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Monday, September 25, 2006

Monday, September 25, 2006 9:29 am by M.   4 comments
Yes, that's what the Daily Mail highlights in Jane Eyre:
But the 24-year-old actress - the leading lady in the BBC1 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's famous novel - found herself in agony after being forced to wear a tiny 15-inch waist corset.

Suffering with rashes and skin burn, the drama school graduate had to be issued with a new corset every two weeks.

'Poor Ruth was in constant pain,' said a BBC insider. 'She is naturally a very slender size 10 but the 15-inch corset that wardrobe gave her was simply minuscule and utterly restrictive.

'Three people had to ease her into it every day and she had to breathe in, sucking her stomach in, while someone tied the corset up from behind.

'She could barley move in it, let alone eat or exercise, so Ruth spent the majority of her days on set in absolute agony.

'Several corsets were used during filming to try and relieve her pain but due to reasons of continuity, they all had to be the same, ridiculously small, size.

'She had red marks and painful-looking indents on her ribs and tummy from where the corset had been holding her in all day.

'But Ruth was a real professional - a complete trooper - and didn't once complain.'

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4 comments:

  1. I don't believe it. I've studied historic clothing and such "tight-lacing" (as it was termed then) would have been quite rare. It would have been deemed vain, unpractical, and unhealthy--so not something that Jane would have done! So I don't see why they would do make Ruth wear a ridiculously small corset--this must be a tabloid-ish kind of paper I'm guessing?

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  2. I will believe you if you have studied historic clothing. But in the Victorian Era there was actually some concern for stays and corsets. I remember reading a letter to the newspaper from avery worried father.

    I really don't know but I don't think it was uncommon. It's up to anyone's judgement whether Jane would have worn it so tightly

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  3. That picture is quite provoking...a glimpse of Jane Eyre in a corset in the bedroom..

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  4. Actually, I was just reading about tight-lacing and it WAS a sort of fringe movement. So, I would also consider it doubtful that Jane would participate.

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