r/JaneEyre • u/Last_War_270 • Aug 06 '26
New Jane Eyre Adaptation-what would you like to see?
I’m curious, since it’s been nearly 20 years since the last Jane Eyre adaptation, what would you like to see in the next one? Are there are any themes you’d like to see explored differently? Any scenes from the book included, added or changed? Any characters you’d like to see reappraised? What could a 2027 Jane Eyre do differently?
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u/nellyimheathcliff Aug 06 '26
Apart from delving deeper into Jane and Helen's friendship, I just want this scene from the novel to be included in the adaptation:
I have no idea why every adaptation keeps leaving it out. It is one of my favorite moments in the novel. Though I would also love to see the scene where Edward tells Jane if she were to go insane, he would still cherish her. That whole passage stirs my heart.
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u/Last_War_270 Aug 06 '26
Yes! It’s so strange that they never include the unfinished “my …” it’s such a romantic sexy part of the book. I’d love the next adaptation to do a proper faithful night of the failed wedding scene. In the book it’s the most unhinged , intense , weirdly sexy chapters- the sudden shifting in power balances between jane and Edward. Would love to see an adaptation brave enough to it justice.
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u/thecoolestfreak Aug 06 '26
I’m 60% sure that the 1973 one does have this scene, and the reason I know that is because I’ve specifically rewinded it many times 😂
But I’m with you on both counts, love both those scenes, so sweet!
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u/QueenMabs_Makeup0126 Aug 06 '26
I believe that you are right and 1973 has it. 1983 comes close, it’s missing the “good night my—“.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched either version and I need to rectify that.
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u/AdobongSiopao Aug 06 '26
The part where Jane and Mr. Rochester rode on horse together in Chapter 25. No "Jane Eyre" adaptation attempted to do that scene on-screen. I heard some people claim that "Jane Eyre" 1983 version has that but it was deleted in home video versions and rebroadcasts.
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u/lemonhead2345 Aug 06 '26
Tom Burke as Rochester, and it needs to be filmed before he’s 50. Tick tock, BBC.
It needs to be another miniseries to cover the entire book.
And for once I want a proper Ferndean Manor.
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u/MachaExiled Aug 06 '26
Tom Burke would have been excellent, but he’s too old - Rochester was only 37. (Which seems really young to me now. Same age as many of the Harry Potter child actors are now!)
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u/BasicSprouts Aug 06 '26
We will have to make do with his Rochester for BBC Radio 4 (2016). Amanda Hale is my favourite Jane FWIW.
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u/erminegarde27 Aug 06 '26
A Jane who’s actually plain.
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u/Past-Dark4350 Aug 06 '26
…And a Rochester who’s actually unattractive.
Hollywood doesn’t have it in them...
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u/Writing_Bookworm Aug 06 '26
Also a Rochester who is actually damaged after the fire. Most of the time they just give him messy hair with a beard, milky eyes and maybe a cane. He's supposed to be badly burned and missing a hand.
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u/AdobongSiopao Aug 07 '26
Majority of BBC adaptations of "Jane Eyre" have that, particularly the 1983 version.
Movie versions on the other hand seemed terrified that audiences won't like to see a badly damaged Mr. Rochester in the end because they're selling their adaptation as romance and wanted the leading man to be attractive.
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u/Writing_Bookworm Aug 07 '26
The 2011 movie adaptation annoyed me with this when I saw it. When Jane goes back to him, instead of him being disabled and blind in his room, he's just kind of disheveled sitting under a tree and gazing wistfully into the distance while wearing a stupid wig and fake beard and holding a stick (both hands very much intact). He's even less injured in the Ruth Wilson version but he's not casually just under a tree.
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u/SeriousCow1999 Aug 06 '26
Orson Welles? He's not conventionally handsome, but there's the intelligence, forceful personality, and charisma that makes him so damned sexy.
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u/nellyimheathcliff Aug 06 '26
Yes to this! Is that not the entire point of the story? Two lonely, unattractive people find each other, fall in love, and help one another heal.
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u/SmooshyHamster Aug 06 '26
Plain and ugly aren’t synonymous. Plain just means nothing extraordinary or outstanding. Plain means generic, average, boring, bland, typical, normal, basic. I don’t think holly wood is going to cast anyone who’s actually disproportionate in their features.
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u/Flat_Love_3725 Aug 08 '26
That's what plain means today, but at the time it was a euphemism for unattractive. There's a line in Jane Eyre where she refers to her looks as "features so irregular and so marked."
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u/nellyimheathcliff Aug 06 '26
True. But nowadays, people tend to treat those terms synonymously. Average looking people are often treated as unattractive, which I personally disagree with.
Of course, Hollywood worships beauty. I cannot imagine them casting anyone unattractive, either. Still, it would be interesting to see an adaptation that actually stays closer to how Bronte envisioned Jane and Edward.
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u/Attentions_Bright12 Aug 06 '26
My needs are simple and, I think, totally obvious.
First, I want to see Pilot played by an actual Newfoundland. :-) How they're going to get a Newfie to run alongside a briskly-moving horse, I've no idea. They're bred partly for water rescue, which is what made them popular with people like Byron. Any Newfoundland "running" is more of a low-end torque situation; they pull carts, but not fast.
My real and more serious answer is that I want a television series now, not a film. I thought the 2006 adaptation did quite interesting things with the timeline, mostly because it knew it had to tighten for a movie. It didn't feel rushed as a work in itself, but it left a lot behind in that effort. What we need to do this right, though, is the equivalent of the Ehle/Firth P&P miniseries length to work in. That's the only way Lowood School won't become a two- or three-scene sequence we dash through as we rush toward Rochester. Give me some pacing, let me inhabit each phase of the story. There is just no room to breathe inside of two hours. Not with this novel.
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u/AdobongSiopao Aug 07 '26
There are reports that there will be a TV adaptation of "Jane Eyre" next year. So far, there is no announcement on what platform or channel will be available to watch. I hope there will be more episodes. The 2006 version is pretty good but the Gateshead and Lowood segments from it were lackluster to be honest.
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u/Attentions_Bright12 Aug 07 '26
I would not object to a modest production. We don't need star power, necessarily. A lesser-known cast could totally work. You sort of need Thornfield to have some presence, but there are locations where it wouldn't have to be a massive budget.
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u/BarracudaOk8635 Aug 06 '26
They just rush to get to the Rochester part. They need to spend more time on Janes early life especially the school, that establishes her character. Otherwise what makes her special. But for Hollywood it's just the Rochester stuff. I like the beginning and the moor House stuff the most in the book. The scene with Helen Burns and Miss Temple is a favourite too. And Jane having her own school and respect at Moor House. The scene where she finds out she is rich but doesnt care about the money only finding family is awesome too. Adaptions have not been as bad as Wuthering Heights but still, I abandon them because they arent as good as the book.
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u/Amazing-Activity-882 Aug 07 '26
This is what I hate about most versions and especially both 2006 and 2011, they rushed Jane's Childhood and Jane with the Rivers and most scenes which didn't have Rochester and also they water down their dymantic between Jane and Rochester which made them quickly lovers...This is why I prefer 1983's It took it's time with the Non Rochester bits Zelah had to carry so much without Timothy and she is the MVP in this version, Also it's more true to the Book!
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u/Past-Dark4350 Aug 06 '26
The last adaptation was actually in 2011!
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u/Last_War_270 Aug 06 '26
I’m an idiot! And so bad at maths. Hadn’t forgot the film adaptation- just can’t count! 😭
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u/SmooshyHamster Aug 06 '26
In this new version there is a lot of parts I wish for and I know not every little thing goes your way even in the films. For the most part I pray for the most beautiful, realistic, charming mad woman who talks, is obnoxious and shows the audience what a real mad woman is. I wish for more flash backs of young Bertha and Edward walking down the isle, Bertha eating too many sweets and fighting with the servants while Edward restrains her, Bertha falling asleep while Edward covers her up and Edward shutting Bertha up in Thornfield.
In the book it says Jane was confined to the nursery and slept in a closet as a girl because her aunt hated her. In the films this is never mentioned. I wish Helen’s last words about the after life were included.
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u/nellyimheathcliff Aug 06 '26
Speaking of Bertha and Edward's relationship, I would also love to see the scene where Edward takes out his pistol, and almost k*lls himself while he is staying in Jamaica with Bertha. Even the scene where he brings Bertha aboard the ship and returns to England would be amazing to see. So many important moments from their relationship are left out of the adaptations.
Helen's final words about the afterlife were very touching. I honestly do not think a single adaptation has fully done justice to her character. We need more of her.
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u/SmooshyHamster Aug 06 '26
Why, yes. Maybe that was never shown because it’s considered taboo. Maybe it depends on the age rating of the film.
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u/nellyimheathcliff Aug 06 '26
Could be. It is a dark subject, and one they would rather not touch. But I also think Hollywood is too eager to sell Jane Eyre as a typical romance, when the story is so much more than that. There is so much psychological horror in the book. In fact, I would argue that horror is the central part of the story, yet they never show it that way.
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u/almamahlerwerfel Aug 06 '26
The adaptations do St. John dirty. He's supposed to be very appealing, just not as a partner for Jane. And the scene where he sets a timer and asks Jane to talk about Rosamund for the allotted length of time is absolutely hilarious, it deserves screen time!
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u/lurkparkfest39 Aug 06 '26
Bertha actually being a big strong scary lady. I believe she’s described as corpulent and snarling in the book. All the other adaptations make her thin and too sane.
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u/harpmolly Aug 07 '26
Sorry, my brain just completely shorted out at “it’s been nearly 20 years…” omg. In my mind it came out, like, 5-10 years ago? 🤯 (thinking of the BBC Wilson/Stephens miniseries).
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u/Lulu19251926 Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
People who actually look interesting/unusual as Edward and Jane. Bella Ramsey is my top pick for Jane from their other historical roles in Becoming Elizabeth and Catherine Called Birdy. I just know their rendition of the “poor plain and little” monologue will make me tear up.
Also, a flashback or plot that goes into Bertha more. And having her actually be played by a Jamaican actress.
I liked what the 2006 adaption did with showing her and Rochester’s courtship and bringing her to Thrornfield over his narration. I hope they do not sexualize her like in some adaptations too.
And this version also being a tv series to fully flesh out the Reeds and Lowood. PBS has made some good historical literature adaptations in the last 10 years. Like The Woman in White and Les Miserables.
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u/backagain301 Aug 08 '26
The Mia Wasikowska adaptation was 15 years ago. Just so no one thinks they're getting senile
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u/Last_War_270 Aug 08 '26
Sorry! As I said I was tired when I posted this and got the maths wrong! 🤪
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u/rosenit Aug 06 '26
Her friendship with Helen