I am so glad you are come; it will quite pleasant living here now with a companion. To be sure it is pleasant at any time; for Thornfield is a fine old hall, rather neglected of late years perhaps, but still it is a respectable place; yet you know in winter time, one feels dreary quite alone, in the best quarters. I say alone – Leah is a nice girl to be sure, and John and his wife are very decent people; but then you see they are only servants, and one can’t converse with them on terms of equality: one must keep them at due distance, for fear of losing one’s authority.
– Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre, Chapter 11. The kindly Mrs. Fairfax greets Jane warmly when she arrives to Thornfield Hall to take up her new position of governess. But the head housekeeper and household manager confesses that in winter she feels quite alone in Thornfield, as she unable to converse with the servants because of compromising her authority. So Mrs. Fairfax is pleased to have a companion in Jane that she can socialize with.