FAQ

(From a board message by Unwanted Birdtamer (http://www.imdb.com/user/ur2353179/boards/profile/), comparing the Austen period to the Bronté period, marriagewise:

"Austen wrote in the Regency period, not the Victorian. Part of the "criteria" for people's ages was the shorter life expectancy, as well as shorter child-bearing years for women. Women generally didn't get their first periods till about 17 or 18, and then went through menopause about 40-43 or so. So Charlotte Lucas not being married at 27 would have missed several of those important years in society's eyes. Also, with the poor diet, even among the wealthy, lack of hygiene, and lack of medicine or cures for diseases, people did tend to generally be in poor health, which showed in appearance. But as for Col Brandon, Marianne is young and exuberant, like most teenagers even today, she considers anyone five or ten years older than her as ancient. Same thing with Lydia. Lydia might consider her sister nearly a spinster, but the average marrying age for women in the Regency period was 22-23, so Jane was certainly not a spinster at 21. Lydia marrying at 15 was the exception, definitely not the norm. Lydia's issues with the age were more to do with her being marriage hungry, wanting the status, the house, and yes, the sex that went with it. She's so impatient that she can't conceive the thought of waiting seven or eight years for all of that.

For men in the Regency period, oldest sons, like Darcy or Bingley, tended to marry at about 28, after they had inherited their fortunes, gone for tours around the continent, etc. Younger sons, like Col Brandon, tended to marry at about 38, because they weren't inheriting, so had to make their own fortunes first.

During the Victorian era when Jane Eyre was set, I believe the marrying ages had actually risen a bit for women. They were starting to marry around 25-26; but men still married around the same age as during the Regency. I don't know why Adele's mother called Rochester an old man--could be his attitude and personality made him seem older than he was, could be she was very young herself."

Edit: The answer above does not actually address the age gap. When they meet, there is 20 years difference: Mr. Rochester is 37, Jane Eyre is 18. This is even mentioned in the book as a major age gap (see chapter 36, "Mr. Rochester was about forty, and this governess not twenty; and you see, when gentlemen of his age fall in love with girls, they are often like as if they were bewitched. Well, he would marry her."). The gap between Mr. Rochester and Blanche Ingram (who is about 3 years older than Jane) is excused- but not unnoted- because of the financial advantages of the match to the "impoverished" Ingram family and the rank of that family.

While for the most part a faithful retelling of the novel, the screenplay does contain minor deviations. These include the reduction of time devoted to the first third (Lowood School) and the final third (St. John) of the novel. The middle of the novel is instead developed and a few scenes from the novel are compressed or moved to different times and places in the narrative. The scenes surrounding Jane's flight from the Rochester estate until her gaining of health are treated as a brief dream sequence, a useful tool that enabled many pages of text to be condensed into a passage of a few minutes' length. Additional scenes were created for the screenplay which underscore the passionate natures of Jane and Rochester (a thematic point implied but not explicated throughout the novel). One of the more significant plot changes occurs during the gypsy sequence as Rochester hires a gypsy rather than portraying one himself. Rochester also uses an ouija board as a supplement to this game, a scene which was written specifically for the screenplay.(wikipedia)