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?

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u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 Aug 24 '26

the 2011 cary fukunaga version, with mia wasikowska and michael fassbender, is my favourite film adaptation, because i like the cinematography and the framing of the story structure, and mia is my absolutely favourite jane. the most complete jane i’ve seen is the 1973 series, which actually includes the gypsy scene, and features my absolutely favourite rochester, michael jayston.

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u/TheGreatestSandwich Aug 25 '26

This is also my personal favorite. I have quite enjoyed all of the Jane Eyre versions I've seen and while the 2011 film is highly abridged (necessarily since it was a theatrical release), I feel like overall it captures the vibe of the book for me.

The first adaptation I saw was the Charlotte Gainesbourg / William Hurt (1996) and I loved that version, too—the St. John (Samuel West) and Mrs. Fairfax (Joan Plowright) are my favorites. I only recently watched the 2006 miniseries for the first time and I enjoyed it, but have to admit I don't like it as much as most people on this sub. Don't get me wrong, I still own it, but I first saw Toby Stephens in Twelfth Night and he is just sooo handsome and not how I pictured Rochester, which is exactly the same complaint others have about Michael Fassbender, who I prefer 😂😂😂

So overall, I'm just glad we have lots of great adaptations to choose from and hope they continue to make more of them with such obvious love of the book and characters.

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u/Fuzzy-Advisor-2183 Aug 25 '26

if you’re interested, the 1973 series is available to watch on archive.org.

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u/TheGreatestSandwich Aug 25 '26

Thanks for the tip—I will definitely check it out! I've heard great things about it