Charlotte Bronte & Jane Eyre

Like Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte put life as she lived it, into her novels. So when you read her biography and one that I especially liked is Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell’s, The Life of Charlotte Bronte, you can see where all her material for Jane Eyre came from.

Charlotte passed away after only a year of the marriage she so wanted when she was young. Her father Reverend Patrick Bronte and her husband Reverend Arthur Bell Nicholls had asked Gaskell if she would write the biography. Charlotte’s friend from her early school days, Ellen Nussey had recommended Ms. Gaskell to them. She wanted the articles written about Charlotte containing falsehoods refuted and felt choosing the right biographer was important. She also knew that Gaskell and Charlotte had been dear friends.

New Jane Eyre

Just when I think we have the utmost performance of Jane Eyre, a new movie version is being released this year. BBC films are introducing Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender in the lead roles. I do hope they put the two hours allotted for the story to good use. We have a good chance of it since it is BBC. Let’s be honest Hollywood CANNOT do the classics as well as the Brits.

The first thing they do is dummy down the language into modern lingo. Guess they don’t believe Americans have the intelligence to understand nineteenth century English. Or the American (plus Kiera Knightly) actors they choose aren’t good enough to speak it. Ack.

I IMDB’d Ruth Wilson and find that she has been doing some good screen work. Hopefully she will break the bad habit of Jane Eyres not going on to film popularity. Also I received comments that the new Jane Eyre is a fine one. I’m so excited that I can hardly wait to see it.

Here is more info from IMDB of Jane Eyres made:
Jane Eyre (1910/I) Jane Eyre (1914/II) The Castle of Thornfield (1915) Woman and Wife (1918)
Jane Eyre (1921) Jane Eyre (1934) Jane Eyre (1943) Sangdil (1952) "Jane Eyre" (1955)
"Jane Eyre" (1956) Jane Eyre (1961) (TV) "Jane Eyre" (1963) Jane Eyre (1968)
Jane Eyre (1970) (TV) "Jane Eyre" (1973) "Jane Eyre" (1983) Jane Eyre (1996)
Jane Eyre (1997) (TV) "Jane Eyre" (2006)

Jane Eyre

These past ten days I’ve been watching the four Jane Eyre DVDs that I have. Timothy Dalton in 1983 may be an old film without modern movie making amenities but his and Zelah Clarke’s acting are superb

Charlotte Gainsbourg gives a sadly wooden performance opposite William Hurt in the 1996 version. I can never tell by looking at her facial expressions just what she is feeling. Jane Eyre must have felt anguish, terror, love, passion, even anger, surely despair. But you never see it in her performance. Alas the film tries to squeeze a long story into a short film. Bah.

Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton do a fine job (Gemma Jones is always fine) in 1997. But the cream of all the depictions is Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson in 2006. Everything about this version is exquisite including the scenery, music and cast.

I can barely watch one without following up with the others, to compare, to critique, to savor the best parts. They are quite unequal dramas trying to tell the basically same story but sadly failing to do so. Each Mr. Rochester is excellent exuding the personality, frustration and agony that pours out from him. All the supporting casts are fulfilling in their portrayals. Alas all the Jane Eyres are not so equal. Three are excellent in my estimation.

Somehow the Mr. Rochesters go on to other leading roles, but the Jane Eyre actors don’t seem to be able to further their careers. What gives with that?

I think it is time to re-read the book again. Like Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte (and her sister’s) books can be read over and over again bringing forth the same enjoyment and actually finding something new that I had not noticed before.