Richard Mason, as portrayed in the 2011 film Jane Eyre, is a minor character that contributes to the building tension of the story line and offers viewers a more intuitive glimpse into the mind of the more predominant characters of the film, Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester. First seen in the midst of the film, Richard is introduced to the audience by Mrs. Fairfax as a gentleman arriving from “Spanish town, Jamaica” (1:00:34). His presence interrupts an emotional and pointed conversation between Jane and Edward, as they discuss the stance of their current relationship. As Will Straw expresses in “Scales of presence: Bess Flowers and the Hollywood extra”, this is an example of using an extra or minor character and their expressive human body in order to facilitate the story (125). Richard Mason enters the stressful situation with a sharply different demeanour, looking like a confused young boy opposed to a grown man, and we watch Rochester dramatically shift his own demeanour from a frown of emotional distress into a smile and extended handshake. The mens’ encounter and reunitement appears somewhat forced and insincere, despite being generally pleasant and nonthreatening. Jane’s confused reaction shows apparent distrust in both men before her, and the audience is left to question the validity of this friendship between the two. This scene also serves to further the narrative that Jane is a highly keen individual, one who can read social interactions well and sense insincerity within others. Richard’s appearance later in the film is just as abrupt, and is again interrupting a crucial moment between Jane and Richard for their relationship — their wedding ceremony. This disruption, where it is revealed that Richard Mason is the brother of Bertha Mason (a woman who Richard is married to and has locked inside of his own attic for years), is the catalyst towards Jane deciphering Edward Rochester’s past actions and current intentions with her. Ultimately, Richard Mason’s role as a minor character in Jane Eyre is one which acts to serve the accompanying main characters and their story line — particularly in the instance of Jane and Richard and their romantic endeavours.
Works Cited
Fukunaga, Cary Joji. Jane Eyre. Focus Features, 2011.
Straw, Will. “Scales of presence: Bess Flowers and the Hollywood extra.” Screen, vol. 52, no. 1, March 2011, pp. 121 – 127. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/hjq061
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