Thoughts on the 1961 Jane Eyre

1961 adaptation of Jane Eyre (this is such a staged photo, there's no scene like this in the episode!)

There have been a handful of American hour long adaptations of Jane Eyre that were produced in the 40s/50s/60s for anthology television shows.  Three are generally available - one of them starred Charlton Heston as Rochester and another with Patrick MacNee (from the TV show The Avengers) as the brooding hero - and they are all interesting in their way, but there is another version that is not very accessible (but you can watch for free at the Paley museum in LA and NYC).  This one starred Sally Ann Howes and Zachary Scott.  It's one that I want to explore in this post because it's so interesting to me as an adaptation.  And in many ways I adore it.

I think of this post as a way for me to show that I can like Jane Eyre adaptations that change a lot of things from the book.  I'm not completely close-minded when it comes to liberties taken.  I do generally like for adaptations to be faithful, but if, in the event of time constraints, or catering to the audience, etc, there has to be some big changes, I still hope that those changes remain faithful to the story/characters/spirit of the original.  And in this TV version, I found that to be the case, which is very rare, especially with the changes they decided to make, and the fact that it is only an hour long.


I'm going to list some of the changes made, and why I think they worked or why they just delighted me even if they don't exactly fit in with the story.  But first I should mention the usual with these hour long productions - Jane's childhood is always skipped, and generally the Rivers section is shortened or skipped.  I can live with that, since the main drama is with Jane and Rochester at Thornfield.  Production values are simple and no one cares to even approximate an English accent.  Oh well.  And now on to some of those liberties taken with the story:

Grace Poole as a suspicious character is immediately established

With some adaptations, Grace Poole is not a major character - but she does play a role in the plot of the novel because she is the red herring for the mysterious occurrences at Thornfield.  She gives Jane a reason to not wonder too much about who is behind the fires and attacks, even if it's unclear why Mr. Rochester doesn't get rid of Grace.  I liked that in this adaptation you see that Grace likes to drink (important to note), and also that she might like to creep about the house.  It's also great that a little bit of suspense is set up right in the beginning, because this version focuses on the romance between Jane and Rochester foremost, so that early bit of Gothic flavor is appreciated.

Jane meets Mr. Rochester in the library

Instead of a Hay Lane scene where Mr. Rochester almost runs Jane down on his horse, Jane goes to the library and Mr. Rochester startles her because he is sitting there in the gloom.  It's kind of hilarious because it is surprising for him to be there, and he's completely nonplussed by Jane and her reaction.  Sadly we don't get the poetic beauty of a fairy tale turned on it's head with Mr. Rochester riding in majestically on his horse to literally falling off his horse, but we get that Mr. Rochester is unsettling to Jane, he is established as morose and brooding, and just as it is in the book, it's not very romantic at all.

Mr. Rochester tells Jane there is a madwoman in the attic

I like this change, (and it's kind of a big one!) because it's realistic to me that Rochester would just tell Jane he has a mentally unsound "relative" up there, which is what I would think most of the servants in the house know.  It also serves to downplay Jane's naïveté when it comes to not questioning the secret Mr. Rochester is obviously keeping.  Especially when he is going to marry her, and he should share everything with her.  It's a change that makes sense.

There is a scene between Mr. Rochester, Jane and Blanche!

Alright, so Blanche is not a nice person, but in the book, we only have Jane's observations of her, and not really any dialogue between the two of them so having a scene where Blanche is absolutely catty to Jane, and Jane gets her own back with a little zinger is the best.  Something that's not in the book, but something I totally wanted.  It goes like this:

Blanche: "But governess aren't supposed to, are they Miss Eyre?  Fall in love I mean.  My Mama thought she would wield an immoral influence, so she packed her off.  Minus the tutor."
Jane: "What a shame you never completed your education, Miss Ingram."
Blanche: "You have a sharp tongue haven't you?  You must learn your place..."
Rochester: "And your place is at the piano, my dear Blanche."

The scene also features Mr. Rochester more demanding in his wish for Jane to return to the party, and just generally seeming to prefer her company to Blanche, as Blanche is rather snippy Rochester walked out while she was singing. I have all kinds of love for this scene.  The subtext of the scene from the novel is brought out into an actual scene.

The proposal is wonderfully awkward

The proposal scene in the novel is especially fun to re-read (the first time you read it, I think you are caught up in the fact that Mr. Rochester is actually proposing now) but when you go over it a few more times, it's so clear just how much he's trying to push Jane into revealing her feelings.  And with this adaptation, you get a greater sense of that.  Mr. Rochester here, is so deliberately obtuse as he blatantly makes Jane think he is going to marry Blanche.  It's awful teasing, but funny in a way.  Especially when he makes the complete turnaround, and is all 'you're the one that I want.'  Jane's confusion is completely justified.  And the scene shifts into romantic very quickly, especially with this line of Rochester's:

"I don't ask you to love me, perhaps you know too much about me to love me now.  But I need you Jane, I need you to take my life and make it over.  The best and the worst of it.  If you will."

He's just baring his soul to her now, and it's beautiful.

St. John Rivers is a joke

This is not something I would generally like about the adaptation, because it is so far from the way St. John is written in the novel!  But he's so out of character in this, and so humorously unappealing, that it is funny, and he brings an unexpected lightness to the story after so much heartache.  St. John in this adaptation is rotund, balding, stuttering, over effusive and I get the sense that when he's asking Jane to become a missionary and his wife, he's surprised that Jane actually considers it.  I mean Jane acts like she seriously considers it, but the moment he leaves, she's like no way!  That's also hilarious to me.  I guess I like this change too, because I don't care for the character of St. John, so I'm not as attached to seeing him as he should be portrayed.  It's almost like with this change, St John's personality (in the book) matches the physicality of this adaptation's portrayal.  Someone so good-looking, and angelic looking, shouldn't be so cold and dismissive.

Mr. Rochester and Jane's reunion is aggressive

Ah, the last scene!  In the novel Mr. Rochester is pretty broken down - I mean he's lost his sight, one hand and the love of his life, so that's understandable.  And in the book he does show his pride, but he is really very melancholy.  But with this adaptation, Rochester has so much pride, he's angry that Jane's returned to him, because he feels like he doesn't have anything to offer her, and it's kind of adorable.  Jane's passive aggressive comments are also endearing to me.  Their relationship throughout the episode often featured verbal sparring, and it really comes out now.  Jane doesn't have patience for Mr. Rochester's pity party, and it's glorious.  Favorite line from Jane - "I'm only sorry to see that you met disaster with such poor spirit."  

Me: *slow clap*

The Writing

Perhaps you may have noticed from the parts of the script I've quoted, that this adaptation takes some liberties with the original text. It's true, it absolutely does.  I think it uses very little of the dialogue from the book, but surprisingly the script is very good at capturing the tone and spirit of the novel - at least I think so.  And that makes it an interesting script for me, because something that is so changed and abridged still gives me the feels when it comes to the story.  There are a few moments in the episode that are emotionally powerful to me, where the script perfectly brings to life the romance and personality of Jane and Rochester.  There's this one from just after the fire in Rochester's room and Rochester is talking to Jane, commenting on how much good she's done for the place --

Rochester: "Joan of Arc come to raise the siege of Thornfield."
Jane: "I'll do what I can sir, whatever I can."
Rochester: [quietly and thoughtfully]  "I wonder if you could raise it."

Or this one after the attack on Mason, and Rochester is revealing more of his feelings to Jane --

Rochester: "Are you still my friend Jane, now that you know all this?"
Jane: "I shall always be your friend, sir."
Rochester: "Then I shall make one more confession.  You are my only friend."

To paraphrase Jane - who wouldn't melt at those words??  And Jane is so pessimistic about her feelings for Rochester.  It's bittersweet, how cutting this line is for how Jane sees her love.

Jane: "I had come little by little to admit to myself that I loved him.  Though I knew if ever there was a hopeless love, it was mine for Edward Rochester."

There's also humor, as in Mr. Rochester's question when Jane returns in the end and finds him blind and lonely -

Rochester: "What brings you to Thornfield? On holiday visiting ancient monuments and ruins?"

What this adaptation manages to do astonishingly well is cut to the heart of the story and presents a dialogue that is true to the novel and the emotion, but in brevity.  For instance, instead of Mr. Rochester describing why he's not interested in Blanche during the proposal scene - in the novel he asks what love Blanche has for him and what happened when he caused the rumor to reach her that he was not rich, etc.  No, in this adaptation Rochester dismisses Blanche by calling her a "supercilious stick."  Come on, that's hilarious!  I don't know how this version can fail to delight anyone.

Conclusion

I've spent most of this post highlighting aspects of the script, but I should give lots of credit to the actors, especially Sally Ann Howes as Jane and Zachary Scott as Rochester.  Jane is "not such a rabbit" as Rochester calls her in the show, and it was refreshing to see a Jane who could hold her own verbally against Rochester.  Most adaptations struggle to show a strong Jane with an "inward fire".  I don't think Sally was the perfect Jane - there was still somewhat of a too submissive quality to her portrayal, but I think she did a creditable job and I enjoyed the touch of asperity she brought to the character.

Zachary Scott - well, I developed a great fondness for the actor because of this.  (I went and watched a bunch of his old films!)  I loved the brooding romantic quality he brought to Rochester.  He's rough, he's bitter, he's teasing, he's tender, he's almost perfect, and I found him very swoon-worthy.  And the way he would deliver some of those lines!  *fans self*  There's a moment too when Rochester abruptly moves closer to Jane and you just know he wants to kiss her, but he stops himself.  Perfection.  That exact moment of longing and restraint is the emotion I want from every Jane Eyre adaptation.  I want to say that even the soundtrack to this production is gorgeous - very romantic and pensive.

I can't believe I'm so obsessed with this version.  I can't believe it because there are so many adaptations of Jane Eyre out there, that I can own (and do), yet this one - now one of my top favorites - is unavailable!  I also feel sad that I can't share this version with everyone, because I truly feel that it would be a great introduction to the story if someone has not read it.  Err, if you don't mind TV production values from the Sixties.  And of course it would delight any fans of the novel.  All I can say is that if you have the opportunity to visit the Paley Museum, try to watch this in their library.  And if the copyright owner of the program happens to see this.... please make this for sale!!

And thank you Reader for getting through this post!  With my last, more critical Jane Eyre post on National Theater Live's version, I felt the need to talk about a lesser known adaptation of the story that I do absolutely love, despite the flaws.  And this was so much fun to write.  I have the urge to break down all the adaptations now though, so... beware!