Jane Eyre is about...love

Jane Eyre Paperback Cover by Vintage Classics

I said in an earlier post that one of the best compliments I could give the new film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel Jane Eyre is that it made me want to read it again. So of course, I have been rereading the novel in the past few weeks.
Now, first of all I have to remind my readers that I am not an English major, nor do I profess to be an expert in English lit. I do however have a passion for 19th century English literature.  I also have a passion for seeing said novels well adapted for the screen. And by well adapted, I suppose I mean that I love it when the film transports me to the 19th century and makes me feel what the characters are feeling.

Can you feel the love between Jane and Mr. Rochester?

So, I'll tell you what I've been pondering this week. One of the things I loved about this new Jane Eyre film (other than the glorious scenery and cinematography) is the fact that it really made me think about love.

Jane and the hateful Mr. Brocklehurst

When it shows Jane as a little girl in Mrs. Reed's house in Gateshead, you really feel the lack of love in this little girl's life. When she goes to Lowood School, she feels the first real love she has ever felt from her wonderful friend and school mate, Helen. Heart achingly beautiful...

Thornfield Hall aka Haddon Hall

Of course, by the time she arrives at Thornfield Hall to be a governess to Mr. Rochester's ward Adele, she is looking for a home, a purpose and above all, the love which she now knows is out there somewhere for her. Of course, as we all know, she encounters a few obstacles to that love. After having her true love snatched from her, she is later offered something which was distinctly NOT love by St. John (Sinjun) Rivers. I just love the way she pushes the handsome and persuasive St. John away. She will work her fingers to the bone for him, but she will not marry without love.

Enough of love will follow????!!!!!

"I scorn your idea of love," I could not help saying, as I rose up and stood before him, leaning my back against the rock.  "I scorn the counterfeit sentiment you offer:  yes, St. John, and I scorn you when you offer it."

Rock on Jane!!!!!

Do you see where I am going here? I have to come back to the book to find the words that match up with those amazing images from the film. For me, I cannot have just the book. I cannot have just the film. I need both to be happy and satisfied.

This is what it is to be loved for one's self-
imperfections and all!

So what I have been doing over the past week or so is to reread my favourite parts of the book. This is a bad habit of mine, on a subsequent read, to skip over the parts that I did not enjoy even if they are critical to the plot. I love to read the juicy bits again and again. They meld in my mind with the visuals and music from the film and become one happy thought indeed.

Reader, she married him. And if you would like to read just the juicy bits, I have posted the 3 best chapters as pages on my blog.

First, we have the famous Chapter 27. This is where Jane has found out Mr. Rochester's secret and he is endeavouring to tell her how much she means to him and how he plans to keep her with him always. Sigh...

And then we have the lovely last two chapters. Chapter 37 & 38 describe her return to him and what happened afterward.  If you felt a bit ripped off at the ending of Jane Eyre 2011 and found yourself yearning for Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson from the 2006 miniseries like I did, you may want to read those last two chapters again. Charlotte Bronte will give you what Cary Fukunaga would not. Sigh...


P.S. The entire novel Jane Eyre is online if you need a little love today! Jane Eyre at online-literature.com

Jane Eyre-Absolutely gorgeous!

Jane Eyre Poster-Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench

I had fairly high hopes for this new Jane Eyre film from what I had already read online, but I must say it was still a lovely surprise.  I took The Squire out for his birthday for dinner and a movie. He knew I really wanted to see this one, even though it was his birthday, so we drove into Toronto to see it (about 80 miles). Although I'm sure anyone in England would think we were mad to travel that far for a film, it was well worth it!

Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre

First of all, the theatre we saw it in had what is called UltraAVX. This apparently stands for ultra audio visual experience. Large screen, digital picture, surround sound, comfy rocker seats and reserved seating. What a way to see a film like this. Try to see this film in a movie theatre, even if it isn't UltraAVX, as the feeling of really being in Victorian England has never struck me as it did with Jane Eyre. It just won't be the same at home on a DVD, although it will still be amazing.

Michael Fassbender as Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester

This film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic novel obviously had to be uber condensed, as it is only 115 minutes long. It rarely feels rushed, however. It opens with Jane running away from Thornfield (sort of the middle of the story), runs until the Rivers family have nursed her back to health and then flashes back to her childhood with the loathsome Reed family. It continues to the dank Lowood School and follows her to Thornfield Hall and her Mr. Rochester (and then back to the Rivers' and beyond). So it rather goes middle-beginning-middle-end, and this works really well to get you involved in the story quickly. I was blinking back tears within minutes of the film starting, which is usually an end-of-film kind of thing. Actually, I was alternately crying and laughing (yes there are a few wonderful funny bits) through the whole film.

Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax and Mia Wasikowska as Jane

The photography of Haddon Hall and the moors is breathtaking and really makes this an emotional film. I would have to say that the visuals and the emotion or "heart" in this version are what really struck me. There is wonderful acting in all the parts, including the most heart-breaking Helen and young Jane pair, and the best Adelle ever (constantly chattering in perfect French). The only real Yorkshire accents unfortunately were on the amazing little girls playing Helen and young Jane, which rather underscored for me how in and out the adult actors were with theirs. Sorry, but I notice these things. Kudos also to Judi Dench who is perfection as Mrs. Fairfax and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot all grown up with whiskers) is very compelling as Jane's "other man", St. John (Sinjun).

Mr. Rochester and Jane in love...

It was only at the very end that I was pining for Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson. If you grafted on the ending of the 2006 miniseries, and captured a bit of their chemistry too, this version would be hard to beat. But there will never be perfect adaptations of our favourite novels, will there? Lots to love in this one, so enjoy. And I think one of the best compliments I could give this film is that it makes me really want to reread the novel.  And isn't that really what it's all about?



I am feeling rather naughty today, so I am going to add this hilarious "fake" commercial which was uploaded onto Youtube a while ago. It is hilarious but it is rather loud, so turn the sound down if you're not alone!