#adele varens

[elephantlovemedleys]

Adele, when lifted in, commenced kissing me, by way of expressing her gratitude for my intercession: she was instantly stowed away into a corner on the other side of him. She then peeped round to where I sat; so stern a neighbour was too restrictive to him, in his present fractious mood, she dared whisper no observations, nor ask of him any information. — Jane Eyre, Chapt. XXIII. Charlotte Brontë

[jomiddlemarch]

I rewatched the Ruth Wilson Jane Eyre this week because it's a comfort watch for me and then decided I'd finally try the Ciaran Hinds/Samantha Morton one and I gave up midway through because

SO DAMN SHOUTY

(plus the terrible sideburns and the weird writing choices and the big kiss that was like watching a train wreck)

but I did think it was interesting that it's a version where Rochester seems genuinely fond of Adele, like he considers her to be his actual child, not this annoying French poodle person.

And then I thought about the whole "should Adele go to school or have a governess" argument and I'm finding myself torn--they seem eager both before the bigamous marriage and after the real one to send her to school (even though Jane's experience was abysmal and her running the school for the poor girls isn't enough to really off-set that) but Jane also has to listen to the Ingrahams go on and on trashing governesses, who seem to be the default method of education for an upper class girl and I'm wondering how Jane squares the circle on this and in a way, it seems to come down to sending Adele away because she's annoying and she's annoying because she's French.

Anyway, I had to have a palate cleanser after the Ciaran Hinds fiasco so I watched a few episodes of the Timothy Dalton/Zelah Clarke, which is very dark (in terms of actual lighting) but he is so wild as Rochester that it works and he messes up her hair in a gesture of tenderness I feel like rarely appears.

[incorrectjaneeyre]

adele: mr rochester, why do you always call mademoiselle a fairy?

mr rochester: because she's so delicate and beautiful and ethereal and--

jane, not bothering to look up from her book: adele, it's really because i'm short. mr rochester is simply sugarcoating facts with fiction.

mr rochester, slightly indignant: but-- but--

[fiberartsam]

We do need to talk about Adèle Varens though

[winter-wise]

I've never believed Adele was Rochester's bio kid because the whole theme surrounding Adele is that Rochester had no reason whatsover to provide for her, but he took her in and ensured she had an education and a happy childhood anyway. The whole point is he had no obligation to do that.

[raointean]

From chapter 11 of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre"

[velvet4510]

In “Jane Eyre,” do you think Adele is Rochester’s biological daughter?

Yes

No

Voting ended onSep 9, 2024

[best-character-named-x-poll]

Best Character Named Adele

Adele Varens (Jane Eyre)

Adele Blanc Sec (The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec)

Adele Campbell (Behind Her Eyes)

Adele Stackhouse (True Blood)

Adele Webber (Grey's Anatomy)

Adelle DeWitt (Dollhouse)

Voting ended onMar 30, 2025

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