Miriam is the character who represents Helen from Jane Eyre. She parallels her double from the hypotext in that she is sympathetic to Gemma, sweet, and upstanding even though she isn't treated very fairly by authority figures either. The most significant parallel is that, like Jane loses Helen, Gemma loses Miriam, which forces upon her the awful truth that "everyone [she] had ever loved had died" (Livesey 111). 

This death, like that of the mother, father, and uncle figures is also tweaked to be different from its mirror in Jane Eyre. Since this story takes place in the 20th century, Miriam's death is attributed to complications with asthma rather than consumption. Another difference is that Miriam is the only student to die. There is not typhus outbreak at Claypoole. 

The most memorable part of Jane and Helen's friendship is preserved in the hypertext though-- like Jane and Helen before them, Gemma and Miriam are found in bed together. In the morning, only Gemma wakes and Miriam is found dead beside her. 

Livesey, Margot. The Flight of Gemma Hardy: a Novel. HarperPerennial, 2013.