#i remember i read all of gateshead + lowood in a day

[warriorprincesstramp]

god I LOVE child jane eyre so much... slay little girl!!!!

[wendydarling1400]

JANE EYRE: INFP

Fi:

Jane Eyre, throughout the novel is completely devoted to her principles and beliefs. Although quiet and isolated Jane is not afraid to express her true opinion and judgments. When she observes Mr Rochester alienating Adele she gently teaches him that Adele should be treated with respect; Jane shows that she has strong empathy and will not accept people talking down to children “Adele is not answerable for either her Mother’s faults or yours (...) forsaken by her Mother and disowned by you, I shall cling closer to her than before”; Jane is stubborn and unmoving in her moral judgments in which she pulls from her internal beliefs (this is evident in the fact that these views are deeply against the social norms of the time). As Jane moves from place to place the things she clings to is her sense of self and her determination to be happy with her moral actions, this brings her great comfort in her circumstances  “I can live alone if self-respect and circumstances require me to do so”; Jane leaves Thornfield on the pretence that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she were to stay and be tempted into living a bigamous marriage. Mr Rochester recognises that Jane is innocent and “untainted” leading him to ask Jane continuously if the actions he has taken are morally right to which Jane happily and honestly gives advice “you would in time find it possible to become what you yourself would approve”.Although Jane expresses to the reader that she loves Mr Rochester “while I breathe and think, I must love him” and is completely loyal to him, she will not act immorally for him “I like to serve you in all that is right” again proving that her principles are the most important thing to her and that she constantly evaluates things from an Fi perspective. Jane longs for love and affection which is what makes following her principles even harder as they often cost her the gateway to that in which she is seeking “to the crib I took my doll. Human beings must love something.”  

Ne:

After establishing her principles and gaining all she feels she can from Lowood, Jane decides to move on. Although Jane is in search of a place or someone she belongs to, she easily becomes bored with the mundane and longs for deeper conversations and interactions finding  Miss Fairfax, though kind, does not satisfy Jane in this way. Jane is intrigued and drawn in by Helen Burns and Miss Temples conversions as they discuss the bigger picture, she sees this as meaningful and interesting. Jane attaches herself quickly to Helen who is at first not particularly welcoming to Jane “you ask too many questions, I want to get back to my book” although this interaction could have put Jane off, she enjoys Helen’s insights and wisdom “Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs”; Helen is wise and unlike other people around her, she talks about deeper matters of life in which Jane asks many questions about and seemingly absorbs the answers to (her Ne feeds her Fi); it is clear that many of Helen’s teachings are absorbed by Jane and brought into later life. Jane’s Ne lives for the excitement of deeper conversation and a thirst for diving into multiple hobbies including, painting, writing and playing the piano. It is this saviour function that ironically actually works as a saviour for Jane in her life, as a child she is told that she has ‘bad blood’ due to her emotional responses but her Ne and openness to new information (Helen and her teachings) transforms Jane into a principled and responsible young woman. In Mr Rochester Jane finds another person who enjoys deeper topics of conversation, he is also out of the box and strange, before Mr Rochester returned to Thornfield (before they met) she begins to find as months move pass by that she is becoming restless and again thinks of finding herself a new situation. However it is Mr Rochester and his company who keeps her at Thornfield. Jane also possesses a vivid imagination as she constantly invisions ghostly experiences in Gateshead, down the path whilst posting a letter (Gytrash), and most obviously at Thornfield hall; she expresses that as a child she only enjoyed reading stories about “fairies” and “genii”, and in later life is constantly told by Mr Rochester that she is like numerous different fairytale creatures and that she is“Unearthly.”

Si:

Sentimental and comfort seeking, Jane moves from place to place in search for a home and love. Jane consistently looks back over the past romanticising elements and also feeling upset over others. Though the book has to recollect her past, Jane has very strong feelings and statements to make regarding it. Jane reviews her past deeply and, remembers in great detail how she categorised each person and event she encountered. Jane has a Fi-Si loop which pulls her back in her personal journey; she has at times an unhealthy look on the past as she jumpes from one extreme view on the past to the other (pain and romanticism). After meeting the aristocratic group in which Mr Rochester brings to Thornfield one of the women automatically reminds Jane of Mrs Reed, Jane begins to sink into some of her past experiences of Mrs Reed and then forms somewhat of a disliking for the woman because she looks like her. When Jane returns to Gateshead to see Mrs Reed, memories flood back hitting her hard showing the power that Jane’s Si holds over her hitting her Fi at times very harshly. Obviously, we can all have bad memories but Jane is strongly guided by them and refers back to them many a time throughout her life, sometimes strongly living in the past “Old times crowded fast back on me”; “the inanimate objects were not changed; but the living things had altered past recognition” Jane clearly remembers Gateshead vividly as she travels back there in her mind frequently. It is clear that Jane’s Fi is strongly attached to her Si and is sometimes fed negative thoughts “I did not need directions to the well-known room, to which I had so often been summoned for chastisement in former days”; “the recollection of childhood terrors and sorrows revived”.  Even the physical places in which Jane lives mean a lot to her as she categorises each place as a new stepping stone in her life. 

Te:

Jane has a quiet and gentle nature however at moments during the novel her Te shows in a direct and passionate way; when Mr Rochester first talks about sending Jane off to a new place/situation, Jane quietly digests it trying not to show her grief, but over time Jane feels she cannot hold in her emotions anymore and speaks directly to Mr Rochester in an effort to get her views across which she had previously kept to herself “Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain and little that I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! - I have as much soul as you - and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you." Mr Rochester is shocked by this side of Jane as it is rarely shown. Jane also speaks to the ‘gypsy lady’ directly as the interview she conducts feels uncomfortable, making Jane feel on edge and as a result she has a sharper tongue than usual “ ‘Why do you not consult my art?’ ‘because I am not silly.’ (...) “‘You are cold and you are silly’ ‘prove it’; Jane is more blunt and short when put on the spot by someone who is trying to read her deep emotions; making her defensive. 

Hufflepuff:

One of Jane’s main traits is loyalty, she is loyal in many ways; Jane is loyal to her principles sticking to them strictly, she is loyal to Helen and her guidance, and she is most obviously loyal to Mr Rochester. Jane has no idea what Mr Rochester’s big secret is and doesn’t try to force it out of him or investigate herself (by perhaps going up to the tower), instead she trusts him and does whatever she can to serve him as a friend; “Can I help you, sir? - I’d give anything to serve you”, Jane earns the trust of Mr Rochester very quickly despite the fact that he is deeply secretive, as he sees that Jane is loyal and honest and would keep his secrets not wishing to harm him “ ‘my little friend!’ Said he, ‘I wish I were on a quiet island with only you” Mr Rochester knows that Jane does not easily judge or cast aside people and that if everyone else around him were to hate him, she would not. Jane is forgiving, even though she feels great sorrow in regard to Mrs Reed she forgives her “a strong yearning to forget and forgive all injuries- to be reconciled and clasp hands with amity” this shows that Jane is caring and not prideful or bitter, she has true Hufflepuff traits (wanting peace and harmony). As Well as this Jane is also hugely modest and uncompetitive in nature “I will do my best; it is a pity that doing one’s best does not always answer”; “If he expects me to talk for the sake of talking and showing off, he will find he has addressed himself to the wrong person”, Jane is disinterested in gossip and being boastful and competitive, when Jane and Mr Rochester plan to get married Jane refuses to have anything big and over the top wanting only the simple things in life, the simple things strongly include love for Jane; “There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow-creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort”. When she learns that her uncle died and left her a huge sum of money, Jane’s initial reaction was sadness as she had never met her uncle, and not excitement towards the money that would mean a different life for her. Jane holds love above everything else. Jane is a Hufflepuff because she values, loyalty, kindness, modesty, fair-play and hard-work.

-WendyDarling1400

[eyreguide]

The Evolving Jane Eyre 2011 Screenplay

I remember when the novel tie-in edition was released ahead of the Jane Eyre 2011 film, there was a bonus at the end of the ebook edition.  They added the screenplay of the film by Moira Buffini.  I have since tried to find my ebook copy but I think my move to a Kindle has led me to misplace it.  Fortunately there are screenplay databases online, and I found an older screenplay on this site.  Although I remember certain elements in the screenplay from the ebook bonus that is not in the version on the website, so I feel like there is yet another version floating around.  

The screenplay on the IMSDb site is the 2nd draft, dated 6 March 2008.  Quite a few years for the screenplay to go through revisions, and yet the heart of the screenplay writer’s vision seems intact.  The screenplay begins with Jane leaving Thornfield and wandering the moors - such a unique approach to adapting the novel.  The 2nd draft has more of the original story than the final product, with many interesting additions and actual scenes from the novel excised.  While the 2011 film is my favorite movie adaptation (not favorite overall though when you factor in miniseries) and I love how well it tells the story in two hours, it does make me sad that they couldn’t have made this movie two and a half hours to really bring more of Jane’s story to life.

The Changes from the 2nd Draft

If you’ve seen this movie trailer, the story seemed darker, more heightened and Gothic than the final product.  (Rochester with all black eyes at the very end???!!)  The trailer even shows a glimpse of Helen Burns in front of Moor House and that thread was entirely cut from the movie. Reading this 2nd draft, it was fascinating to see the vision Moira had for the story and the intriguing ideas she had for bringing out some of the inner life of Jane.  There are quite a few smaller moments that impressed me, so I will just highlight some of them in this post.

Helen Burns: Helen has more traditional scenes in the draft than she wound up with in the final movie, but the new idea that her “ghost” visually stays with Jane and brings her solace in times of trouble is both fresh and true to Helen’s role in Jane’s life.  When Jane is first running away from Thornfield, the viewer “sees” Helen with Jane, and at some points Helen leads Jane and encourages her to keep going.  While I’m glad they cut this for the film, I think it is an interesting visual and honors Helen as Jane’s first true friend.

Visuals of Jane’s Inner World: The 2006 miniseries adaptation with Ruth Wilson was the first to show what Jane was seeing by having the viewer see her in that physical world.  That 2006 miniseries begins with young Jane in a desert, as she is looking at an image of a barren land in a book.  Moira’s draft also includes this idea and early on has Jane in the setting of the pictures she is looking at.  Later, after the interrupted wedding, you see Jane by a river as the water overflows and visually the ‘torrent pours over her.’  This would have been a powerful moment in the film, but perhaps too jarring, so I understand why it was cut.

More Reordering of the Timeline: The film begins with Jane meeting the Rivers, then shows Jane at Lowood, then at Thornfield, before winding up at the beginning again with Jane as a schoolteacher at Morton.  The 2nd draft had even more flashbacks and flash-forwards with the most notable being changing the scene between St. John and Jane in Morton (which in the films shows up after you see Jane leave Thornfield and Rochester) to when Mr. Rochester leaves to see the Ingrams.  That flash-forward to Jane and St. John’s conversation about not looking back and St. John resisting the love he feels for someone he thinks is unsuitable seems appropriate to illustrate Jane’s confused feelings after saving Mr. Rochester from the fire, but it was another great choice to move it so that it is our first jarring moment back into Jane’s current life after the emotion of her leaving Rochester.

Nightmares: The 2006 miniseries might have inspired some of Moira’s approach to this screenplay as another element from the miniseries is shown - Jane’s dreams illustrating her inner turmoil and fears. I really enjoy this foreshadowing in the book, and I loved seeing the dreams dramatized in the 2006 version.  It might have worked well in the 2011 film as well - especially if they just did this to show Jane’s inner world, and not the landscape visuals I talked about above.  In one nightmare, Helen is the one to give Jane the crying babe.  And this particular nightmare is fantastic:

INT. DUSK. THORNFIELD / THE RED ROOM.                                  Jane, aged ten, is walking along the long gallery. She          opens a door and finds herself in the Red Room.                                  She stares into the mirror, searching the pale face of her          reflection, as if trying to find an answer. A murmur seems          to come down the gaping chimney; a woman's deep sigh.          Jane's throat tightens with fear. Something moves in the          shadows behind her.                                  She scans them, her eyes full of terror. Jane knows beyond          all doubt that something is there. She hears a low laugh.          It seems to be right next to her. She tries to scream -

And this occurs just before Jane hears Mason’s cries, which would have been pretty eerie to watch.  I really love this idea.

The Flashback to Thornfield Burning:  In the film, this is not shown, unlike SO MANY adaptations of Jane Eyre which does visualize this.  I love that they honor Jane’s narrative by not showing what she was not there to witness.  But in the 2nd draft, Mrs. Fairfax is telling Jane what she thinks happened, mostly through voiceover, but what was visualized in the draft was entirely different.  Instead of Bertha sneaking away, the viewer would have seen Rochester let her out, and then watch her wander around and eventually start a fire in Thornfield.  It shows Rochester as bleak, hopeless and uncaring.  The scene ends with Rochester readying himself to jump to his death until Bertha beats him to it -

EXT. EVENING. THORNFIELD - THE LEADS.                                  Bertha is watching the rooks. Rochester goes to the edge of          the roof. Bertha looks at him. The invitation is clear.          Rochester is ready to die.                                  Bertha sees the rooks wheeling away. She runs at the edge          of the roof. Rochester sees her intention too late. He puts          out his arm to stop her.                                  For the perfect fraction of a second, Bertha flies.          Rochester sees her fall; almost falls himself - saves          himself.                                  Life reawakens in him. Behind him, he sees Grace Poole,          coughing, crawling up through the door.                                                  GRACE           Antoinetta?                                  Responsibility floods over him. He goes to her side, lifts          Grace, helps her down the stairs.                                   MRS FAIRFAX (V.O.)           He didn't leave the house until           everyone was out. Some say it was a           just judgement on him for having           her confined there all those years           but for my part, I pity him.

Wow.  If this had been filmed, I don’t know what I would have thought.  On the one hand, it’s very powerful.  On the other it’s very different from what is in the novel, and shows Rochester carelessly endangering other people, and I don’t see that as true to his character.  But this is definitely a unique take on that scene.

Screenplay Highlights

There are a few scenes in the screenplay that particularly touched me or I found highlighted a great moment.  I love this quiet moment while Jane is just settling into her life at Thornfield (Adele’s song is the one she sings to Jane to show her accomplishments.)  The fact that Mrs. Fairfax gives a gift to Jane and knows that Jane would feel overwhelmed by it so hands it to her and leaves, feels true to Mrs. Fairfax’s gentle understanding.

INT. NIGHT. THORNFIELD - MRS FAIRFAX'S PARLOUR.                                  Adele's song continues as a voiceover. Mrs Fairfax is          finishing a shawl. Jane is showing Adele pictures of little          objects that she has sketched. Adele names them in English.                                  The song ends. Jane gives Adele a sketch of herself.                                                  ADELE           Me! It is me!                                  Mrs Fairfax shakes out the finished shawl and puts it round          Jane's shoulders, departing before Jane can protest.                                                  MRS FAIRFAX           Here. For you.                                                   Jane is delighted at the kindness of the gift.

Then there is this scene, where Jane is teaching Adele, and Mrs. Fairfax comes in to take Jane’s portfolio.  There’s discomfort in Jane as her work is being exhibited without her permission.  And a nod to the careless way men disregard women’s thoughts and opinions, even from Mr. Rochester, who is the character who is most interested in Jane’s mind.

INT. DAY. THORNFIELD - THE NURSERY.                                  Jane is by the blackboard, where she is writing sums.                                                  ADELE           Tonight I will have my cadeaux.           He always bring me a cadeaux.                                  Mrs Fairfax breathlessly enters.                                                  MRS FAIRFAX           Sorry to disturb. He's asked for           your art.                                  Jane looks at her in disbelief.                                                  JANE           What for?                                                                MRS FAIRFAX           He wishes to have it.                                                  JANE           Why?                                                  MRS FAIRFAX           To show to his company, I should           think. Is this it here? Thank you.                                  Jane watches helplessly as Mrs Fairfax takes her portfolio.

When Jane visits Mrs. Reed on her sick bed, there is a unique moment added to the script.  Jane’s sees a picture of her Mother, and reconciles her childhood fears of the Red Room.  The Caird/Gordon musical has a nod to Jane’s parents in the show (prior to the Broadway iteration) and even features them briefly in the beginning.  Obviously, this is a poignant way to show the growth of the little orphan girl, and I would have loved to see this dramatized.

INT. DAY. GATESHEAD - THE RED ROOM.                                  The morning sun is pouring in. Jane goes to the bed. She          puts her hand upon it, gently, as if thanking her uncle for          all he did. She notices a picture on the wall. A miniature          of a brown-haired woman with elfin eyes.                                  Jane takes it off the wall. Bessie comes in.                                                  JANE           My mother.                                  Bessie nods. A tear rolls down Jane's face. She clasps the          picture, looking round the room.                                                  JANE (CONT'D)           Why ever was I so afraid?

As is true of most of the roles in this version of the screenplay, St. John had more lines and in this section, we see more of his compassionate, persuasive side which would have really added to his character in the film.  He is harsh and cold,but this small scene would have made the viewer understand more why Jane admired and loved him like a brother.  I feel like the writing in this scene captures what Bronte wrote very well too.

  JANE           You're a good man, but you forget           the feelings of little people. We'd           better keep out of your way lest           you trample us.                                     St John's anger has faded. He is compassionate. This is far          harder to resist.                                                  ST JOHN           I wouldn't trample you. You'd           walk at my side towards God's           altar. He'd be your solace,           heaven your reward. We seek to do           the greatest work, to open           death's gates, to save souls.           Love God Jane, love God.                                  St John puts his hand on her forehead; Christlike. Jane is          falling under his power.                                   ST JOHN (CONT'D)           Give up your heart to Him. He is           love.

Final Impressions

After I finished the second draft, I have to say I admire Moira and the director and anyone involved in editing and refining the script.  Even as a purist, I am impressed at how well this second draft encapsulates the novel.  And then to have to further trim down and edit - what a difficult job!  And the final product is marvelously streamlined and an intimate portrait of Jane.  The sensational is pared back and the emotions are appropriately restrained.  In the editing process, there seemed to have been an instinct to keep the story to Jane’s perspective and to create something a little more realistic.  And I think they succeeded.