One of the loveliest additions screenwriter Sandy Welch made to Jane Eyre was a play on the colour red and the description of the firebird, Rochester’s metaphor for Jane.
So when I came to write a song inspired by the series (something I had wanted to do for sometime, only my damned muse always lets me down) I thought it would be wonderful to base it on this scene.
Firebird, do you cry?
Firebird, do you dream
To spread your wings
And soar into the sky
Into the heart of things?
You little thing,
Quiet and calm,
Caged inside yourself,
I sit and stare and wonder
What’s underneath that mask:
Firebird, dare to fly.
A flash of red
Your lightning smile
Reveals the soul within:
I am mesmerised.
And those who catch
A glimpse will say
They’d caught a glimpse
Of heaven.
When days are dark
Do not fear;
Nestle in this nest
I have made for you;
And rest your tired wings
Until the day
You set the sky
On fire.
The song is here.
Really, the whole series was beautiful. What made this version by far the best version of JE I’ve ever seen? Well, aside from Mr. R being hotter than a thousand suns, it was also because Jane was portrayed as being much more his equal. Sure, that’s how it was in the book and what the majority of versions probably attempted to portray, but strangely enough only this version succeeded. In the versions I’ve seen, Jane was too annoying or too insipid to the point where I couldn’t see how Rochester could ever fall for her the way he did. And since this is Jane’s story, if I didn’t like her then the whole story didn’t ring true.
Static and Silence 