I awoke to the sound of my phone buzzing on the hotel night side table, after tossing and turning for hours I couldn’t bear the thought of being woken up in the early hours of the morning the night before my wedding! I picked up my phone and saw several notifications from a woman who’s name I’d never seen before, Brielle Stevenson, what on earth could this lady possibly want at 3:14 AM. Since I was up, with a firing curiosity and no chance of falling back asleep I unlocked my phone, with a picture of Kyle and myself from out engagement photoshoot back in September staring me right in the face, I smile. By the time Facebook messenger had loaded I could see multiple messages from this same lady, obviously thinking I’m someone else, I’d never seen her name before. The first message read “Hey Jane, you’ll never believe this but give me a second” I looked away from my phone for a moment before reading the other messages, digging through years of memories to try and locate this name, Brielle didn’t ring any bells, did she have a nickname maybe? I kept reading, “I saw the event on Facebook, I wasn’t lurking but I need to tell you something. I know Kyle. We were married, actually, well, we still are. We never got a divorce because it would be costly and we kind of just agreed to live our separate lives. We got married in 2003, seems like a lifetime ago but I don’t know how you plan on marrying him tomorrow if we’re still legally together! I’m sure he told you I was a crazy bitch or something but hear me out. I have nothing to gain from this — I just need you to know before the wedding”. I stopped for what felt like an eternity before taking another breath. I thought for a second that she could be telling the truth, she was right, what did she have to gain from this? Then I felt a tremendous guilt, how could I possibly trust this lady from Facebook I’ve never heard of, Kyle couldn’t just leave out this whole part of his life, he told me everything. I pressed the information button in the top right corner to block her and subsequently received another message, this time a blank media folder was loading. I waited before blocking her to see what she could possibly be sending me, now 3:18 AM. When it loaded, a picture popped up on my dimmed phone screen, a picture of Kyle, just younger and slightly plumper, next to this woman who has been messaging me. I click on her profile to get a better look of this Brielle lady, it is in fact the woman wearing the form fitting mermaid gown in the photo she sent. I begin to write her back, unsure of what I could possibly say. “Why are you only telling me this now?” my fingers began to type, and without thinking the message was sent. I got a quick reply “I just saw the event ‘Rochester wedding 2018’ pop-up on my timeline three weeks ago when I saw a mutual friend RSVP. I had to click and see what it was about, I’m still legally married to Kyle so it obviously peaked my interest, I didn’t know if I should say anything considering the way he talks about me behind my back”. “He’s never mentioned you, Brielle. How do I know this isn’t just an edited picture? Everyone has photoshop. I should get back to bed the ceremony starts at 11”, I replied. I put my phone down to process what had just happened, pinching myself to make sure this wasn’t a terrible dream. My phone buzzed four more times, seconds apart. This girl was really getting on my nerves now, I unlocked the phone once again this time pausing at my lock screen of Kyle and I looking content as ever, just a few weeks ago. I opened the messages, four more pictures load on the screen, this time a marriage certificate dated December 15, 2003. The next, a picture from their honeymoon taken in some tropical place, probably Cuba or something, with Brielle in Kyles arms on the beach. That was enough, I didn’t even need to open the other two.
I called Kyle in a panic, it’s nearly 4:00 AM the night before our wedding, I feel terrible waking him since I know how hard it was to fall asleep but I can’t let my mind wander any further. I open my recent calls and press “Ky❤️” to dial his number. The rings feel as though they’re hours apart, I needed an answer. He didn’t answer the first time, so I called a second, and a third but he didn’t pick up. I laid there, unsure of how to proceed. I couldn’t go see him because I was already at the hotel and he was at home 45 minutes away, he really believed that seeing each other on our wedding day was such bad luck that we had to sleep in different cities. I wonder if he felt the same way about being married without telling his fiancé, sounds like bad luck to me. Without hope of sleeping I got back on my phone, this time to do some lurking. I saw that Brielle and Kyle have been friends on Facebook since 2006. “So they couldn’t have possibly been married before that”, I thought to myself before realizing that Facebook only became open to the public on September 26, 2006, thanks to a quick Google search. If they’d already been married for some time by then I probably couldn’t find any pictures of the wedding on Facebook. I decided to put the phone down and try to sleep, but I knew there was no chance. I laid awake watching CNN going on about the results of the midterm elections in the United States from last week, I’m not watching though, it was nothing but background noise.
I managed to doze off at some point because I awoke to the hair stylist knocking at the door around 8:30. I didn’t want to say anything to her, what if I ruined his reputation but there was an explanation? Maybe she really was crazy like she said Kyle must have told me? I silently let Kate, the hairstylist, takeover and do what she could with my hair, I was no Victoria Secret model by any stretch. When she left I picked up my phone and reread the conversation between myself and Brielle last night to make sure it had really happened, it did. I called Kyle once again and his best man Mason picked up “Hey Jane! Getting cold feet?” He asked, “Hey Mason, can I just talk to Kyle please it’s really important” I replied. “Uh sorry, Kyle says its bad luck to talk before the wedding, but he loves you! We have to get ready, see ya later Jane.” And the line went blank.
Somehow I managed to put makeup on my face and slip on my dress without help, considering the short notice, none of my friends from university could make it, they were out of province and were in the middle of the semester. I didn’t take it badly though, I graduated just last summer and knew how hectic midterm season was. I didn’t want to call and disturb their studying with this heavy weight sitting on my chest and I couldn’t speak to Kyle so I sat down and scrolled through my phone until it was time to go to the church. Without much time to plan a proper formal wedding, we used Facebook events to send out what were supposed to be invitations, mostly to his friends since mine were busy and instead of a limousine I got an UberX all to myself, I’d never given much thought as to why Kyle was so opposed to the Facebook thing, but he ultimately gave in to me. Dots were starting to connect, maybe he didn’t want Brielle to see it, and she did, thankfully she did.
Upon arriving at the church, after spending the whole twenty minute drive from the Ritz on my phone zooming in and out of those pictures sent from Brielle, my stomach dropped. The driver was telling me I looked nervous, but his wife also did when they got married, I smiled and nodded before getting out of the car. It seemed so informal to take an Uber to your own wedding but I guess most weddings aren’t planned on a two months notice. With the church barely full, the wedding planner Bessie ushered me to a small room where she gave me my bouquet and tightened the back of my dress. I was silent this whole time, I felt like I couldn’t get the words out to anyone, was I going to marry a liar though? Was he lying? The questions flew through my head as I headed down the aisle, seeing his friends in the first three rows of the church, and none of my own. Everyone stood up and I walked down what felt like the longest aisle ever.
Everything seemed to blank out, all of a sudden I was standing facing Kyle, who was smiling ear to ear, I forced a smile back. As the priest began to recite his lines, I couldn’t even think straight. When I heard the words “if any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace”, my chest swelled and the words Brielle Stevenson came out of my mouth, without me trying. Kyle’s eyes grew so wide I’d never seen him look so surprised, the priest looked taken aback too, I know nobody ever answers that line during a wedding, but I just did, for better or for worse.
Dizzy from what had just happened I tuned everything out for a moment and came back to Kyle saying he could explain, repeatedly. The priest, puzzled, turned to Kyle and asked what this was about. I took it upon myself to answer, loud and clear for his friends to hear “Kyle is married, he has been for 15 years. He never told me about her and he hasn’t even filed for divorce. I can’t marry a married man.” I said sternly. Kyle took it upon himself to answer quickly, knowing I was heading back out the same door from which I had just entered. “We mutually agreed to not file for divorce, it would have costed me so much in alimony and wasn’t worth the headache. We don’t talk anymore, she’s crazy I swear, I’m sorry I lied I just felt like it was too far gone and I couldn’t tell you without you leaving, I—” I cut him off “I’m not building a relationship based on lies Kyle, Brielle can be your Mrs Rochester, see ya” and I left. Walking back down the same aisle I came from just a few minutes ago, this time everyone remained seated and looked as though they were doing the mannequin challenge, frozen and still, with their eyes wide and jaws opened, unsure of where to look. I passed Bessie on the way out, grabbed my phone, thanked her for everything and walked out the door. I got outside and took a breath of fresh air, the first of many as a single woman. I requested another Uber and while waiting, sent one message to Brielle, “thank you”.
Part Two
The passage adapted begins on page 374, the first page of chapter 6 of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre when Jane is to be married to Mr Rochester until she learns of a hindrance to their union. This impediment in the original being Bertha, Rochesters secret wife who he deems to be mentally unstable. Modernizing this impediment without significant adaptation is nearly impossible in a contemporary context, an obvious limitation. The original story was that Rochester had kept Bertha, his allegedly senile wife, secluded and locked in her third floor apartment in his home, which would be illegal and unlikely in our modern day context. To make this story believable I both transformed and downplayed Bertha into Brielle, Rochester’s secret wife that he no longer speaks to, but hasn’t yet gotten a formal divorce from, a modern equivalent. In both contexts, Bertha, or Brielle, was present the whole time, whether it be in the attic or online, able to see the wedding event post and people RSVP on Facebook. In the original, Bertha came into Jane’s space by entering her room and ripping her veil in the early hours of the morning, in the modern context Brielle entered her space by messaging Jane the morning of the wedding with some crucial information through Facebook messenger.
Jane leaving Rochester at the alter, in both the contemporary and historical context, has given insight into the way Brontë wanted the reader to recognize Jane’s lack of interest in marriage for wealth the way the Miss Ingram had, but rather her value of love. Leaving the man she loved at their wedding as a result of questionable truthfulness illustrates Jane’s commitment self growth and awareness that was not yet present earlier in the novel. Jane acknowledges Mr Rochester’s inability to be honest as an issue, questions it briefly then takes some time to reflect before in the novel, eventually returning to Mr Rochester years later. In the adaptation, Jane confronts Kyle, listens to the bulk of what he has to say regarding the situation and ultimately takes a step back, in this case outside, to reflect. This places Jane above Rochester in terms of ability to deal with a situation, in both versions Rochester, or Kyle, is quick to defend himself and argue whereas Jane can accept and reflect. This demonstrates that although Rochester is significantly older than Jane, he is not wiser and does not possess the same ability to remain calm and composed in any situation.
Additionally, Jane’s ability to leave a marriage or proposed marriage in the manner she did in the adaption demonstrates a contextual reference to the modern day, there was no shame associated with walking away from her prospect husband at the altar for something he had done or omitted in talking about his past, in this case inform Jane of his previous marriage. Rochester’s previous marriage in itself is an indicator of the times, today it is not uncommon to hear of a couple choosing to remain married after separating out of pure practicality. Getting a divorce in the past would have been seen as a stain on ones reputation and could have been the motivation to keep his previous marriage hidden from Jane, with Bertha hidden within his home. In a modern context, divorce is not as big of a social ordeal as it is a financial burden and would be practical to put off for some time, if both parties agree. The issue that arose from the previous marriage in the adaption was rather Kyle’s lack of disclosure of said marriage and purposely hiding his past from his fiancé who could not fathom the idea of beginning a marriage on a base of lies. In the adaptation I kept the first person narration to allow Jane to write her own autobiography and maintain the readers understanding of her thoughts. This is simple in the contemporary context with the use of text messages between Brielle and Jane, with the first person narration the reader can observe Jane’s immediate reaction to the messages and see her thought process. This is also significant at the altar when we, like Jane, can see her focus go in and out as a result of the intense stress of which she is under. We as readers understand why Jane is walking away and that this has been on her mind since the early hours of the morning.
Modernizing and adapting a 19th-century novel requires translating certain aspects of the story into a contemporary context, while keeping the same plot structure. In doing the adaptation I did not alter the first person narrative structure in order to maintain Jane’s voice throughout the novel, her own auto-biography. Additionally, I modernized certain aspects such as names and the means of communication into modern day equivalents. Facebook and cellphones, as well as Ubers are prominent in the adaption which would allow many readers to relate to Jane in terms of her lifestyle and the time period in which she is living. Finally, in both versions, Jane is a self-aware woman who prioritizes love and loyalty over wealth or normality.