This picture of a version of Jane Eyre appeared in the Bronteblog today. This is a fascinating picture for many reasons, especially in its portrayal of Bertha. It is a picture of psycho-sexual eroticism. I could't help noticing Bertha's red dress and the manner in which she clings to Jane. Her gesture it poised between that of a tender caress and vampire's demonic stab. She seems to cling to Jane like a motherless child while she is taking away Jane's strength. Jane in her turn seems distressed: torn between having to choose Rochester and another fate (either one of independence or one more connected with Bertha). In this picture it seems like Bertha has just as much a hold on her as does Rochester, as if she cannot let them both go.This is more evidence of the novel's connection to Coleridge's Christabel and Keats's Lamia and La Belle Dame Sans Merci.
1 comment:
"Does it strike you that Bertha wants to make Jane like her, bitten by madness? So she’ll have company in her misery and Rochester will want neither of them?"
Yes this is definitly a possiblity. And neither will they want him if they have each other.
"and it so intriguing that they didn’t stick Rochester in the middle, caught between his horror past and his hopeful future, his nightmare and his dream. "
I suppose they meant for Jane to be the central character: the conflict is one of dependence and independence for her (tied to the story of Bertha).
I too found that the gorgeous blue/black background highlighted the picture's gothic effect.
Hope you have a great weekend too Frankengirl! :)
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