much so that she summons the gall to reject St. John’s marriage proposal. It is, after all, Diana who urges Jane not to accompany St. John on his missionary trip to India because it’s clear he considers her merely a tool to aid his great cause. Jane decidedly did not lack conviction or morals before she met Diana and Mary. However, her friendship with the Rivers sisters carves out a safe and feminine space for Jane to strengthen her resolve so that she can best assert her agency over the many men in the text who seek to control her.
