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Miss Maria Temple is the superintendent at Lowood school. She is described as being a fashionable, pretty young woman who is “full of goodness.” Miss Temple is an important part of Jane’s development from childhood to adulthood because she (alongside Bessie) is the first positive female role model in Jane’s life. Miss Temple clearly does not agree with Mr. Brocklehurst’s tyrannical methods and does everything in her power to make life better for Jane and the other Lowood girls. For example, she tries to stop Mr. Brocklehurst from cutting the girls’ curls, she orders them bread and cheese when she discovers the Lowood food to be inedible, and she tries to reassure Jane that she will not be punished after Mr. Brocklehurst yells at her for accidentally breaking a slate. She also takes a special interest in Jane and Helen Burns because they are both sweet children who are consistently mistreated. Most importantly, Miss Temple believes Jane when she says that Mrs. Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst have slandered her good character. She even goes so far as to publicly clear Jane’s name in front of the entire school. This is a pivotal moment for our young heroine; her word is trusted and believed for the first time in her life. Until meeting Miss Temple, Jane had lived a life of abuse and neglect. Her traumatic experiences caused her to become bitter and disheartened with the world around her. However, Miss Temple’s kindness fosters an oasis for Jane which allows her the safety to develop and grow into an intelligent and principled young woman. It is no surprise, then, that an older Jane characterizes Miss Temple as her replacement “mother” or “governess.”
