Even when we return to a familiar text, we reread it both to fill old

gaps and to become aware of new ones (Thomas Leitch). Consider

how and why two adaptations studied on the course fill or create
gaps from their adapted narrative.

Both Jean Rhys and Cary Fukunaga use their adaptations of the canonical
Jane Eyre to retell the story of a quest for identity, however the ways in
which they approach the source text are completely different. Rhyss
novel Wide Sargasso Sea replaces Jane as the heroine with the villainous
first Mrs. Rochester, providing, for the prejudiced readers consideration,
another side to Charlotte Brontes characterisation of the figure of
otherness1. By giving the bestialized Antoinette a voice and human past
as a she and I, rather than degrading it, Rhys precedes the attic
entrapment and tragic death with a whole new story and a different
viewpoint. She puts to question the heroines and villains previously
established and entrenched in Charlotte Brontes novel, unveiling
unnoticed or intentionally overlooked similarities between Janes and
Antoinettes burning desire for belonging and unwillingness to submit to
their socially predestined positions. Fukunagas visually advanced
adaptation of Jane Eyre [2011], reworks the text cinematographically, revisioning the chronology of events in order to showcase the imprint of
mental oppression on the struggling heroine. Without overtly interfering
with the narrative, the director also enriches the story with previously
undeveloped or unused elements, in order to make the attentive viewer
aware of what Bronte left unsaid. This essay will analyse the literal and

1 Sylvie Maurel, The Other Stage: from Jane Eyre to Wide Sargasso Sea, Bronte
Studies,34.2 (2009), pp.155-161 (p.155).

cinematic language the authors use to shed a fresh beam of light on the
two women in the well-known story the admired, supported one and the
tragically misunderstood. I will focus specifically on the repressed
passion in both Jane and Antoinette and the ways in which one of them
creates perseverance and strength, whereas the other lethal madness. I
shall also touch on the role of Rochester in the creation or loss of
Antoinettes and Janes sense of self, which both of the adaptors
reinterpret in some shape or form.

In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys precedes the madwomans tragic end briefly
described in Jane Eyre with the clever use of figurative language and
intricate metaphors, in order to reflect on the deeper causes of
Antoinettes madness, rooted in the shattering events of her early life.
The fire, which consumes both her anguished body, as well as the hostile
milieu that is Thornfield Hall, resembles the one that ravished her only
place of belonging when she was a girl - Coulibri. Rhys describes the loss
of domestic balm and comfort through the device of allegory. In the first
part of the novel, devoted to Antoinettes bittersweet childhood, the
symbolic death of the parrot can be read as an omen of Antoinettes
disastrous fate. The flightless bird, with wings clipped by Mason, is said
to have grown bad tempered2, which can refer to the heroines further
insanity caused by liberticidal entrapment, the inability to fly freely
away from another Englishman Rochester. The only words the parrot
regularly repeats is a French question Qui est la?3 (Who is there?),
2 Rhys, Jean, Wide Sargasso Sea (London: Penguin, 2000), p.22.
3 Rhys, p.22.
2

which resembles those of Jane, echoing in the halls of Thornfield and

representing her anxious curiosity for the mysterious, haunting presence,
whenever she hears the growling or laughter of the imprisoned
Antoinette. In the passage where the maimed animal makes the attempt
to fly and falls in a deadly icarian flight, all on fire4, its screeches of
agony mimic those of Antoinette in Jane Eyre, where she yells and gives
a spring5 before making the craze-driven suicidal jump into the flames.
Before she dies, she stands on the roof, waving her arms6, which
juxtaposed with Rhyss writing can be seen as a symbol for breaking free
Antoinette regains the power in her wings, and frees herself from the
shackles of confusion, as well as her crippled, fragmentary identity. Rhys
therefore uses the tragic death of an innocent creature as an
unmistakable indication of the incomplete portrait of Antoinette that
Bronte paints; the other side to the story unveils, finally giving the
misinterpreted lunatic a motive to be mad. Through the destroying climax
point of the house fire description in Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys alludes to
Brontes heroine Jane and her attachment and longing for Thornfield the
only place where her sense of self and emotional safety were ever
secured. Both houses turned into ashes, create a connection between the
seemingly different and distant women, making a suggestion for the
reader to notice the humanity and suffering in Antoinette, as they easily
do in Jane. Apart from subjecting the reader to take a more
compassionate approach towards the wild, aggressive woman locked
4 Rhys, p.24.
5 Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre [Kindle edition], p. 175.
6 Bronte, p.175.
3

away in the attic, Rhys subtly hints on the fault of the Englishman and the
deleterious impact on his wifes tranquillised identity and silenced fire of
passion.

In his contemporary adaptation of Jane Eyre, Fukunaga does not offer

dramatic changes to Brontes narrative overall, yet takes a risk measure
of shifting the structure, which in previous cinematic interpretations
stayed true to the novels chronological, autobiographical order. Through
unveiling of the plot in the reorganised form of recurring, elaborate
flashbacks, 2011 Jane Eyre offers a fresh, yet more disturbing view on the
heroines emotional journey and once more depreciated sense of identity,
flimsily created at Thornfield. The compelling, powerful imagery of the
opening scene fully maximises Brontes lengthy description of Janes
itinerancy after fleeing from Thornfield, commonly softened and
shortened by previous adaptors. By opening the film where the novel
already proceeds to its third and final part, Fukunaga explores Janes fate
with the strong, instant focus on her abruptly interrupted adulthood,
rather than the unfortunate beginnings and harsh upbringing. To those
familiar with the source text, this unusual reconfiguration of the story
proposes a baffling, perhaps even eye-opening alternative, making the
reader - viewer reconsider Janes life story in a more selective,
fragmentary manner. This interferes with the idea of the coming of age
Bildungsroman genre, yet puts more emphasis on the often overlooked
post-Rochester part, when Jane discovers independence and does not
have to be subordinate for the first time in her life. For the audience

unacquainted to Brontes novel, the scene depicting an anonymous

female vagrant, roaming vast marshes and moors in emotional distress
and agony, may form a mystery the viewer has to yet unravel instead of
watching Janes both literal and mental growth, we first see her as a
broken woman of disturbing, unknown past, whose struggles to regain
the long lost identity were ceased by the reveal of a devastating secret.
The eeriness surrounding Jane is strengthened by a teasing, sinister
voice, which murmurs: Jane Eyre when she is being asked to introduce
herself. The scene changes suddenly to the first retrospect of the young
Jane, ambushed by her violent, abusive cousin. Fukunaga plays with the
idea of Janes lifelong strive to remain hidden and undiscovered first as
a shunned, rejected child, now as a almost a bride7, who fears if found
by the manqu husband, she may not have the strength to leave him
again. Fukunagas measures are not as much gap fillers, as they are
subtle reconfigurations and additives to the narrative, yet they can
successfully alter the perception of Janes story as a whole and therefore
create new gaps and raise thought provoking reflections.

The significance of being in the possession of a name in the persistent

struggle for identity is further explored by both Fukunaga and Rhys,
whose heroines numerous renaming plays a big role in dehumanising
and confusion, but also a chance for empowerment and the way to
achieving the desired selfhood. At Janes and Rochesters first encounter,
he mockingly refers to her as Miss Governess in a patronising voice,
7 Ibid, p.121.
5

labelling her as a nameless, insignificant figure, whose only role is her,

not highly regarded nor admired, situation. Concerning his wife, to those
unfamiliar with Wide Sargasso Sea only known as Bertha, Rochester
employs a similar, yet much more harmful practice. Originally named
Antoinette in Rhyss prequel, Rochester strips his wife of her Creole
identity by calling her Bertha, as well as inventing an ironic nickname
marionette8, suggesting the confused womans fate is in his possession,
reduced to a spirit-deprived shell, lifeless toy. This device provides
paradox to the story, where Antoinette is finally put on stage of her own
existence, yet is still defeated. Rhys exposes the intolerant, cruel nature
of Rochester, shedding more light onto the injustices done to the mentally
scarred Antoinette, who in Brontes novel is limited merely to animalistic
similes (the clothed hyena9), frantic laughter and aggressive outbursts
she therefore attempts to provide an explanation and liberates what
Brontes Jane Eyre represses10. Rhyss device of comparing Antoinette to
a string puppet may also be a reference to Rochesters influence on Jane,
drawing on what she bellicosely states in the novel about never being
able to bear being dressed like a doll by Mr Rochester11. One could
argue this statement is also reflected in Fukunagas characterisation of
the scene, where Jane tears off her wedding dress and returns to the
ordinary plainness. On the day of the wedding, she takes a bittersweet
note of the fact that she wont be Jane Eyre any longer12, yet does not
8 Rhys, p.99.
9 Bronte, p.120.
10 Sylvie Maurel, The Other Stage: from Jane Eyre to Wide Sargasso Sea, Bronte
Studies,34.2 (2009), pp.155-161 (p.156).
11 Bronte, p.110.
12 Jane Eyre, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Universal, 2011.

suspect that new identity she anxiously prepares herself to acquire,

already belongs to the human impediment the imprisoned first Mrs
Rochester. What in Brontes novel happens emotionlessly and
mechanically13, Fukunaga depicts as a symbolic release of repressed
passions by focusing the camera on Janes hands, loosening her tight
corset with fierce pulls. The constricting garment, that like a cage
entraps Jane in feminine ideals of the Victorian society, she strips off
hastily as if it was a burning Shirt of Nessus, a poisoning deceit of
Rochesters that unleashes her from social expectations, but also the
bond with the beloved man. Although she shows more inner strength than
Antoinette, Fukunagas adaptation takes her vivid dreams of Rochester
further, creating a lucid hallucination of his and Janes passionate
reunion. The director uses that unexpected scene to strongly
communicate to the audience the overwhelming, maddening allegiance
Jane has towards her master capable of disowning her precious,
earned name to become Miss Elliott, she is albeit too weak to forswear
the spiritual bond she shares with Rochester.

The discussed adaptations of Jane Eyre both fill and create gaps in their
adapted narrative, both challenging the reader with the other side of the
coin, as well as questioning what they already know about the familiar
plot with gentle twists and visual changes. The purpose of Rhyss novel is
clearly to create identity for Antoinette, regardless of her inevitable doom
in both Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea. She fills the gap of before in
13 Bronte, p.121.
7

the one-sided, after story featured in Brontes novel, where the figure of
Antoinette/Bertha is used merely to represent Janes suppressed angry
self14. In her linguistically rich prose, filled with intricate references,
metaphors and vivid symbolism, Rhys draws on the parallelism of
Antoinettes and Janes identities, both perished in fire, suggesting that
suppressed madwoman is in fact Janes double, not the demonic Other.
Apart from that, Wide Sargasso Sea also emphasises the fault of
Rochester through the attack on the English patriarchy15, blamed by Rhys
for the destruction of Antoinettes primaeval sense of self. On the other
hand, Fukunaga explores Janes identity through the powerful depiction
of her escape-into-wholeness16 pilgrimage, presented unusually in the
opening scene of the film. By introducing Jane as a vagrant, mysterious
soul, rather than a troubled, rejected girl, he creates a more mature and
imaginative answer to Brontes narrative. His further interpretation of
Janes quest for independence, involves a more passionate and
emotionally driven reaction to Rochesters betrayal and the burning need
to untangle from the no longer existing future as his wife. Although
empowered both by Bronte and the director to leave Rochester, in
Fukunagas adaptation Jane is haunted by a lucid, passionate vision of
his, which questions her sanity and therefore also, like in Rhyss
adaptation, the intoxicating influences Rochester may have on his women.
Word count: 1983
14 Sylvie Maurel, The Other Stage: from Jane Eyre to Wide Sargasso Sea, Bronte
Studies,34.2 (2009), pp.155-161 (p.155).
15 Helen Carr, Intemperate and Unchaste: Jean Rhys and Caribbean Creole Identity,
Women: A Cultural Review, 14.1 (2003), pp. 38-58 (p. 52).
16 Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Madwoman In The Attic (New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2000), p. 336.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre [Kindle edition].
Carr, Helen, Intemperate and Unchaste: Jean Rhys and Caribbean
Creole Identity, Women: A Cultural Review, 14.1 (2003), pp. 38-58.
Earnshaw, Steven, Give me my name: Naming and Identity In and
Around Jane Eyre, Bronte Studies, 37.3 (2012), pp. 174-189.
Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar, The Madwoman In The Attic (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2000).
Jane Eyre, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Universal, 2011.
Lacey, A. R, A Dictionary Of Philosophy (London: Routledge & K. Paul,
1976).
Maurel, Sylvie, The Other Stage: from Jane Eyre to Wide Sargasso Sea,
Bronte Studies,34.2 (2009), pp.155-161.
Rhys, Jean, Wide Sargasso Sea (London: Penguin, 2000).

Shachar, Hila, Cultural Afterlives And Screen Adaptations Of

Classic Literature (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
Sternlieb, Lisa Ruth, The Female Narrator In The British Novel
(Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002).