Rochester's Identikit

Let's open this Saturday newsround with a Rochester identikit picture. The Composites creates "images (...) using law enforcement composite sketch software and descriptions of literary characters".  The right hand side portrait uses the following description:

Mr. Rochester, his foot supported by the cushion; he was looking at Adèle and the dog: the fire shone full on his face.  I knew my traveller with his broad and jetty eyebrows; his square forehead, made squarer by the horizontal sweep of his black hair.  I recognised his decisive nose, more remarkable for character than beauty; his full nostrils, denoting, I thought, choler; his grim mouth, chin, and jaw—yes, all three were very grim, and no mistake.  His shape, now divested of cloak, I perceived harmonised in squareness with his physiognomy…My master’s colourless, olive face, square, massive brow, broad and jetty eyebrows, deep eyes, strong features, firm, grim mouth.

Flavorwire talks about these portraits (and thinks that this Rochester is a quite a Javier Bardem lookalike) and FemPop Magazine is quite shocked with Rochester:

We all have our personal favorite Mr. Rochester (sup Michael Fassbinder you potentially spouse abusing dude you), but what happens when you take Brontë’s description of the dour dude who stores crazy wives in the attic and put it into the same software that the police use to build composite sketches of suspects? You get this guy! He's a bowl cut away from murdering people in No Country For Old Men. I bet your sex feelings for him have puttered out now eh? Mine too. (Alex Cranz)

The press releases of Andrea Clarke's book Love Letters: 2000 years of romance, edited by the British Library, mentioning the letters of Charlotte Brontë to M. Heger have generated some regular articles (The Daily Beast) and a lot of very funny ones mainly in the foreign press (we love the soap opera tone of ABC's "El amor prohibido de Charlotte Brontë" (The forbidden love of Charlotte Brontë) but arguably the best one is Télam's "Publican las cartas que la autora de Cumbres Borrascosas escribió a un amor prohibido" (Forbidden love letters by the author of Wuthering Heights published). The Telegraph has also something to say, not so funny we are afraid:

There is one of Charlotte Brontë’s love letters, written in French to a married professor. His wife retrieved the missive from a bin and stitched it back together after her husband had torn it up. (Anne Sebba)

Rachel Ward chooses Esther Summerson from Bleak House as her favourite Dickens character in The Telegraph and mentions Charlotte Brontë's comments about the character:

Charlotte Brontë may have described her as “weak and twaddling,” but she’s the only woman that Dickens allows a pen and he brilliantly projects Esther as his type of ideal woman, with her modesty, perceptiveness, and moral responsibility.

The Times lists the 100 more relevant names in British cinema:

Andrea Arnold Writer, director. The children’s TV presenter turned writer-director has applied her bleak naturalism to modern urban dramas (Red Road, Fish Tank) and Brontë’s moors (Wuthering Heights). She is currently developing a Chicago police comedy series for HBO called Dirty.

The Daily Post's tips for Valentine's Day are a very frightening thing:

Whether you’re inspired by Emily Bronte or Robert Browning, try penning a masterpiece to woo a potential lover. On the pretty Greek island of Skyros and under the tutelage of distinguished writers, you get the chance to indulge your creative side surrounded by idyllic landscapes and friendly people. If you don’t find the perfect partner, you will at least be well equipped to woo. (Sarah Gordon)

But we have more Valentine stuff around:
Hi-Desert Live:

The five best romantic novels for people who hate romance, according to Michelle Kerns of Examiner.com: 1. “Persuasion” by Jane Austen. 2. “The Scarlet Pimpernel” by Baroness Orczy. 3. “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë. 4. "Menfreya in the Morning” by Victoria Holt. 5. “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. 

CNews:

Still, I imagine that Harlequin novels have become a little more liberally sprinkled with overt phraseology--since the days when your mother's heart might have pitter-pattered at the idea that Heathcliff would clutch her to his bosom.
Sadly, this report revealed that modern-day Heathcliffs are an extinct breed. For 75 percent of women thought their dating life duller than a New Jersey lake in February. (Chris Matyszczyk)

The Guardian:

So which writer has taught me most? Is it John Donne with his precise yet violent collisions between time and desire? Or Montaigne for whom friendship reigns supreme? Or Jane Austen with her girl meets boy tales and that romance of a marital happily-ever-after so thoroughly grounded in the realities of property? Was it Emily Brontë, with her wild dreams of twinship with Byronic Heathcliff? (Lisa Appignanesi)

Also in The Guardian a Valentine's literary quiz:

In Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Jane assumes that Mr Rochester holds affections for one particular woman. She turns out to be totally wrong! Who is this lady?
Mrs Fairfax
Blanche Ingram
Diana Rivers
Mary Rivers (Alexander Blackman)

Shore News Today:

Great Romantic Movies: Wuthering Heights. The great Laurence Olivier had one of his finest roles as Bronte’s brooding, debonair hero, Heathcliff, who conquers the world just to win the heart of his beloved, Cathy Earnshaw. Alas, it doesn’t work out quite as planned. A real weeper, rich in ambience, with a superb performance by Merle Oberon as Cathy. 

Naperville Patch:

Jane Eyre: Another tragic love story that despite the tragedy does come to fruition. (Mary Ann Lopez)

International Business Times makes a top ten of romantic books:

Wuthering Heights.  Today, when critics take up Emily Brontë’s masterpiece, much of the conversation centers of two pivotal points – the geographical setting for the story (the wild, untamed, harsh and oftentimes angry moors) and the character of the protagonist – Heathcliff. Indeed, so wonderfully are each of the two reflected in the other that sometimes you forget, just occasionally, about the romance and heartache in the plot. Wuthering Heights is not a straightforward love story…. In fact, it isn’t even really a love story. It is a mixture of romance and revenge and why it is special is because of the heart-rending intensity of each.
Jane Eyre: Yes… yes… we have another Brontë on the list. It is, perhaps fortunately, a rarity that the world sees such literary brilliance manifest itself thrice in the same generation of a single family. The Brontë sisters – Emily, Charlotte and Anne (a poet but whose literary works include “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”, a wonderful read in its own right) – have written and painted with an inimitable style. The realities of a hard life (their two elder sisters, Maria, 11, and Elizabeth, 10, died in 1825 of tuberculosis) and the harsh Yorkshire moors that were their home, coupled with incisive minds resulted in a series of novels, each better than the last. Jane Eyre is about a female protagonist that women from all walks of life have found profoundly moving for over a century… a heroine that must ultimately choose between her desire to be with the man she loves and the morals that form the core of her character.

Ramona Sentinel recommends Jane Eyre 2011 for Valentine's Day.

The Globe and Mail asks readers about the most erotic passage they have read:

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre contains the most erotic passage ever written in English literature. It's the exchange between Jane and Mr. Rochester when she must leave to tend to her ailing Aunt Reed, who lives 100 miles away from Thornfield. Mr. Rochester doesn't want her to go. They negotiate terms: money, how long she will be away etc. There is no physical contact between them – just words, spoken and unspoken – and body language, but it's a powerful description of how they long for each other. Gives me shivers each and every time I read it. (Laurie Glen Norris, Fredericton)

The Yorkshire Post talks about the boom in tourism experienced in the region:

Yorkshire has seen a huge increase in tourists from overseas last year after launching a major international marketing campaign across Europe and the Far East. (...)
Andrew McCarthy, the director of the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth said that it has seen eight per cent increase in visitors in the past year. He said the international acclaim of the Brontë’s meant Haworth pulled tourists from around the world – especially from the United States and Japan.

The Brontë Parsonage also appears in this chart in the New York Times about "quests, destinations and quixotic journeys (see right hand side) (by Charles Wilson. Illustrations by David Sparshott).

Michael Glitz lists in The Huffington Post the best albums of 2011:

Dario Marianelli with Jack Liebeck.  Jane Eyre soundtrack (the year's best traditional score) (...) The score for the fine remake of Jane Eyre is the best orchestral score of the year.

Miguel Juan Payán Blog reviews the soundtrack in Spanish.


According to Stereogum, Chairlift's vocalist, Catherine:

Caroline has a great voice for covers (request her incredible “Wuthering Heights” next time you see her. (amrit)

The Odessa American tells a story about a local retired teacher:

I’m making my debut — my very first day of teaching in my hometown, situated on the moors of West Texas. (See Brontë, Emily.)
I had been given a textbook called Adventures in Appreciation published by Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich. Clutching that book as a baby clutches the blanket with the satin lining, I walk into my classroom and fall in love — with the book.
(I’ll bet you thought I was going to say the local version of Heathcliff wearing cowboy boots was there waiting for me, but I fooled you, didn’t I?) (Charelna Chandler)

The Scotsman reviews Little Bones by Janette Jenkins:

As any reader of Dickens, Brontë or Hardy can testify, Victorian literature can be as violent as it is verbose and as gritty as it is grand, qualities that Janette Jenkins replicates in her latest novel. (Rebecca Monks)

El Correo Vasco (Spain) reviews the film One Day:

Especialmente recomendada para los lectores/espectadores de lágrima fácil, 'One day' es la alternativa perfecta para el público que no tolera la extrema crueldad de dramas post-mortem como el descrito por Emily Brontë en 'Cumbres borrascosas'.  (Josu Eguren) (Translation)

Página 12 (Argentina) reviews the film The Woman in Black:

La melancolía, el duelo, la presencia de la muerte como halo fatídico se hacen presentes ya en la secuencia de presentación, en la que Radcliffe –tan pálido y ojeroso como Heathcliff, el casi homófono protagonista de Cumbres borrascosas– prueba, durante la afeitada matutina, apoyar la navaja sobre el cuello y hacer una ligera presión. (Horacio Bernades) (Translation)

El Faro de Vigo (Spain) has an article about the Fortes family which includes several writers:

Hace unos ocho años todos viajaron a York. "Alquilamos un bungalow y después cada uno llega cuando quiere o cuando puede, fuimos a varios sitios siguiendo la obra de Emily Brönte (sic) y sobre todo del Tristram Shandy de Laurence Sterne y para mi fue toda una sorpresa, una Inglaterra que no conocía, la continuación de El Quijote en cierto modo, además Susana había leído Cumbres Borrascosas y todo eso así que nos decidimos a recorrer los páramos. Y las noches se dedicaron siempre a los debates literarios". (Translation)

We wonder if the Hungarian distributor that has chosen February 14 as the opening night for Wuthering Heights 2011 in Hungary has actually seen the film. Origo filmklub has free tickets for the premiere.

Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden) reviews Voix by Linda Lê:

Situationen är minst sagt välbekant, den är en tillspetsning av Schlinks ”Högläsaren”, Nabokovs ”Skratt i mörkret” och, naturligtvis, ”Jane Eyre” där priset för kärlekslycka också är blindhet. (Agneta Ullenius) (Translation)

Göteborgs-Posten  (Sweden) reviews the Adriano recording of Bernard Herrmann's Jane Eyre soundtrack. A very bad review:

Självlärde dirigenten Adriano har inget efternamn men har spelat in ett mängd skivor för Naxos. Här har han alltså slarvat betydligt med urfin musik som förtjänar bättre.
Han låter tuttistråket klara sig bäst de kan, och de kan de inte. Han låter falska horn slinka igenom nålsögat som borde vara hans eget. Så synd på en skiva som för första gången kommer med hela Herrmanns soundtrack, utan bortklippta snuttar.
Dessutom låter inspelningen som om den är gjord med en mick längst bort i en väldigt långsmal konsertlokal där orkestern gömt sig i andra änden. (Hanna Höglund) (Translation)

The New Jersey Star-Ledger confirms that Wuthering Heights 2011 will be at the Filmmakers Symposium’s Arthouse Film Festival (starting March 5); HitFix thinks that Jane Eyre 2011 will win the Costume Desing BAFTA tomorrow; the artist Amanda White is 'revisiting' the Brontë Parsonage in winter; Jactherat-Ephemera, lies & chocolate recommends Wuthering Heights for Valentine's Day; Savidge Reads discusses her top Victorian readings, including Emily Brontë's novel; Cabo Kennet (in Spanish) posts about Jane Eyre; Falaise Lynnaenne (in French) reviews Wuthering Heights;  Here, There & Everywhere has not understood that Lucasta Miller's The Brontë Myth was not a biography about the Brontës but a book about the biographies on the Brontës; Sylire (in French) reviews Becoming Jane Eyre by Sheila Kohler.