Are we really only 17 days into 2012?

Dear reader, we are over halfway through winter and the East coast has yet to snow me in. I know writing this is temping fate, but I'm already tempting fate with my listless attitude for the last few weeks, so what harm can this do? I refocus - its the middle of winter and yet no snow (go California weather!), but we're still 63 (good lord why?!) days away from spring.

What's a girl to do, dear reader? I can't plan for summer and then have a foot of snow hit - that could break my hopeful summer spirit; and I'm NOT a winter planner for anything. So, in search of this answer, I've been racking my brain for the last 2 days. And all I've got so far is nothing. I don't want to start a project, every sentence I write for the novel isn't working, my hair still isn't long enough for a fishtail braid no matter how many times I try, and the golden globes were a fashion and entertainment bust this year. So what did I do? I popped in Jane Eyre 2006 and pulled out my copy of Persuasion.

Enter the blank-staring Heather at the TV screen only half watching. Yep. This listlessness might just be that bad that Jane Eyre can't cure it. I think I might need a stint in the time out corner for my attitude. I think I might need a tub of ice cream. I think maybe I should just go to bed and wake up on a different side.

Whatever ends up happening,  I thought I'd share -- you know, since we're good friends and all. And I thought you might like a few complimentary photos of Toby Stephens to start your short week. Just because I'm the victim of a bad attitude doesn't mean everyone has to suffer. :)

The Jane Effect - St.John Rivers

When I first saw Jane Eyre dear reader (that's right, I saw a version before I read the novel), I thought St. John Rivers was a shocking shell of a man -- cold, intellectual, and everything completely opposite of Rochester. And then when I read the novel, my opinion was only solidified. Now that I'm older, I wonder why this is. Why do we think that St. John is such a awful person? Especially with the newest version of Jane Eyre, I think it more apparent St. John might be horribly misunderstood. Can we really denounce someone for choosing his work over love? Or believing he and his life will not fit the girl of his dreams? I pose we look a St. John just a little deeper and consider he's more likable than he first my seem.

Novel St.John - POV

Jane Eyre, as well all know, is a first person novel. Therefore, we are always in the mind of Jane. Really, Jane's thoughts, opinions, and beliefs are all we care about. I'm sure if the novel wasn't full of her inner thoughts we wouldn't love Rochester as much, or understand how important nature is to her. Thus, her reaction to St. John is colored by her own beliefs and opinions. To Jane, St. John is cold and calcualting  -- brilliant but un-nurturing, and deeply lacking in passion. She is continually comparing St. John and his actions to Rochester baisly. After all, she still deeply loves Edward when she is taken in by the Rivers. Therefore, we will never have a fair picture of St. John Rivers, because Jane's view of him isn't fair.

The Rochester Factor

By the time St. John appears on the screen or in the novel, we as watchers and readers have already fully invested in the dark and tormented soul of Edward Rochester. How does anyone compare to that? St. John comes at time when we're all waiting for Jane to return to Rochester. Let's face it, her going back is no surprise for us, and so we gloss over the option we know she'll not choose. They're both each other's second choice, and that's never good enough for a Bronte.

The Cold Imagery

Jane describes St. John, throughout her time with him, like ice -- immobile, frozen, cold-hearted. Who wants love that? My question is -- is that really how St. John is, or just how Jane sees him? I call in my defense Jamie Bell and his brilliant St. John Rivers (and this kinda goes into my next point as well). Maybe its because we start the movie with the Rivers, or maybe its because St.John is more Jane's age, or maybe its because his undying passion for Rosamund Oliver isn't featured in the 2011 version, but Bell makes me think Jane doesn't give him a fair shot at being a hero. With Jane, St.John continually thinks he must handle her with care, and stays weary of her becuase she is a stranger with no name, and when she needs a reality check, she recoils from his logic -- logic, might I add, that is very sound. He tells her to forget man who lied to her, was willing to force her into a fake marriage, and lasciviously endanger her soul. St. John might be abrupt when he confronts Jane, but its his passionate nature showing through; its just a different passion than she's used to.  Bell's proven to me that we've sided a little too blindly on Jane's side about this man.  

Mini-Series/Movie Time Cuts

As I stated above, St. John's placement in the the movie or novel is critical. If we start with him, he's more of an option for Jane; he compeats dually with our Rochester for our affections. If he's at the end and the end is cut up for time, then his complexity is thrown away. You must agree, there are a few versions were he is solely used as a plot device and nothing more. How then, are we able to understand him enough to connect to him? It's an injustice done to many characters, and just more often happens to poor St.John.

Like Rochester, St.John Rivers believes in educating women - alright he believes women can be educated. And even more so than Rochester, executes this fact. Where Jane is more like a pet (don't make me defend this with bird imagery. I will) to Rochester, St.John sees her as an equal, like his sisters (certainly not the equal in today's standard, but it was 1800's people). I believe St. John and Edward are far alike than we'd like them to be, and it is just a happy (or sad?) coincidence readers take to one and not the other.

Anatomy of a Scene: Proposals

I'm a sucker for a good scene, dear reader; so much so, I always end up spending hours thinking about just one really fantastic scene in a movie or video. I was doing this just a few days ago about the first proposal scene in Pride and Prejudice. For me, its the pinnacle of cringe-worthy. I still don't think I've ever seen the full scene because I have to look away; its just too much like a car crash you can't take your eyes off, but you have to. And then I got to thinking...almost all the costume dramas with two proposals from the same man look alike: not just in color and tone, but also in composition and theme. The men are tortured, they shock the women they love with a proposal, and (other than Jane Eyre) end really badly. And that's not all.

Now of course, I'm going back to my old favorites with two proposal scenes: Pride and Prejudice, North and South, and Jane Eyre; and I'm also looking at both versions of Pride and Prejudice. What are the similarities? Well let's get started.

First, the individuals are always alone (which is appropriate considering the time in which the story was written). Furthermore, the men always come to the women and initiate the proposal (not a big surprise, I know); in other words, the men enter the female's world: Thornton goes to the Hale's, Darcy goes to Mr. Collin's vicarage where Lizzy is staying, and Rochester meets Jane in Nature by the chestnut tree. When alone, the characters are no longer bound to society's standards and are free to express their true feelings. This similarity is more thematic as an attribute of the novels; however, the translation to film is also powerful. You can sense the freedom the actors feel in these scenes. Having just two actors in the scene, emotionally focused and present, electrifies the tension in the scene.

Second, the heroine is always under a misapprehension. Lizzy is completely blindsided by Darcy's proposal; Margaret is the same; and Jane thinks Rochester is sending her to Ireland and marrying another woman (so SO the same). This remarkably stubborn streak of in-the-dark heroines has always been a theme of costume dramas. And its their lack of consciousness which fuels the resolution of the story and second proposal. AND makes for an insanely awkward first proposal.

Third, the main characters are always facing each other. This staging is for more than just dramatic camera angles; it is a physical representation of character opposition, a visible extension of their opposing view points. Picture: metaphorically butting heads. During the first proposal both sides are ready for a fight. For example, Thornton proposes already defending his actions, and at Margaret's pressing defends his very love for her. Darcy does the same thing. And while Lizzy is able to articulate her argument much more eloquently than Margaret, her shock is still the same as is her physical placement opposite of Darcy.

Cinematically, the first proposal is often edited full of short close-ups, highlighting how far apart emotionally and physically the two characters are from each other. The scenes rarely have the two character's in the same shot together, and if they are, their body language clearly closes them off to one another.

We can truly focus on this staging of opposition if we look at the second proposal scenes. In those, the characters are set side-by-side in bright settings, their demeanor much softer and much more calm.

Darcy and Lizzy walk slowly in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, neither leading each other towards Meryton, but both know where they are going. And while they do not touch, this walk together highlights their growth into mutual respect and equality. It's a vastly different scene than there cringe-worthy proposal.

John Thornton and Margaret do not walk during their second proposal, but sit together at a train station (this is one of the few major scenes from a book that the BBC changed during the adaptation process). The train station is halfway between Milton and London, and so it is neutral ground for both characters. They sit together, but are angled towards each other; most importantly, they are filmed up close with the other always in the shot as well. Their nearness is in large contrast to Thornton's first proposal where a whole table and room where in between them.

The 1988 version of Jane Eyre also follows this second proposal format, and it can be seen in the 2008 version as well. Like in Pride and Prejudice and North and South, Jane and Rochester sit side-by-side, and combined with the longer camera shots, this staging helps to empower the sense of equality and mutual determination both characters share moving forward. By having both characters sit towards a common direction and be close physically, they parallel their new outlooks towards common goals and common futures. In comparison, Rochester's first proposal may have seemed like a shared goal for Jane; however, it is not. Jane's goal is to have a loving, yet socially questionable marriage with the man she loves; Rochester's goal is to posses the women he loves, but lie to her to gain her trust.

Now I'm sure dear reader, you're sitting at your computer thinking I have WAY too much time on my hands, and you're right. I think I do too. BUT, I also think these themes are a really remarkable continuity between our favorite costume drama adaptations. We always say we love the second proposals, but can we say why? Yes we love them on screen for the same reasons we love them in print, but we shouldn't downplay the power of the cinematic set-up. Clearly, its a formula that works well, even with all the unique variations, because if we find it in our classic three favorites, I'm sure its in many more adaptations as well.