tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15451736.post6449476826651452430..comments2023-12-27T19:55:18.318-05:00Comments on Margaret Moore: Jane Eyre, divorce and the needs of the authorMargaret Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11556769462995493735noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15451736.post-6092747980898890832023-06-06T03:13:17.063-04:002023-06-06T03:13:17.063-04:00Just come across this, Margaret, as I was rewatchi...Just come across this, Margaret, as I was rewatching the 1983 version of Jane Eyre (I love the 2006 one too, but find the MiaZ one rather poor because the chemistry between Mia & Michael is completely non-existent). It was very interesting to discover that annulment was still alive & well in Victorian times - when divorce was still very tricky for the aristocracy. So it's not just a Catholuc thing. I would have thought that a full concept of "informed consent" and the ability to have offspring would have been areas for annulment being sought by Rochester. To know about a serious heritable illness in the family - with lots of family history in the present and past generations is highly pertinent to the marriage. This is both from the degree of illness in the wife, and potential illness in their expected offspring - the importance of an heir who's well and fit to fullfill that role. Yes, it is questionable whether Bertha was capable of full, informed consent. Yes, all that minimising of the contact Rochester had with Bertha suggests an intentional suppressing of her true self as already afflicted. Rochester does talk about thd passage of 4yr before he was fully aware - but that was because he had no knowledge to look for the signs. Her infidelities suggested her incapability of entering into a marriage contract with the intent of preserving its unity - ie remaining faithful to her spouse... I think it is a good point you make, Margaret - the author's choice to make Rochester still 'shackled'. I have found an academic paper which attempts to explore the most likely illness she had: Huntingdon's Chorea. Her highly promiscuous nature reminds me of mania (bipolar) which is quite common. Re Bronte's decision- I also think the likely inspiration for the story from Charlotte's falling in with her very much married Brussel's professor, with an unquestionable impediment (from Charlotte's viewpoint) of his very alive & healthy wife, made a shackled Rochester truer to life. She would have loved to banish the prof's wife to an attic; she would have loved to have seen out of the way completely. She had to settle with doing it in literary form!Ruthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15451736.post-33783728122533017782007-01-26T18:40:00.000-05:002007-01-26T18:40:00.000-05:00Regarding the possibility of a divorce under the c...Regarding the possibility of a divorce under the circumstances in Jane Eyre, Rochester certainly was the victim of fraudulent representation of facts, and could perhaps have gotten an annullment because of it. However, because the marriage vows apply "in sickness and in health," her insanity may create a sort of "catch-22" since it's a form of "sickness." I never could decide whether R's behavior toward his wife was a plus in the morally responsible column or a minus in the martyrdom column. (As for Henry VIII's divorce extravaganza, he caused a rift in the church that has had monumental impact on world history, but even so, the divorce of Charles and Diana wasn't exactly quick or easy.)KatyDoesWritehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02351958504622328496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15451736.post-37599329892547311132007-01-26T09:52:00.000-05:002007-01-26T09:52:00.000-05:00I like Ciaran Hinds in some things (Ivanhoe comes ...I like Ciaran Hinds in some things (Ivanhoe comes to mind, where he was the baddie) but he just ain't right for Rochester for me. Maybe because I've seen him in too many other things?<br /><br />I just ordered another version on DVD, starring Sorcha Cusack. Accoring to some of my fellow Harlequin Historical writers, it's really good. I'll have to do a review after I've seen it.Margaret Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11556769462995493735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15451736.post-27900456230992352022007-01-25T20:28:00.000-05:002007-01-25T20:28:00.000-05:00Great post, I guess I never really thought about i...Great post, I guess I never really thought about it. I just enjoyed the story,but now that you pointed it out I wonder to why he didn't seek an annullment or a divorce. King Henry sure did it enough and he was before poor Rochester.<br /><br />I couldn't bring myself to watch this newest version of Eyre, I thought the girl playing Jane just didn't sit right with me. I still love the PBS version with Ciaran Hinds the best.Amy Ruttanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02212879406999128140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15451736.post-35715136912382355012007-01-25T12:02:00.000-05:002007-01-25T12:02:00.000-05:00Great post, Margaret. I can't wait to see this.Great post, Margaret. I can't wait to see this.Michelle Rowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691058663799662706noreply@blogger.com