Jane's Inadequate Footwear

The Film-inspired holidays series of The Guardian takes a look at costume drama, particularly Jane Austen and Bath. Tanya Gold nevertheless adds a couple of Jane Eyre references:

The problem with the costume drama holiday is that, in the books that inspire them, no one really goes anywhere. In fact, a journey is usually an indication that some terrible fate will befall you. (...)
Jane Eyre herself was evacuated from the Yorkshire moors because she went walking in inadequate footwear. The message for the costume drama heroine seeking a holiday is really – don't go.I suppose you could lock yourself in an attic, like the first Mrs Rochester in Jane Eyre, and come out only to bite your husband and set fire to his bed. But that is not really a holiday, even if it feels like one.

We read in The Hindu about a recent event linking together Indian dances and the Brontës. As part of the Sangeet Natak Akademi's Desh Parva Festival of Performing Arts of India.

Kulvarnika
Commonwealth Literature in performance
Geeta Chandran
Venue - Sangeet Natak Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi
7th October 2010

Then there was Bharatanatyam dancer Geeta Chandran who took up three poems by British poets, masterfully read out by Rajiv Chandran. Who would have thought of William Blake's “The Tyger" decked up with mridangam jatis, powerful postures, mudras and ankle bells? Kul Varnika brought all that and more into Geeta's imagination. If she could pull that off, the other poems, “First Love” by John Clare and “Evening Solace” by Charlotte Brontë, fit easily into her classical repertoire that celebrates love (shringar), longing and memory. (Anjana Rajan)

Joe Queenan writes in The Globe and Mail about short stories but makes a passing reference to how he read Jane Eyre:

I have now returned to meatier, weightier tomes like Cousin Bette and Moby-Dick. They provide an entirely different kind of pleasure, because now I open a book knowing that it will be my trusty companion for several days, perhaps several weeks. (When I was reading Don Quixote for the first time a few years ago, I refused to come to the phone for about six weeks. I did the same with Jane Eyre.)

The Khalej Times (India) misses completely the point when it criticises kitsch and camp stories about childhood and calls them "Emily Brontë piffle". There are many things you can call Emily Brontë's prose and poetry but 'corny' is one of the few altogether wrong.

North Texas e-News describes The Curse of Castle Mongrew by Roger Downey as a

Brontë style saga with a dose of The Adams Family.

Trashionista reveals another Brontëite, writer Marta Acosta:

Who is your favourite heroine?
I think it has to be Jane Eyre. She's so determined and quiet, but she can also be passionate and heartbreaking. I love the scene where she tells Mr. Rochester, "Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless?--You think wrong!"

WCCO selects a top ten of zombie movies. Including I Walked with a Zombie 1943:

Elegance, grace, romance, exoticism. These are not qualities shared by any of the other films on this list and, as such, this is probably not going to win many fans among those tearing their faces off with makeup while getting blotto along the West Bank. But if you want to see one of the most ethereal horror movies ever made, check out Jacques Tourneur and Val Lewton's downright poetic unofficial adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. (Come to think of it, this movie all but invalidates the entire series of zombified Jane Austen books everyone's reading these days.) (Eric Henderson)

Robert Crampton writes a column in The Times with the title 'Beta Male' which has a funny Brontë reference:

The rest of us stay on, eventually suffering the indignity of being asked to quieten down by our hostess’s teenage children, who point out they’ve got school in the morning and a bunch of drunk people – old drunk people – cavorting to Wuthering Heights in the kitchen isn’t conducive to their getting any sleep.

Once again the Brazilian film Como Esquecer is reviewed on AdoroCinema:

Repleto de divagações e mergulhos mais cerebrais, com direito a citações de Virginia Woolf e Emily Brontë, o filme carece de ritmo (poderia ser mais curto) e a narrativa verborrágica é salva, felizmente, pela interpretação convincente de Rosa e o humor do personagem.  (Roberto Cunha) (Microsoft translator)

Le Point (France) reviews the French translation of Montana 1948 by Larry Watson:

Dans un Montana désolé, niché entre les paysages envoûtants des livres de Jim Harrison et les landes sauvages de ceux d'Emily Brontë, un jeune héros (et narrateur) devient grand, un peu trop tôt. (Marine de Tilly) (Microsoft translation)

TheaterParadijs (Netherlands) reviews the Oisterwijk production of Jane Eyre. The Musical:

Jane vertelt haar verhaal aan het publiek in de zaal, beginnend vanaf het begin en met de kleine Jane. Dit levert mooie momenten op, mede door het spel van de kleine Jane en haar vriendin Helen, gespeeld door Suzanne Vugs. Zij weet met het mooie lied “Vergeving” de mensen te ontroeren. Er zijn meerdere vertellers, zij zijn in het zwart gekleed en vertellen het verhaal van Jane mee. Dit geeft een extra intensiteit aan de wat grimmige sfeer, die door de mooie belichting ook erg goed tot uiting komt. Complimenten voor de cast, die als een geheel een mooie voorstelling op de planken brengt. Maar ook voor regisseur André van Hest, die de musical tot een prachtig totaalplaatje heeft weten te maken. (Marit van Eisden) (Microsoft translation)

Justine Picardie posts an interesting article about Emily Brontë's hawk: Hero; Spoof Times runs a story which mentions Wuthering Heights; Welcome To My Blog! and Erika Breathes Books have both rave reviews of April Lindner's Jane; a Brontëite who is also a volunteer in the Books for Troops campaign in The Times-Union and another one, the Czech politician Štěpánka Fraňková interviewd on Pardubický Deník; The Daily Gleaner opens this article with an Emily Brontë quote; Sharon Schock Daily Paintings shares a work in progress for a book cover for Wuthering Heights; Nerds, idiotas e algo mais (in Portuguese) talks about Jane Eyre; Words from Willow posts about Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Books, Dance, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Poetry, Theatre, Wuthering Heights