Powerful simplicity

Film School Rejects praises 'The Powerful Simplicity of Cary Joji Fukunaga's 'Jane Eyre''.

From the outset, the film appears to be a simple interpretation without a lot of filmmaking liberties taken. But on second look, Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre is an example of sophisticated cinema masked as simple cinema — just like its protagonist, who is much more complicated than she seems. Indeed, Jane (Mia Wasikowska) appears at first to be an easily decipherable young woman and is often accused of being such. But she turns out to contain unfathomable complexities. [...]

Although Fukunaga adheres to traditional filmmaking styles in his adaptation of Jane Eyre, his approach subtly highlights the most important elements of the story: the independence and budding autonomy of Jane. Perhaps he could have used dialogue to convey this, but, then again, it wasn’t often that women were allowed to speak out of turn back then. It only makes sense, then, that the essence of Jane’s true nature is shown in a way that one might not notice if they are not looking closely. (Aurora Amidon)

Book Riot on Gothic romance:

Ann Radcliffe’s A Sicilian Romance, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: because of them, gothic romance began to be known as a sub-genre. “Her novels featured female protagonists battling through terrifying ordeals while struggling to be with their true loves,” says the New York Public Library about Radcliffe’s work. You might have seen covers of women running out of creepy houses with beautiful flowing dresses in the middle of the night. Who doesn’t want to be haunted by ghosts while also falling in love? You cannot deny that it sounds fascinating.

The gloomy atmosphere surrounding the story will be as important as the house itself. Filled with secrets and mystery, you know that every move could be the last scene of any character. But the setting — the house, the place — is one thing you cannot help but notice immediately. It breathes life into the novel. Almost always in need of care, reflecting the main character’s life, the ominous manor is a fundamental part of how the story will develop. (Silvana Reyes Lopez)

The News (Pakistan) is critical with the government's education policies.

As for the quality of reviews, a publisher narrated several experiences from years past. Review comments are almost never pedagogical in nature. As an example, one time a PCTB official reviewing Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 classic ‘Jane Eyre’ objected to the mention of the word ‘Bible,’ deeming it culturally inappropriate, and demanded it be replaced with the term ‘holy book’. So much for inter-faith harmony, celebration of differences and coexistence. What good can we expect from a review of thousands of textbooks by a bureaucratic machine made of cogs as bigoted as this? (Dr Ayesha Razzaque)

Church Times reports that a Sylvia Plath admirer has been granted permission to be buried near her and also that,

She had also provided detailed instructions for her desired headstone, which was to include the Latin inscription “Resurgam”, meaning “I shall rise again”. Her reason for choosing that, she said, was because that was the inscription that Jane Eyre had inscribed on a tablet that she added to the grave of her friend Helen Burns in Charlotte Brontë’s novel. The Chancellor said that the use of foreign languages on headstones, including Latin, was permitted in Leeds diocese. (Shiranikha Herbert)

ΜΙΚΡΟΠΡΑΓΜΑΤΑ (Greece) features the work of Edmund Dulac and mentions his illustrations of Brontë novels. Rock and Pop (Chile) wonders whether Kate Bush is the reincarnation of Emily Brontë. This priceless theory is reinforced by a picture of Charlotte Brontë with the caption 'Emily Brontë'. Mejor informado (Argentina) discusses women in fiction. Noticias por el mundo (in Spanish) lists both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights among the best 67 books written by women.