• About WordPress
    • WordPress.org
    • Documentation
    • Support
    • Feedback
  • Log In
  • Read
    • Books
  • Travel
    • Tours
    • Hotels
    • Videos
  • Connect
    • About
    • Submissions
    • Contact

    Sign in


    • Read
      • Books
    • Travel
      • Tours
      • Hotels
      • Videos
    • Connect
      • About
      • Submissions
      • Contact
    Sign in

    Tag: Charlotte Bronte

    Gemma Hardy vs. Jane Eyre

    You are unauthorized to view this page. Username Password Remember Me     Forgot Password

    Carly Cassano January 16, 2013
    0 Comments

    Featured Posts

    • Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash 1
      Literary Traveler’s 2022 Holiday Gift Guide
      • November 28, 2022
    • Mt. Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak, under overcast skies. Photo by: Heidi Lachapelle, circa August 23, 2021 2
      Katahdin: “The Great Mountain” and Six Witty Wanderers
      • November 14, 2022
    • 3
      Chasing the Northern Lights: Driving Iceland’s Ring Road (with Gísli the Outlaw)
      • October 25, 2022
    • 4
      I have seen Sakhalin
      • October 19, 2022
    • 5
      Falling for New Hampshire: Oktoberfest at Purity Spring Resort
      • October 7, 2022

    Recent Posts

    • Mexico City Muse
      • September 14, 2022
    • Into Denali: Not quite following in Chris McCandless’ footsteps
      • August 26, 2022
    • Touring Colombia with the Ghost of Gabo
      • July 5, 2022

    Categories

    • Articles (472)
    • Author (10)
    • Books (125)
    • Cruises (4)
    • Gear (29)
    • Hotels (30)
    • Interviews (5)
    • Movies (14)
    • My Personal Legend (4)
    • Newsletter (1)
    • Recent Articles (6)
    • Reviews (7)
    • Theater (4)
    • Tours (54)
    • Travel (82)
    • TV (3)
    • Uncategorized (54)

    Author

    Francis

    Newsletter Signup

    Sign up to receive emails about upcoming events, site updates, and other news!

    Select list(s) to subscribe to


    By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Literary Traveler, PO Box 1254, West Concord, MA, 01742-2968, http://www.literarytraveler.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

    Our Story….

    At Literary Traveler we help readers explore their literary imagination. Since 1998, Literary Traveler has provided informative and inspiring travel writing featuring writers and the places that they have traveled. We also have featured a wide variety of literary tours, and literary events to help readers find exciting and interesting places to visit. We have offered unique tours with organizations like Classical Pursuits the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In the past we have promoted and participated in literary tours and cruises on The Delta Queen and The Queen Mary 2. Please check out our travel videos and travel blogs. 

    If you are interesting in writing for Literary Traveler please see our travel writing guidelines. If you are interested in advertising or listing your tours, please contact us at 1-855-LIT-TRVL, 1-855-548- 8785 or use our contact form to request our updated Media Kit. We also consult with various destination marketing organizations, tour companies and hotels and resorts.

    We use and recommend Boston Corporate Photographer Brian Smith for our still photos and video needs. We also highly recommend Travel Writer Steve Jermanock's Active Travels as a top Boston Travel Agency for planning your next adventures.

    © 2023 - Literary Traveler

    Forum Description

    By Kelsey A. Liebenson-Morse Margot Livesey’s novel, The Flight of Gemma Hardy, is a bold and brave new adaption of Charlotte Bronte’s much beloved Jane Eyre. Being a devoted fan of Jane Eyre, it was with some trepidation I decided to try out Livesey’s novel (fearing the book would do nothing but tamper with my indelible image of Jane and Rochester locked in eternal love), but I was delighted to find the novel immensely readable, versatile, and true to the original, in the ways that matter, while also maintaining its own identity. Livesey’s novel begins much like Bronte’s: cue in fiery young orphan; orphan goes to terrible boarding school; orphan takes mysterious job as an au pair...you know the rest.  Gemma Hardy bears striking resemblances to Jane Eyre in a few significant ways: she’s small, dark, bright, and she has a will others around her find difficult to contend with and understand. Most importantly, Gemma and Jane share an iron will and inner grit that makes them survivors. No matter what the world takes from them, both women persevere with grace and dignity. One of the few areas I found lacking in Gemma was the connection between Blackbird Hall’s master, Mr. Sinclair and Gemma.  What brings Rochester and Jane together is their equally matched intellect, lively conversation, and the recognition of someone to challenge and to compliment one another–a partner in life and love. Although separated by age, class, and wealth, Jane and Rochester have no choice but to be together. As Rochester confessed, “I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my centre and spring of life, wrap my existence about you–and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one.”  It is this terrible and real romance that makes Jane Eyre one of my favorite novels; the love story between Gemma and Mr. Sinclair simply doesn't have the same emotional depth. Mr. Sinclair’s “crazy wife upstairs” secret is nowhere as devious and scandalous as the original, so Gemma’s “flight” seems simulated. Their attraction to one another seems more like a fleeting crush then the stuff of eternity. The novel is set primarily on the Orkney Islands, and I was particularly captivated by Livesey’s lush descriptions of a harsh, striking landscape. She writes about the Orkneys in a way that only one who loves them can, and her admiration for the island sets a lovely backdrop for the novel.  “Beyond the farmyard not a single tree broke the horizon. In on field several black cows ignored me; in another a flock of curlews, pecking at the stubble with their curved beaks, took wing to my approach.” Livesey’s attention to detail makes the Islands easy to imagine. Livesey’s novel departs from Bronte’s drastically in the third part of the novel, when Gemma flees her would-be husband and heads out on her own. Gemma ends up in a sleepy town, and becomes a member of the sympathetic Watson family–comprised of brother Archie, sister Hannah, and Hannah’s partner Pauline–in a seemingly unconnected sub-plot about lesbian acceptance in small town, 1960s Scotland.  From there, she begins to discover herself, finding passion in continuing her education and caring for a small boy. Through this process, Gemma embarks on a trip to her native Iceland, and stumbles upon parts of her personal history she never knew existed. We're with Gemma from a young age, as we are with Jane, and Livesey makes Gemma’s journey from childhood to womanhood enjoyable and compelling to follow. From the windswept fields of Kirkwall to the shores of Iceland, we stand by, root for, and wish her well. Just as Bronte did, Livesey creates a character you cannot help but fall in love with.

    Report

    There was a problem reporting this post.

    Harassment or bullying behavior
    Contains mature or sensitive content
    Contains misleading or false information
    Contains abusive or derogatory content
    Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

    Block Member?

    Please confirm you want to block this member.

    You will no longer be able to:

    • See blocked member's posts
    • Mention this member in posts
    • Invite this member to groups
    • Message this member
    • Add this member as a connection

    Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

    Report

    You have already reported this .