BA6 Specialism Interactive Character Map







Introduction



For this project I will create an interactive character map of the cast to Jane Eyre. During this project I will:



·         Research into Jane Eyre and other characters

·         Artist research from the 40s to the 50s

·         Create character portraits

·         Interactive character map



Research into Jane Eyre and other characters



I have found this very useful character list that has the names of all the characters and a quick description of their roles within the book, I have rearranged this list and color-coordinated it so that I can make sense of the character relationships, and from this I was able to make a map of all the characters. For my 50s adaptation I don't want to use all of the characters as I feel some, for example the servants in Gateshead house, would have no context within its new setting, due to the fact that within the Regency period to maintain a large stately home large teams of servants were employed to maintain the house, but in the 1950s this was not needed due to modern conveniences that could be easily maintained by one person.



Character list



Jane Eyre - The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Jane is an intelligent, honest, plain-featured young girl forced to contend with oppression, inequality, and hardship. Although she meets with a series of individuals who threaten her autonomy, Jane repeatedly succeeds at asserting herself and maintains her principles of justice, human dignity, and morality. She also values intellectual and emotional fulfillment. Her strong belief in gender and social equality challenges the Victorian prejudices against women and the poor.



John Eyre - John Eyre is Jane’s uncle, who leaves her his vast fortune of 20,000 pounds. Mrs. Reed Jane's aunt had informed John Eyre, that's Jane died during her time at Lowood School. It wasn't until Mrs. Reed was on her deathbed, did she tell Jane of her uncle’s existence, and Jane was then able to inform her uncle of her aunt’s deception.



Mr. Eyre- Mr. Eyre Jane's father contracted typhus after helping the poor, which led to his death and  to his wife’s death. After his death Jane was sent to live with his brother-in-law Mr. Reed Jane's uncle, as he knew that her uncle would be able to provide for Jane.



Mrs. Eyre -Mrs. Eyre died from typhus same as her husband, her only child Jane was then sent to live with her brother Mr. Reed, his wife and three other children, Mr. And Mrs. Eyre had no idea what fate would befall Jane after Mr. Reed death, at the mercy of his wife.

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Edward Rochester - Jane’s employer and the master of Thornfield, Rochester is a wealthy, passionate man with a dark secret that provides much of the novel’s suspense. Rochester is unconventional, ready to set aside polite manners, propriety, and consideration of social class in order to interact with Jane frankly and directly. He is rash and impetuous and has spent much of his adult life roaming about Europe in an attempt to avoid the consequences of his youthful indiscretions. His problems are partly the result of his own recklessness, but he is a sympathetic figure because he has suffered for so long as a result of his early marriage to Bertha.



Alice Fairfax - Alice Fairfax is the housekeeper at Thornfield Hall. She is the first to tell Jane that the mysterious laughter often heard echoing through the halls is, in fact, the laughter of Grace Poole—a lie that Rochester himself often repeats.

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St. John Rivers - Along with his sisters, Mary and Diana, St. John (pronounced “Sinjin”) serves as Jane’s benefactor after she runs away from Thornfield, giving her food and shelter. The minister at Morton, St. John is cold, reserved, and often controlling in his interactions with others. Because he is entirely alienated from his feelings and devoted solely to an austere ambition, St. John serves as a foil to Edward Rochester.



Diana Rivers - Diana Rivers is Jane’s cousin, and the sister of St. John and Mary. Diana is a kind and intelligent person, and she urges Jane not to go to India with St. John. She serves as a model for Jane of an intellectually gifted and independent woman.



Mary Rivers - Mary Rivers is Jane’s cousin, the sister of St. John and Diana. Mary is a kind and intelligent young woman who is forced to work as a governess after her father loses his fortune. Like her sister, she serves as a model for Jane of an independent woman who is also able to maintain close relationships with others and a sense of meaning in her life.

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Uncle Reed - Uncle Reed is Mrs. Reed’s late husband. In her childhood, Jane believes that she feels the presence of his ghost. Because he was always fond of Jane and her mother (his sister), Uncle Reed made his wife promise that she would raise Jane as her own child. It is a promise that Mrs. Reed does not keep.



Mrs. Reed - Mrs. Reed is Jane’s cruel aunt, who raises her at Gateshead Hall until Jane is sent away to school at age ten. Later in her life, Jane attempts reconciliation with her aunt, but the old woman continues to resent her because her husband had always loved Jane more than his own children.



Georgiana Reed - Georgiana Reed is Jane’s cousin and one of Mrs. Reed’s two daughters. The beautiful Georgiana treats Jane cruelly when they are children, but later in their lives she befriends her cousin and confides in her. Georgiana attempts to elope with a man named Lord Edwin Vere, but her sister, Eliza, alerts Mrs. Reed of the arrangement and sabotages the plan. After Mrs. Reed dies, Georgiana marries a wealthy man.



Eliza Reed - Eliza Reed is Jane’s cousin and one of Mrs. Reed’s two daughters (along with her sister, Georgiana). Not as beautiful as her sister, Eliza devotes herself somewhat self-righteously to the church and eventually goes to a convent in France where she becomes the Mother Superior.



John Reed - John Reed is Jane’s cousin, Mrs. Reed’s son, and brother to Eliza and Georgiana. John treats Jane with appalling cruelty during their childhood and later falls into a life of drinking and gambling. John commits suicide midway through the novel when his mother ceases to pay his debts for him.



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Helen Burns - Helen Burns is Jane’s close friend at the Lowood School. She endures her miserable life there with a passive dignity that Jane cannot understand. Helen dies of consumption in Jane’s arms.



Mr. Brocklehurst - The cruel, hypocritical master of the Lowood School, Mr. Brocklehurst preaches a doctrine of privation, while stealing from the school to support his luxurious lifestyle. After a typhus epidemic sweeps Lowood, Brocklehurst’s shifty and dishonest practices are brought to light and he is publicly discredited.



Maria Temple - Maria Temple is a kind teacher at Lowood, who treats Jane and Helen with respect and compassion. Along with Bessie Lee, she serves as one of Jane’s first positive female role models. Miss Temple helps clear Jane of Mrs. Reed’s accusations against her.



Miss Scatcherd - Jane’s sour and vicious teacher at Lowood, Miss Scatcherd behaves with particular cruelty toward Helen.



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Bertha Mason - Rochester’s clandestine wife, Bertha Mason is a formerly beautiful and wealthy Creole woman who has become insane, violent, and bestial. She lives locked in a secret room on the third story of Thornfield and is guarded by Grace Poole, whose occasional bouts of inebriation sometimes enable Bertha to escape. Bertha eventually burns down Thornfield, plunging to her death in the flames.



Richard Mason - Richard Mason is Bertha’s brother. During a visit to Thornfield, he is injured by his mad sister. After learning of Rochester’s intent to marry Jane, Mason arrives with the solicitor Briggs in order to thwart the wedding and reveal the truth of Rochester’s prior marriage.



Grace Poole - Grace Poole is Bertha Mason’s keeper at Thornfield, whose drunken carelessness frequently allows Bertha to escape. When Jane first arrives at Thornfield, Mrs. Fairfax attributes to Grace all evidence of Bertha’s misdeeds.



Mr. Briggs - John Eyre’s attorney, Mr. Briggs helps Richard Mason prevent Jane’s wedding to Rochester when he learns of the existence of Bertha Mason, Rochester’s wife. After John Eyre’s death, Briggs searches for Jane in order to give her inheritance.

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Adèle Varens - Jane’s pupil at Thornfield, Adèle Varens is a lively though somewhat spoiled child from France. Rochester brought her to Thornfield after her mother, Celine, abandoned her. Although Celine was once Rochester’s mistress, he does not believe himself to be Adèle’s father.



Celine Varens - Celine Varens is a French opera dancer with whom Rochester once had an affair. Although Rochester does not believe Celine’s claims that he fathered her daughter Adèle, he nonetheless brought the girl to England when Celine abandoned her. Rochester had broken off his relationship with Celine after learning that Celine was unfaithful to him and interested only in his money.



Sophie - Sophie is Adèle’s French nurse at Thornfield.



Blanche Ingram - Blanche Ingram is a beautiful socialite who despises Jane and hopes to marry Rochester for his money.



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Bessie Lee - The maid at Gateshead, Bessie is the only figure in Jane’s childhood who regularly treats her kindly, telling her stories and singing her songs. Bessie later marries Robert Leaven, the Reeds’ coachman.

Mr. Lloyd - Mr. Lloyd is the Reeds’ apothecary, who suggests that Jane be sent away to school. Always kind to Jane, Mr. Lloyd writes a letter to Miss Temple confirming Jane’s story about her childhood and clearing Jane of Mrs. Reed’s charge that she is a liar.

Rosamond Oliver - Rosamond is the beautiful daughter of Mr. Oliver, Morton’s wealthiest inhabitant. Rosamond gives money to the school in Morton where Jane works. Although she is in love with St. John, she becomes engaged to the wealthy Mr. Granby.



(I will not be adding these characters as I feel they don't fit with the adaptation into the new era)



From this document I want to show the relationships between characters and how they can be integrated into any era, I feel that if Charlotte Brontë was in the 1950s a she would still be writing about the same things as it was a decade of struggle for women who at this point were still being denied equality,

As the struggle for equality was a big part of her female protagonists who were always strong minded and spirited individuals who long to be considered equal to men. Also filled the struggles within the 50s would have given Charlotte a good amount of strife to put her protagonists through, the circumstances of each era may be different but the human condition remains.



During the Second World War whilst the men were fighting their workforces back home were decimated and so women were given new freedoms to be able to work, to do roles that normally would be considered impossible, it was a chance for women to have independence and do their bit for their country. But when the war ended and all the men came home the female workforce were expected to easily fit back into the kitchen whilst the men resumed their jobs, many men of the era didn't seem to understand that taking away these new freedoms was an issue, been able to work alongside men was a step in the right direction for equality where men and women are considered equal.


Artist research from the 40s to the 50s

 For the character portraits I looked at artists such as Andrew Loomis for inspiration, “William Andrew Loomis (1892–1959), better known simply as Andrew Loomis, was an American illustrator, author, and art instructor. His commercial work was featured prominently in advertising and magazines; however, Loomis is best known as author of a series of instructional art books printed throughout the 20th century. Long after his death, Loomis' realistic style has continued to influence popular artists” (Andrew Loomis Wiki).

 As I want to recreate a 1950s look and style and to use the same idyllic human form that was used Loomis and other artists in 1950s advertising and propaganda. I also spent a lot of time researching clothing styles, haircuts, architecture and cars of the time period.

Character portraits
Here are some examples of the character portrait; I've tried to take into consideration each of the characters style, and also the influence of Andrew Loomis.
I will also include in the character portraits a small bio on the character in the portrait and their connection to Jane.
Because some places in Jane's life are very relevant to the characters and story, I have also tried to apply the same art style and used architecture from the era.
Interactive character map
For the interactive character Map I went through many variations of the design trying to make it as intuitive and user-friendly as possible, I want the map to feel more like an interactive portal to the characters and places. This is the iterative process that I went through, at first I wanted to make the interactive map in a landscape format, but this was problematic because it was unclear how to navigate.
Landscape Iterations 
Then decided to take the matter in a portrait format and to lay out design a family tree style layout with Jane at the top, this alteration made it a lot easier for the reader to navigate the map, but it was still quite hard to decipher the connections between Jane and the rest of the cast. By then hold the design again so that Jane appears in the middle and all the other characters leading away from her, just like a spider diagram or mind map. I also made two different line types, one for family and the other relationship, it also included a key.
For the design of the map I wanted the lines represent branches spreading from Jane and to create segmented areas that could also represent periods of her life. For the user they'll be able to select any character or name of place to explore their own input on the story of Jane Eyre.
Follow link to view to online character map: http://www.blueantdesign.co.uk/joshjaneeyre/

Portrait iteration:                                               



Final portrait iteration:




 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Primary research
Andrew Loomis - Loomis Figure Draw, viewed 03/05/12  
Andrew Loomis - Drawing the Head and Hands, viewed 03/05/12  
Andrew Loomis - Creative. Illustration, viewed 03/05/12  
Secondary research
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Loomis, viewed 03/05/12  
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/janeeyre/characters.html viewed 24/04/12  
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/janeeyre/section1.html viewed 04/04/12  

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