Miss Havisham Analysis
Miss Havisham is a bitter wealth vengeful women, this is all because she was left at the alter. She spends her days in a wilted wedding dress surrounded by a decaying mansion. Her whole life is defined by one tragic event. The man who she loved and idolized was Compeyson which later in the book we meet. After being jilted on her wedding day she decides to never move on and adopts Estella to use as a weapon against men. She raises Estella to never love so that she can never be broken hearted like her. She stops all the clocks on exact time she was left at the alter.
My thoughts of Miss Havisham
Bitter
Sad/Lonely
Broken
Twisted
Vengeful
Rick/Wealthy
Spinster
Privileged
Outcast
Miss Havisham in her Wedding Dress which she wears every single day.
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Gothic Architecture
Tuesday, 27 January 2015
What is Gothic ? Gothic normally refers to a genre of literature, it is a mixture of Romance and Horror.
Horace Walpole was said to have started the literature genre of Gothic with his novel 'The Castle of Otranto' which was published in 1764 as a seasonal ghost story.
Origins of the Word Gothic
The word Gothic means everything that is of Germanic Origin. The word was associated with things that were barbaric or rude, it also was linked with parliamentary rights.
Gothic is also associated with the Gothic Revival of Architecture. Gothic buildings of the 12th to 16th centuries have a major impact on 19th century designers. Typical characteristics of Gothic architecture are pointed arches, steep sloped roofs and rib vaults. One of the earliest buildings to have these characteristics was Abbey of St, Denis, Paris.
In 1934 Universal Studios in the U. S. did a talking picture written by Gladys Unger and directed by Stuart Walker. Phillips Holmes was Pip; Florence Reed, Miss Havisham; Jane Wyatt, Estella; with Henry Hull and Alan Hale. I couldn't find much research on this Actress and her role in the film.
Again I couldn't find much research on this TV series in which Joan played the role of Miss Havisham, however I did find out that her Make up Artist was Gwen Arthy.
Gillian Anderson played Miss Havisham in a BBC TV series in 2011. She portrayed her as being ghostly and consumed with revenge. Gillian is an American Actress and was actually the youngest screen star to play the woman. I watched this TV series before reading the book and I really enjoyed it as it was something I'd never seen before as it was slightly disturbing but interesting. Adele Firth was the Make up Artist and Luca Saccuman was the hair stylist.
In this version of Great Expectations Miss Havisham is seen like a fairy Godmother to Pip. Helena brings a bit of comedy to the role and makes it very theatrical. The Makeup Artists were Zoe Brown/ Marc Pilcher. The Film was directed by Mike Newell.
For this new project we are looking at the Victorian era, I don't know much about this era and I haven't got a clue what Victorians classed as beauty. So I decided to start my research by looking on the internet I came across a handy website which goes into depth about make up and beauty in that era.
When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 the use of cosmetic declined due to it was considered immoral and was frowned upon, this was because there were there was a very strict moral code and religious values played a part. Only women with dubious morals wore make up, such as actresses and prostitutes who wore strong make up. Well off ladies wore very little make up which was very natural. The Victorian's idea of beauty was very minimal make up with a pale complexion and long curls.
This is how they achieved it :
Complexion
Women with pale skin was a sign of nobility which meant they were rich and could afford not to work outdoors. Being tanned meant you were vulgar and poor. Victorians used Zinc Oxide which was white mineral powder, this was safer than what the Elizabethan's used but still achieved the same effect. Some women went the extra step to gain the result of pale skin by emphasizing they're dark circles. Another way to achieve the pale look was to apply a red rouge on the cheeks and the lips. Women to maintain they're pale skin avoid the sun and some would actually drink vinegar. They desired a pale translucent skin so much some women would go to the effort of painting blue faint lines on they're skin.
Make Up
Make up was still used even though it was frowned upon, they just made sure it was very natural. They used softer tones for example eye shadow was made out of lead and antimony sulfide, lipsticks with mercuric sulfide and on the cheeks beet juice was used. They applied this makeup very softly so it wasn't obvious.
Skincare
Victorians made a lot of D.I.Y recipes for skincare where the ingredients were found in they're kitchen. Creams were made out of natural ingredients such as waxes, almond oil and scents.
H.Gibbs - Smith, C. (1960) The Fashionable Lady in the The 19th Century. Bristol: John Wright & Sons Itd
.Harris, K. (1995) Victorian & Edwardian Fashions for Women. Schiffer Publishing Itd.
Great Expectations : Miss Havisham
In the book Great Expectations written by Charles Dickens this is how Pip (the boy from the forge) describes Miss Havisham.
"She was dressed in rich materials - satin's and lace and silks - all of white. Her shoes were white. And she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white." - Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
"I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young women, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose, had shrunk to skin and bone." - Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
Pip also goes on to saying how he'd once seen a waxwork at a fair and had also seen a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress and how those two events reminded him of Miss Havisham, as in she looked like a dead person with dark eyes.
After Reading the book I decided to look at visual adaptations of Great Expectations. I came across the BBC version of the book. Below is a clip where Pip meets Miss Havisham for the first time.
In the BBC version the actress who plays Miss Havisham is Gillian Anderson. she portrays her as both tragic and overcome with revenge against men. She is seen as a ghostly tortured, jilted bride to be, throughout the film her white hair is matted and she wears the same shredded wedding dress.
