Images from the bookcovers of the novel ‘Jane Eyre’

位置: 林雯珊 > 未分類

2011-06-08 17:09:03, 回應(0), 人氣(1609)

Images from the bookcovers of the novel ‘Jane Eyre’, from different times--

Since its first version, Jane Eyer, Brontë’s most popular work, has been published over a century. Truly depicting how a poor young woman struggled and not yielded to the fate, it not only makes it a loved-read novel, but a subject studied by the world.
Passing through more than 100 years, Jane Eyer has been presented in many versions, and languages though, the story itself basically keeps the same. On the other hand, the design of the bookcovers has been quite different among the individual periods, such as graphic manners, printing, photography, and ways of concepts conveyance. Here is my observation:

YEAR：1847－1959 (image sources: [1]www.amazon.com[2]en.wikipedia.org)

1847 was the year when Jane Eyer was first presented to the world. The material from the first edition doesn’t seem a front cover to me, because there isn’t the name of the author; it’s more like the first inner page, with simple information. The second oldest material that I can find is from 1925, which has been a long time since 1847. It’s a pitty for the missing periods. The other materials during 1925 to 1959 are most printed with Jane Eyer herself, and some take the castle where the incidents happened as the background. The one from 1943 attracts me most. It shows many girl students moving in lines, who seem silent, self-controlled, depressive, and emotionless. What a contrast between their looks and the true feelings in their hearts.

YEAR：1960－1979 (image source:www.amazon.com)

During these periods, Jane’s portrait seemed becoming the main idea on the covers of most each book. And as the diversification of graphic styles, we can tell her personality more easily just by looking at the covers. In additon, most of the materials we have still convey a little story, like places or scenes to draw more attention.

YEAR：1980－1999 (image source:www.amazon.com)

As in the last twenty years, in these periods Jane’s portrait was still the focus on the covers but revealed her character more in detail. Also the advancement of printing enhances the pictures to fulfill the images. The materials described not just Jane’s figure but her daily life; most of time, she is always with books or as if thinking of something. That may make readers want to know her further and what her story is.

YEAR：2000－2011 (image source:www.amazon.com)

In the past 10 years, due to the rising of feminism, more and more people (men or women) have noticed a phenomenon: women’s self-awakeness is taken seriously day by day. All the materials from this time show Jane’s desolation from her profile, silhouette, sight of her back, or gestures asking for help. Though she is suffering from the circumstances she meets, we still can see her resolute personality by her firm facial expression and her solid figure. Combining the integration of photography and printing, with the appropriate performance the actresses work out, make the great images ever.

Other observation： (image source:www.amazon.com)

Flowers have been used to stand for some particular meanings. They convey thoughts, pass messages and express feelings. In 2000s, instead of Jane’s own portrait, red roses have been chosen to place on some covers of Jane Eyer as a metaphor. The meaning of red roses is love and passion, which is well-known by the world, but it also represents courage and respect. They all accord with Jane’s characters completely. When we see the covers, we see the personality of the person.

Jane Eyer is an inspiration--

After years of feminism rising, self-awakeness is a basic attitude of women nowadays. It’s a test but not a task, because we live in the right time. On the contrary, Jane Eyer made her choices in a difficult time, which took quite courage and resolution. Jane Eyer inspires confidence in readers, and gives them faith to accomplish themselves. That’s why it is and will be eulogized throughout the world.