Team Jellycat

Ashley Davids || Ellie Godsoe || Chloe Lomas || Ava Steiner

Georgiana Artist’s Statement

We had fun creating a version of Georgiana and giving her personality traits and quirks applicable to the 21st century. It was important to us when “casting” her to stay as true as possible to her description in the book. In Jane Eyre, Georgiana is described as “a full-blown, very plump damsel, fair as waxwork, with handsome and regular features, languishing blue eyes, and ringleted yellow hair. The hue of her dress was black too, but its fashion was so different from her sister’s—so much more flowing and becoming—it looked as stylish as the other’s looked puritanical” (Chapter 21). For us, the obvious choice was Nicola Coughlin. She shares many of Georgiana’s features described by Jane: fair skin, pretty features, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Nicola's outfits in the pictures we used for the profile also bear a modern resemblance to what Georgiana wore in the novel. The dresses in these pictures are revealing and flattering, our modern take on what Georgiana’s dresses would be equivalent to during her time. They display Georgiana’s distinct sense of style, which shows her confident and social personality.

To further convey Georgiana’s colourful disposition, we made her personality shine through the prompts. We used a lot of details from this passage: “[Georgiana] proposed a walk in the grounds. Before we had been out two hours, we were deep in a confidential conversation: she had favoured me with a description of the brilliant winter she had spent in London two seasons ago—of the admiration she had there excited—the attention she had received; and I even got hints of the titled conquest she had made. In the course of the afternoon and evening, these hints were enlarged on: various soft conversations were reported, and sentimental scenes repressed; and, in short, a volume of a novel of fashionable life was that day improvised by her for my benefit. The communications were renewed from day to day: they always ran on the same theme—herself, her loves, and woes” (Chapter 21). The London trip that we wrote into Georgiana’s profile was pulled from this conversation with Jane. On the Tinder post, we have her dub London “the most romantic city in the world,” referencing the “admiration” and “attention” she received, as well as her success with the “titled conquest she made.”

On that topic, we pictured modern-day Georgiana as someone who is attention seeking and loves the spotlight. We describe her as a “party animal” and “social smoker” on her profile, traits that lead her to become the center of attention at the bar and other functions. We wanted to highlight her naivety and perhaps inflated sense of self-importance by posting descriptions on her account, such as, “I sometimes end up being the center of attention without even trying!” and “People always talk about how radiant I am, and I have a hard time fighting off all the men that approach me when I go out.” To further add to her character, we expanded on Georgiana's materialistic description of a “fashionable life,” having her flaunt her lavish lifestyle in London—a first class ticket, champagne on the plane, a room at the Ritz, expensive spa treatment, and a Burberry handbag every time she returns to the city.

In the novel, Georgiana is said by Jane to have “made an advantageous match with a wealthy worn-out man of fashion” (Chapter 22). Georgiana is very involved in the social society of the upper class, so it seems only fitting that she’s looking for someone to suit that lifestyle on Tinder. We wrote that her ideal date is to get dinner and hit the town; she describes herself as a “total socialite” who loves a good night out. She engages in a modern equivalent of popular culture and society through nightlife. We also posed her as very reliant on her partner—that he should be able to provide for her consistently, fix things around the house, and pay all the finances that she can’t bother to look at or understand.

We also wanted to highlight the tension and differences between the two sisters by throwing in some online banter between the two. Georgiana is outgoing, whereas her sister Eliza is much more private and reserved. We wrote Eliza to be as ironic as possible; she joins Tinder for religious friends only and warns people away from pursuing a romantic relationship with her. Our modern Georgiana, we thought, would see the perfect opportunity to poke fun at her sister by pulling a prank on her Tinder account, writing, “P.S. My sister Eliza is on this app and is searching for the hunkiest, steamiest hottie that she can find. Ignore all that stuff about religion, she’s totally kidding. If you see her, say hello, it would simply be the BEST surprise.” 

Eliza's Artist Statement

IIn Jane Eyre, Eliza is seen as very religious and strict. We wanted to emphasize this throughout our prompts and profile. Jane describes Eliza as “...very tall, almost as tall as Miss Ingram—very thin too, with a sallow face and severe mien. There was something ascetic in her look, which was augmented by the extreme plainness of a straight-skirted, black, stuff dress, a starched linen collar, hair combed away from the temples, and the nun-like ornament of a string of ebony beads and a crucifix. This I felt sure was Eliza, though I could trace little resemblance to her former self in that elongated and colourless visage” (Chapter 21). We chose to keep Eliza faceless and not have her post any pictures of herself on her profile, because we believe she would find it to be crude and unnecessary. However, we still found these descriptions relevant to illustrating her personality, especially phrases like “plain,” “starched,” and “nun-like.” We pictured modern Eliza to be boring, uptight, and placing great emphasis on her religion, which we made very evident in her prompts. We also wanted to display her zealousness and plainness through the pictures she chose to upload to her profile, including a bible verse, religious icons, crosses on a wall, a sewing kit, and the kitchen garden that she frequents in the novel.

While writing Eliza’s prompts, it became clear she was a much different character to modernize compared to Georgiana, but just as enjoyable. In Jane Eyre, Eliza is seen as very religious and strict. Jane describes Eliza by saying, “Eliza still spoke little: she had evidently no time to talk. I never saw a busier person than she seemed to be; yet it was difficult to say what she did: or rather, to discover any result of her diligence. She had an alarm to call her up early. I know not how she occupied herself before breakfast, but after that meal she divided her time into regular portions, and each hour had its allotted task. Three times a day she studied a little book, which I found, on inspection, was a Common Prayer Book. I asked her once what was the great attraction of that volume, and she said, "the Rubric." Three hours she gave to stitching, with gold thread, the border of a square crimson cloth, almost large enough for a carpet. In answer to my inquiries after the use of this article, she informed me it was a covering for the altar of a new church lately erected near Gateshead. Two hours she devoted to her diary; two to working by herself in the kitchen-garden; and one to the regulation of her accounts. She seemed to want no company; no conversation. I believe she was happy in her way: this routine sufficed for her; and nothing annoyed her so much as the occurrence of any incident which forced her to vary its clockwork regularity.” (Chapter 21). We wanted to focus on this religious and “routine’ aspect throughout our prompts and profile. From this quote, we took her Common Prayer book and fit it into one of our prompts. We wanted to modernize her while keeping true to the aspects of the book. There is also a heavy emphasis in this quote on Eliza enjoying her solitude, which is why we decided to only have her focus on religious friends. She wants people who will follow in her routine, not complicate it, which we emphasize in our prompts. We also focused on her frugalness and how she regularly checks her financial accounts. In our prompts, we knew we wanted to discuss Eliza’s future and how that would play out in the modern world. We have had her religion take the forefront because in the book, her faith is the core of her personality. We also wanted to connect her and Georgiana’s profiles in a sly, but creative way. We took inspiration from the interaction between Jane and Eliza, which says, “One morning she told me I was at liberty. "And," she added, "I am obliged to you for your valuable services and discreet conduct! There is some difference between living with such an one as you and with Georgiana: you perform your own part in life and burden no one. To-morrow," she continued, "I set out for the Continent. I shall take up my abode in a religious house near Lisle--a nunnery you would call it; there I shall be quiet and unmolested. I shall devote myself for a time to the examination of the Roman Catholic dogmas, and to a careful study of the workings of their system: if I find it to be, as I half suspect it is, the one best calculated to ensure the doing of all things decently and in order, I shall embrace the tenets of Rome and probably take the veil." (Chapter 22). In this quote we see Eliza praising Jane for her “discreet conduct” while berating her sister for being a “burden”. This was important to include in her profile because Georgiana is seen as the opposite of Eliza. In our prompt for Eliza, we had her describe living with Georgiana as “loud and frivolous”, which made her want to turn to religion and solitude. We also referred to her dreams of becoming a nun, which we included as still a future dream, so she could potentially find fellow nuns on Tinder. We also wanted Eliza to be on Tinder because it seemed ironic for her to be on a dating app while looking for religious friends. We wanted to make this known throughout that her heart belonged to Jesus and she had no interest in pursuing a relationship with any other man.