More Brontës in Pakistan

Some months ago, the Brontë Parsonage Blog published an article where Richard Wilcocks interviewed Wali Aslam, a Pakistani member of the Brontë Society. He said:

"The Brontës are popular in Pakistan, I think. They are loved there, partly because we live in a 'Victorian' society there, in which women have limited opportunities, where health care is poor and where social status matters a lot. So we relate to the world of the Brontës.

Today, the Brontë news seems to agree with him because there are focused in Pakistan:

The Pakistan Daily Times publishes an article with the memories of the old Lahore by Urdu writer A. Hamid. He explains this anecdote:

I remember the release at Plaza Cinema of the movie Jane Eyre, starring Orsan Wells [sic]. Our actor friend’s review of the movie I can never forget. According to him Jane Eyre was a love story like Heer Ranjha, Laila Majnu and Sohni Mahniwal. “But the director is a fool, he has failed to film the most effective scene from the novel,” he announced.

When we asked how, he declared, throwing out both arms, “When Jane is trapped inside a burning house, her lover Eyre comes running, calling her name. ‘Jane, Jane, my love where are you?’ Jane, who is already half consumed by the flames, replies, ‘Eyre, Eyre, here I am my love.’” Of course, there is no such scene in the novel but the intensity with which our friend played it out was so effective that many of us were overcome.

Jane and her lover Eyre ? That's really something new. This suggests a scholar study of Freudian-protolesbian-dissociative aspects of the novel... at least.

From Lahore to Karachi, where the author of this article is looking for old books without luck until...

Suddenly, on my right, I spotted an antique-looking hardbound with a dirty green cloth cover. It was Wuthering Heights! I took it out and flipped through its yellowed pages. Yes, it smelled nice and looked romantic. Blood rushed into my head. Heart started palpitating, hands shivered, eyes twitched and cheeks reddened. I attempted to conceal my excitement from the gentleman. These booksellers are shrewd people. What if he sensed my excitement and hiked up the price.

But oh! The book was published in 1964. It was not old. (Mayank Austen Soofi on BlogCritics)

And as the Monty Python would say... now for something completely different. The Lady Of The Lake has published some High Resolution pictures of the last Jane Eyre aired by the BBC. We love the one with Jane hands-in-hips and defiant look.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights