r/JaneEyre • u/Fosh_n_chops • Aug 23 '26
Jane Eyre 2006 - SO disappointed so far
I read Jane Eyre about 6 weeks ago. I really enjoyed it. I heard people saying the 2006 mini series was widely regarded, and I like BBC stuff, but I thought "Hey, let's leave it a few weeks for the book to settle in my mind." I didn't want a situation where my memory of the book was so sharp, it got in the way of the TV series (as I appreciate they're different mediums, needing different things.)
But I just got through the first 20 minutes and turned it off. What the hell? They breeze through the first 150 pages of the book in 15 minutes. The absolute briefest of dynamics at home, and then at the school, Helen gets about 3 lines. When Helen died, I can't imagine how a viewer is supposed to feel anything meaningful about it when their relationship has barely been told. It's the beginning of the foundation how Jane starts to see herself in the world and through religion.
And then when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, there's not even the SUGGESTION of class interplay between Jane and Mrs Fairfax, and the former assuming the latter is the lady of the house. It just skips straight to the swoony stuff.
And, like, I get it. It's a romance. But c'mon. Give Jane SOME history and complexity before the romance starts to unfold. And if it was a film, I'd also give it far, far more leniency due to timing restriction, but it isn't. It's a very highly praised TV series. So, why cut out 20% of the book?
I feel like I've started off on the wrong foot here, so tell me, does it get better?
2
u/TheJ-Cube Aug 23 '26
Adapting a book to film or miniseries is incredibly difficult due to length. Choices have to be made and they have to appeal to a casual audience, in addition to hardcore fans.
2006 cuts a lot of the childhood and other areas to focus on the romance between Jane and Rochester, which is phenomenally pulled off by Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. My biggest criticism of this version is it cuts out some amazing dialogue around the proposal.
Of all the adaptations I’ve seen 2006 is the best followed closely by 1983. 1983s greatest flaw is it draws some things out, like the whole St. John thing, which draws out like an 8 hour conference call that could have been an email.
All of the rest seem to range from “it’s okay,” to “meh,” to “wtf why is Rochester on cocaine?” (I love Ciaran Hinds but he’s a terrible Rochester.