Self-destructive Love

The Guardian publishes an obituary of the actress Edith Fellows and talks a bit more about her role in Jane Eyre 1934:

After small roles, usually as orphans, Fellows had the dubious distinction of playing Adele Rochester in Jane Eyre (1934), Monogram studios’ flagrantly unfaithful version of Charlotte Brontë’s novel. To her credit, Fellows managed a reasonable semblance of an English accent (Adele is not French in this adaptation) and makes the most of the extended role playing a little matchmaker between her guardian Edward Rochester (Colin Clive) and Jane Eyre (inappropriately portrayed by glamorous blonde Virginia Bruce). (Ronald Bergan)

Another obituary is published in The Times.

The Wall Street Journal publishes an account of upcoming auctions, including the one at Sotheby's we posted earlier:

Another star example of 19th-century English literature at Sotheby's will be a rare first edition of Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" (1847). This passionate tale of self-destructive love was rejected by reviewers when first published, but went on to become one of the best-selling novels in the English language (estimate: £90,000-£130,000). (Margaret Studer)

The New York Times shows the home of the Pinney-Manning family in Riverdale. A family of Brontëites:

Along with Sophia, 13, the apartment is also home to the couple’s younger daughter, Charlotte, 10, who was named after Charlotte Brontë, the author of “Jane Eyre,” her mother’s favorite novel, and the subject of one of her plays

The play in question is Do Something with Your Life! The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1996).

The Independent summarises of the upcoming Proms season:

My personal tub-thump for a neglected composer who deserved more centenary fuss goes to Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975), who scored most of Alfred Hitchcock's finest films. He wrote plenty of concert music but, because he is "tainted" with cinema, it is rarely performed. A Film Music Prom includes selections from The Man Who Knew Too Much, Citizen Kane, North by Northwest and Psycho. Better than nothing – but couldn't we have heard his opera, Wuthering Heights?

Towleroad insists on Mia Wasikowska's chance to be nominated for the next Academy Awards:

We're still about seven months away from nominations and the only Best Actress contender that's popped up in theatrical release and is mainstream enough for possible traction is Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre. (Nathaniel Rogers)

Chicagoist interviews Marty Rubin, Associate Director of Programming at the Siskel Film Center who says about the 35mm copy of Jane Eyre 2011:

For example, Jane Eyre, which we just played. I wouldn’t dream of showing that film in anything but 35mm. But I’m glad to hear that you like that trend. Over the last year or so we’ve been doing more and more of it. (Rob Christopher)

The Washington Post reviews the book You Know Who You Are by Ben Dolnik:

Sixty years after its publication, “The Catcher in the Rye” still sells around 250,000 copies a year - a testament to enduring appeal of bildungsroman. The engine of its success is the voice of a hip teen talking in taut sentences. Indeed, a bildungsroman needs a strong voice. In one of the earliest English examples of the genre, Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” (1847), Jane’s sense of injustice flames forth on Page One and doesn’t die down until she finally confesses, “Reader I married him.” Charles Dickens added pathos to outrage at wrongful treatment in his “David Copperfield” (1849). Both “Jane Eyre” and “David Copperfield” keep readers reading with plots knotted with secrets, mysteries and coincidences. (Claire Hopley)

About.com reviews The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman:

The young female narrator finally finds escape, with her own insanity (as the mad woman in the attic in Jane Eyre). (Esther Lombardi)

The Montana Standard prints a difficult question for readers of this blog:

Which English woman wrote “Jane Eyre” under the pen name Currer Bell? (Linsay Carlson)

Although we see the point of this Flavorwire article, we still think that Jane Eyre is a very complex character:

Everyone loves “strong female characters.” From Jane Eyre to Veronica Mars, they’re so urgently desired and highly praised that they’ve practically become a brand: tough, intelligent women who can probably both beat you in a physical fight and outsmart you in a battle of wits. What’s not to like? But in an essay for last weekend’s New York Times magazine, Carina Chocano says she’s had enough of them. In fact, she argues, these “tough, cold, terse, taciturn” ladies have become so pervasive that we’re now suffering from a dearth of weak female characters — complex, well-written women who happen to also be meek, feminine, neurotic, or otherwise imperfect. (Judy Berman)

The New York Times' The 6th Floor staff have chosen their favourite books of fiction, including Jane Eyre. Calapitcha reviews the novel in Portuguese. Kay Woodward begins her blog tour promoting Wuthering Hearts on Chicklish (5 top Brontë-tastic things ever), she will be stopping at BrontëBlog next Sunday; litfan posts about Emily Brontë's novel in Hungarian; Reading in Color reviews Cara Lockwood's Wuthering High.

Categories: Brontëana, Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Opera, References, Wuthering Heights