Heroines and the woman question

First of all, we must sadly report that Ruth Wilson lost her ceremony-less Golden Globe award to Queen Latifah (Life Support).

But life in Brontëland goes on. The Washington Post reviews A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry, which is customarily set in Victorian England. According to the reviewer,

Out of this narrative, a question arises: What about those "gentle" women who couldn't or wouldn't get married in the Victorian Age? They were usually doomed either to become governesses (like Jane Eyre) or hang around the houses of their father or brothers, subsisting on a penurious allowance. Both Melisande and Olivia had such an arrangement, living off their brothers, constituting a considerable financial burden. Melisande is evidently willing to marry again, but it's probable that Olivia didn't want to be bothered and lost her life because of it. (Carolyn See)

That is indeed the woman question: a highly debated, though hardly practically approached, matter in 19th century England and one that the Brontës examined at length.

The Chicago Sun-Times reviews another book, The Heroines. A Novel by Eileen Favorite. As the title says, it is a novel but that doesn't stop the author from including heroines from other works of fiction.

In The Heroines, 13-year-old Penny is a feisty, impatient young girl who not only reads the novels that she and her mother, Anne-Marie, keep in the attic of their rangy bed-and-breakfast in the Illinois countryside; she finds herself in a series of uncomfortably close encounters with the lead characters, who regularly, inexplicably appear in the flesh.
From Rapunzel to J.D. Salinger's Franny, the Heroines tend to arrive just after they've suffered romantic disappointments or other setbacks before disappearing back into their stories. Emma Bovary drops by, bemoaning her fate after being dumped by Rodolphe. A wild-eyed Scarlett O'Hara sashays in, as does Catherine from Wuthering Heights. (Anne-Marie is careful not to reveal anything to the Heroines that might alter their fictional fates -- a lesson that Penny learns through trial and error.) [...]
And as a metafiction, The Heroines allows Favorite to spoof the conventions of fairy tales and 19th century women's literature; the prairie around Anne-Marie's house shares distinct characteristics with the moor in Wuthering Heights, while the nearby forest, where Penny first encounters Conor, feels soaked in the mystery and enchantment of the Brothers Grimm. (Kevin Nance)

Jon Robin Baitz has written an article (or several) for The Huffington Post. He likens his prospects to Heathcliff's:

As for me, I'll make more TV, probably not at an old school monolithic network and probably not for a while. But I will make more TV; bet on it. I will make more TV the way Heathcliff came back to Wuthering Heights (without the bad end I hope).

Jane Eyre is still the star of the blogosphere, no doubt about it. Allan Hunter, Berliner Lesezeichen (in German), Ramblings of a romance writing mama all share their views on the novel. While Destination: Sanctification writes about Jane Eyre 2006 ('Outstanding Production!'). Rapport från en luttrad bibliotekarie writes - in Swedish - about Jane Eyre 2006 as well but also lists some Jane Eyre-related books. Jane Eyre 2006 pushed Fabellina to think about 'Eroticism and Classic Literature Adaptations'. And A Fort Made of Books writes about all things Jane Eyre: Jasper Fforde, Charlotte Brontë, film adaptations... Books, Movies, Crafts and More has made a profile of the author of Jane Eyre.

A couple of blogs talk about Wuthering Heights as well: Ramblings of a Librarian Assistant and La Lengua reviews - in Spanish - Artemisa's edition of Cumbres Borrascosas with its Balthus illustrations.

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