Wednesday Creatives: The Autobiography of Jane Eyre

Happy Wednesay!

It's a busy one for me.  Lots of important meetings at work (one of those big-girl-outfits type days).  And tonight I'm packing up because tomorrow after work I leave for Leakycon!  That's right, I'll be down in Portland to attend a convention featuring The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Cast & Crew.  I'll be attending their writers' panel as well as an "extravaganza" with the whole group.  Fingers-crossed that I meet some of these amazing people :)

But speaking of the LBD, adaptations, transmedia, and really cool things...I've been meaning to introduce you all to another adaptation inspired by the LBD's efforts: The Autobiography of Jane Eyre.

Let me just start by saying this web series is as different from the LBD as the books which inspired them.  Lizzie Bennet filmed in specific, "controlled," indoor settings using a tripod and with fairly polished editing.  This fits with not only the pretense of her being a mass communications grad student, but also within Austen's orderly presentation of her narrative.  Jane Eyre, on the other hand, often shoots with a handheld, frequently outdoors, and is admittedly awkward.  But this is also in-line with her character - and the story to come.  I mean, I know they were worried about the house, but none of us could imaging Lizzie becoming homeless. 

So to reiterate - if you embark on The Autobiography of Jane Eyre, expect something wholly different from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries!

But expect something awesome none the less.

So now, let me brag a bit about about the project. AOJE is the creation of current and recently graduated students in the Vancouver, BC area.  They currently have a cast of 6 and a crew of 8 - which blows my mind! 

The actress who plays Jane, Alysson Hall, is also the show's co-creator and one of the writers.  And she plays a brilliant Jane!  By the time you get to the 2nd episode, you'll know what I'm talking about.  The level of emotion emanating from her astounded me.

Her Jane is just as passionate and introspective as Bronte's character.  And like the Jane of the novel, there is something beautiful about her person.

Ok, and you might be wondering "How have they adapted ________?"  Well, without giving too much away, I can say that in AOJE, Jane is the live-in Tutor for Adele Rochester, who's father E. Rochester owns a company called Thornfield Exports.  If you're thinking, Jane's life is so much more than Thornfield - yes, it is!  And they've adapted that through stories about her life incorporated into the vlogs.

But, speaking of Thornfield.......... Rochester.  Well, as of writing this, we've had 12 episodes, he has been introduced, and he is definitely Rochester!  Rough.  Harsh.  Careless.  Pensive.  Regretful.  He's a fan of GoT and  he has a tattoo!  As soon as I saw that I thought, "Yes!  Rochester of 2013 would totally have a tattoo."  Oh, and don't worry, Pilot is also in this adaptation. 



[Please note the tatoo on the left forearm... :]

Another thing I appreciate about the adaptation is that it situates itself within the same universe as LBD without the need to reference it all the time.  According to Jane, she was inspired to embark on this project after watching Lizzie's vlogs.  In real life,  the creators of AOJE contacted Bernie Su to make sure they wouldn't conflict with any upcoming projects "Pemberly Digital" has on its plate.  Like the LBD, these creators have embraced transmedia across youtube, tumblr, twitter, pinterest, facebook, instagram, and multiple websites.

So, if this peaks your interest, you can start here with Episode 1.  I'd encourage you to stick with it for a few episodes.  When it feels home-made or awkward - it's supposed to.  That's part of Jane's character.  And I'll vouch for the fact that it gets really good!

You can subscribe to their youtube channel for new episodes every Wednesday at 9 am.  Follow them on twitter @TheAoJEOfficial or Jane (on twitter & insta) @eyrequotes and start to explore the world of Jane Eyre retold in our present day.



[1847 title page]



[2013 vlog]



International Women's Day

A few quotes from some favorite ladies in celebration of International Women's Day -


"I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives." - Jane Austen

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment..." - Jane Austen - cheeky, but true ;)


“As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.” - Virginia Woolf

"Blame it or praise it, there is no denying the wild horse in us.” - Virginia Woolf

"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.” - Charlotte Bronte
      And there are so many more... but I am off to lunch.  Happy International Women's Day!! :)

Sometimes I think that I get way too emotionally affected by books to do the work of a critic. Tonight I'm working on a paper and keep getting swept up into Jane Eyre. I can't help it.


Jane in the moment of her greatest distress:

One idea only still throbbed life-like within me--a remembrance of God: it begot an unuttered prayer: these words went wandering up and down in my rayless mind, as something that should be whispered; but no energy was found to express them:--"Be not far from me, for trouble is near: there is none to help."

...and this is just one of the reasons I love Jane Eyre.

Anguish. That is what best sums up the last 100 pages I've (re)read of Jane Eyre. Of everything that I've read, the middle portion of Charlotte Bronte's incredible novel is the most angst-ridden. My heart literally feels like it is in a vice. ahh... enough of that for tonight.

Jane Eyre

Wednesday evening I had the privilege of attending an advanced screening for the new Jane Eyre.

It was such a fun evening, even apart from the film.

But for anyone who cared, I thought I'd share my opinion of the movie.

Jane Eyre directed by Cary Fukunaga, based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, and Dame Judi Dench

Music composed by Dario Marianelli

Synopsis: A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.

I thought the movie was worth seeing, especially for someone who has read the book. I absolutely loved certain parts of it. However, while I was expecting that the film would not (and could not) live up to the book, I was still disappointed by what they chose to cut--which included my favorite lines.

The first two-thirds or so was very well done. But the last part of the movie was so compressed and the ending so choppy that it almost ruined the story.

I must say that I didn't realize until after the fact that the movie was rated PG-13. This made things make a lot more sense and I think I would have been better prepared if I had paid attention to the rating. The movie was extremely intense at times. Due to the way it is filmed, my friends and I definitely jumped; and at one point, I couldn't help covering my eyes.

Not only was the film visually intense--as they graphically showed the abuse Jane suffered in her early life--but it was just as emotionally intense as they played up the supernatural fears of the heroine. Keeping with the sense of the novel, which came out of the original gothic tradition, the movie, at times, feels very dark.

That being said, Mia Wasikowska played a near-flawless Jane. That was one of the things I was most worried about. Would Jane be pretty when she was supposed to be plain? Would she show too much or too little emotion? Would she convincingly show the struggle between conviction and feeling? She was absolutely fabulous. They were able to make her plain while letting her subtle and inner beauty make its full display. The emotion and the struggle was acted so well, I only wish they would have given the story more time to allow this to develop.

Michael Fassbender's Mr. Rochester was another superb, true-to-the-novel character. He definitely captured both Rochester's humor and his emotional neediness. The film successfully captured the chemistry between the two--although, I thought, they should have given it more screen time. Despite liking the way Fassbender played his character, I could not help being repelled by how selfish and--at times--creepy he was. This is also part of the novel, but was definitely a focus for these filmmakers.

The supporting cast were just as marvelous. The brilliant Jamie Bell was a convincing St. John Rivers (although, I found myself distracted by the fact that Jamie Bell and Mia Wasikowska played such a believable married couple in Defiance). Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper was, of course, played pitch-perfect by Dame Judi Dench.

Costumes, cinematography and effects all aided to the feel of this period drama.

I also must note how excited I was when I heard that Dario Marianelli was scoring this film, but half way through I noticed how little music there actually was. It was relieving in a way. The music was beautiful, but let the acting and dialogue speak for themselves as opposed to over-dramatizing everything. The music that is there sounded classical and haunting and both Beethoven and Mozart were incorporated into the film, again adding to the Victorian atmosphere.

Overall, the movie was enjoyable. But with the film coming in just under 2 hours (115 minutes), I left wishing they had added at least 15 more minutes and several other significant parts of the novel.

Last night I was talking about the upcoming Jane Eyre movie (which I'm stoked to see :), when my brother asked me who it was written by. After I told him the author was Charlotte Bronte, he said, "Who was that again?"

I started out, "Ok, so Charlotte was, obviously, a Bronte. There were 3 Bronte sisters--"

When he interrupted me and exclaimed, "--oh, like the Kardashians?"

grrrrr...

Once he noticed the glare on my face and my hand clenched in a fist, he laughed and asked, "Are you going to punch me?"

I didn't punch him, but he would have deserved it for such a dreadful degradation. I still can't believe he said that.

So, I finished Jane Eyre today. It is such a sad yet beautiful story!

At one point, faced with a heart-wrenching decision to break her principles for the man she loves, she responds:

“I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane and not mad-as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth-so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane-quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot.”

Ah so beautiful! I read this particular part last night at 1 AM and just broke down sobbing. I want to be like that! To choose against my emotions and pursue righteousness. It just moved me so deeply.

The book is wonderful. I was told everything from, "That is the saddest book--especially the ending" to "That ending is the most redemptive ending ever." I understand both positions now. The book is tragic, yet lovely.

Now I get to really look forward to the new adaptation coming out in March. It's going to be by Focus Features (Pride and Prejudice 2005) and the BBC :) Plus, Jane Eyre is going to be played by Mia Wasikowska. Most notably, she played Alice in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, but I first saw her in Defiance where she played opposite of Jamie Bell--who happens to be playing one of the characters in the new Jane Eyre. Needless to say, it should be pretty good. There is so much inner struggle and rich language in the writing that I don't think the novel really lends itself to film, but I will enjoy seeing what the imagery might have been like.

Oh! And reading this book solidifies the fact that I'm going to name one of my daughters "Jane" - first or middle name, I don't care. But between Jane Austen and Jane Eyre one of them has to be a "Jane." I was actually looking for similarities between the Austen novels and this one and there are some profound similarities to Mansfield Park which is almost my favorite of Jane Austen's. I told my mom though (while I was in the middle of the book), "This is so frustrating because I have no idea how it is going to turn out. If it were a Jane Austen novel, I would know exactly how it was going to end."

"And how would it end?" She asked.

"Everything would work out and she would marry the man she was in love with!" hahaha :)

And later on was funny too. I was watching Beauty and the Beast with my mom and sister when it suddenly struck me, "This is a typical Gothic Romance! Yikes! That's two in one day. Oh dear, that'll do my heart a lot of good..." Really, though, it isn't good for me. So tomorrow we're either reading non-fiction or a little bit of Fellowship of the Ring (for the book club).

Anyway... I hope you are having a splendid evening and stealing some extra time with family during the holidays :)

Sweet dreams!