Jane Eyre on a day like today

Widely ranging news today concerning Jane Eyre.

Let's take a look at the novel itself first. Osiris Jones tells of her first encounter with Jane and Mr Rochester.

Firstly, I have to say, Jane is infinitely superior to Elizabeth Bennett and Marianne Dashwood. She intelligent, sincere, and she can stick to her guns. Furthermore, she's not nearly as simpering or self depricating as many of the female leads that might be considered her contemporaries. I appreciated her defiance and spirit. I had a few initial issues with Mr. Rochester, in that I didn't think him a terribly attractive male lead with regards to personality, but that worked itself out eventually, mostly. Additionally, there were more than a few passages I felt the need to stop and mark for their beauty. Many people criticize the book for being overly verbose, but I suspect that those people probably don't like to read outside the realm of Dan Brown.

We like many things from this paragraph, but we don't agree with jane being superior - or inferior for that matter - to Austen's heroines. Like people, they're simply different and their purpose as characters as well as their backgrounds are totally different too.

Jane Eyre has inspired countless authors. We don't know what will become of this project mentioned in the Weatherford Democrat - something good hopefully - but it sounds promising.

[Sheila Kohler] is now at work on a novel about the Brontës, centered around the writing of Jane Eyre. “Part of the beauty of fiction is that you’re able to take a story and instill it with a truth that goes deeper than the facts,” Kohler said.

Hopefully that 'truth' won't be far-fetched or out of character.

Trashionista interviews author Rowan Coleman, who is asked about her favourite heroine and replies,

Jane Eyre, passionate, fiery go-getting and brave and all in crinoline! A woman (and a writer) way ahead of her time.

And now for the latest screen version, which is reviewed on Risky Regencies by Elena Greene.

Over the two nights we also viewed the recent adaptation of Jane Eyre starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. I loved it. Ruth Wilson has this elastic face that can look plain, otherworldly, even beautiful at various times which is perfect for the character of Jane. Toby Stephens is the best Rochester of any I've seen (I rather liked Timothy Dalton but did not care for William Hurt in the role at all).
Purists have had several problems with this adaptation. They've objected to some of the simplified dialogue. I'm not a purist; I would rather they make these stories accessible to people who have trouble with the language in a 19th century novel. I also can't see how many of the rather long-winded speeches Rochester makes in the book would translate on film. I didn't notice anything anachronistic and I also recognized many of Charlotte Bronte's most brilliant bits of dialogue.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV