When Jane was a child, she was orphaned and sent to live with her uncle. As if this were not tragic enough, she also had to endure her aunt's cruel torment. Eventually, the child was sent to a boarding school but things did not get much better for her. Lowood School was a terribly cold place run by a hypocritical religious instructor. It was there that she met Helen Burns. Like Jane, Helen suffered a miserable life. The two soon became best friends since they both had so much in common. Helen and Jane made each other happy, and their friendship provided Jane with fond childhood memories. 

Although Helen and Jane were alike in many aspects, they were also different in other aspects. Jane was assertive and spoke out against injustice and inequality, in fact, it was those qualities that led to Jane and Helen's introduction. Helen, on the other hand, suffered quietly. Instead of being a sad, pathetic creature, Helen had quiet strength and dignity. There were many things that Jane did not understand about Helen as a child, but as an adult, she could look back and see how wise Helen was. We had to say goodbye to Helen early on in the story, but there is another Helen whose story is not as bleak. 

Helen was a dog who lived a hard life as a stray on the streets of India. When she was found by Animal Aid Unlimited, she was starving, severely dehydrated and suffering from extreme mange. Not only that, but Helen was an elderly dog. This meant that her recovery would be that much harder. As rescuers approached her, Helen could not lift her head to look at them. There was something about her though, a quiet strength that meant she had not given up yet. 

Her condition was horrific, but the rescuers did not want to give up on her. They started by slowly feeding her and giving her antibiotics. Touching her caused immense pain, so they had to be very careful. Slowly, Helen began to get better. Her hair grew back as the mange receded and she put on a healthy amount of weight. It wasn't long before she was running around like a young puppy and playing with other dogs. Helen the dog and Jane's friend were similar in many ways and we know that an adult Jane would have loved Helen the dog.