#maybe ill make a larger post about anne and jane

[cosmic-walkers]

I have so many thoughts about Jane and how her main goal was to be viewed through the eyes of men. She was a product of their consumption.

The silent, one-sided rivalry going on between Thomas and Henry over her is one of the most defining parts of the season. And perhaps, rivalry is not the correct word, but they both want her, they both desire her, Henry wants her because he needs an heir, and a wife, and for all the tears he doesn’t really care about her after her death. On the other end, Thomas wants her because he believes he could’ve been a better husband to her. He proclaims it at her death, and like Henry, he is left crying and shattered.

Between Henry and Thomas, Jane was propped up as a Madonna figure; an innocent doe, a virgin queen, someone who was untouched, and must be protected, and someone who is innocent.

She was very much seen and desired through their eyes, and their eyes alone. Even when she was in the company of other women, those women were drowned out, her relationships with them were not as strong as her relationship with Thomas or Henry.

She existed mainly for the consumption of men, to marry her, to impregnate her, to desire her from afar, to believe they could treat her better, etc. It reminds me of the movie Milena, if you’ve ever seen it or part of it. Where you have this beautiful woman, but her life/person is viewed through the eyes of men, and she is overly desired by them. Even the ‘good’ ones. This isn’t really a good or bad thing in Jane’s case. I just find it interesting how at least to me, she is a character propped up by men, and viewed through the eyes of men. There is hardly a scene with Jane where she is alone, without Thomas or Henry.