Jane Eyre in Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Angel's Game

The Angel's Game, the "prequel" to Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind, was recently published in Spanish. A few weeks ago, the Spanish newspaper El Periódico de Aragón interviewed the author and asked him,

--Los referentes literarios abundan en sus novelas. En esta, junto a Fausto, sobresalen Dickens, Jane Eyre y una mezcla de terror entre Le Fanu y Stephen King.
--Sí, hay mucha novela gótica del XIX. Me gusta horrores. Además de Le Fanu, me encantan las historias de fantasmas de Maupassant. Son oscuras y fascinantes. Y hay referencias a la novela fantástica contemporánea, no solo Stephen King, miles de lecturas que me ayudan a dinamitar los tópicos esnobs que obligan a citar solo a tótems. (Ricard Ruiz Garzón)

- Literary references abound in your novels. In this one we have found traces of Faustus, Dickens, Jane Eyre and a sort of terror similar to Le Fanu's and Stephen King's.
- Yes, there is plenty from the 19th-century Gothic novel. I like it a lot. Apart from Le Fanu, I adore Maupassant's ghost stories, which are dark and fascinating. There are other references to the contemporary fantastic novel, not just Stephen King. Lots of them that help me bring down the snob stereotypes which would have you quote only from literary totems.

We thought it was alright, just one more author confessing to liking Jane Eyre in a rather tangential way. But it turns out that bits of the novel are actually highly reminiscent of Jane Eyre. Perhaps even more so than your typical 'this novel reminded me of Jane Eyre' book review. To the point that Carlos Ruiz Zafón can't even hide it. What follows is an actual dialogue from the book:

-[...] Pero no más mando y ordeno, ni más numeritos a lo mister Rochester.
- Lo que usted diga, miss Eyre.
- Y no se haga ilusiones, porque no me voy a casar con usted aunque se quede ciego. (p. 343)

'[...] But no more ruling and commanding, and no more Mister Rochester-like behaviour'.
'As you wish, Miss Eyre'.
'And don't keep your hopes up, because I won't marry you even if you become blind'.

That was really nice. And then later, towards the end of the book, someone signs as letter as Mr Rochester too.

Categories: Books, Jane Eyre, References