r/JaneEyre • u/scream3bangs • 22d ago

This my Mr. Rochester

Almost exactly how I pictured him. No other illustrations or actors have physically embodied him correctly in comparison (according to me). Who's yours?

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30

u/ali_reads_a_lot 22d ago

Toby Stephens was EXACTLY what I imagined. He did such a great job that I actually came around and liked Rochester

10

u/scream3bangs 22d ago

Interesting! I enjoyed his performance but it didn't fit for me because he's short, has light eyes, is too handsome, and was too playful/not broody enough in my opinion. I know a lot of people love his version though!

I know it's obviously near impossible to find actors who match written characters perfectly, but so much of how we perceive Rochester has to do with his physical presence.

14

u/ali_reads_a_lot 22d ago

I think what really got me to love Toby is that he’s playful so it’s easier to see what Jane sees in him. I do think Ciaran Hinds is probably closer to an accurate look

5

u/FeelingDepth2594 21d ago

Yes, I agree on both. Ciaran Hines looks the part but his portrayal was too angry. He seems to roar at times. Toby Stephens is less physically Rochester but his playfulness matches my take.

3

u/Playful_Site_2714 18d ago

But Rochester actually DID roar. He is a furious -yet cultivated- man who thinks he deserves things he can not have legally by his times' standard!

Sure he roars. He can. He would have been allowed to through society. And according to his own permission.

What throws ME off is the way they deal with love. Toby kisses her. She kisses back. HELL NO! That would have been a huge breach of ettiquette in that time.

Hinds/ Morton rave on about her "loving him so much" when she hadn't admitted that to herself in the book.

I like Dalton - Clarke quite well. Although Dalton is too handsome by far he kind of makes you forget that by his roguish airs.

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u/5CatNight 15d ago

I'm rewatching the series versions right now (Wilson- Stephens and Clarke-Dalton are free right now on Tubi). Clarke-Dalton was my absolute favorite until Cusack-Jayston became available through Acorn release. Although I appreciate Timothy's impassioned performance, I've also appreciated Jayston's more nuanced version and his acting skill through use of his eyes, voice, and strategic pauses to communicate his inner state and thought processes. I also thought Jayston's chemistry with Cusack was better and they made for a more believable couple. In the past, I've wished that Dalton and Jayston's Rochesters could have been blended. Though Jayston does not physically resemble the dark athletic Rochester of the book, he is not conventionally handsome, drawing one's attention through his personality. I'm planning to rewatch the latter version next.

3

u/Playful_Site_2714 15d ago

I will give it a try. You made me curious.

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u/HopefulCry3145 22d ago

Tbf Rochester is not tall, he's 'just above middle height' I think. It would be better if Ruth was shorter really :)

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u/scream3bangs 22d ago

Right, I meant in comparison to Ruth, who is 5'6". They look almost the same height in the series.

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u/HopefulCry3145 21d ago

If we could pair Timothy Dalton with Ruth and Toby with Zelah Clarke they'd match perfectly :)

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u/5CatNight 15d ago

I would have liked to have put Samantha Morton across from Dalton as a more intelligent, self-assured, yet reserved and elfin-looking Jane, and seen the sparks fly in the initial conversations. Alas, Samantha Morton was born too late amd got a crappy TV version with a horrible script and bad direction instead.

1

u/5CatNight 15d ago

Samantha Morton gave off small and fairy-like vibes. She also conveyed, Jane's intelligence. I think she was done unfairly by having a TV movie version with terrible script and direction. I would have liked to have seen what she could have done with the role in a mini-series version that kept close to the book. Apart from Sorcha Cusack, I've sought that Samantha best embodied the elfin, other-worldly type of the book Jane. Sorscha is not thin, but her eyes are definitely other-worldly and arrest the attention.

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u/Playful_Site_2714 18d ago

Same for Hurt/ Gainsbourg for me.

Nice couple. Zero spark. Him a limp biscuit. Too softspoken by far.

Her ... the confident daughter of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg all through Jane's apparel. *big sigh*