Passes the Bechdel test
Jane Eyre
2011. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, written by Moira Buffini and Charlotte Brontë.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
25 women characters. 16 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 19 scenes out of 146. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Mr. Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?
- Released
- 22 Apr 2011
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery, Romance
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 76 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 10 wins & 16 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Jane 375 lines, woman
- Rochester 264 lines, man
- St John 83 lines, man
- Mrs Fairfax 55 lines, woman
- Helen 21 lines, woman
- Mrs Reed 21 lines, woman
- Diana 20 lines, woman
- Mary 20 lines, woman
- Adele 17 lines, woman
- Blanche 17 lines, woman
Full cast, 36 people
- Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre
- Michael Fassbender as Edward Rochester
- Jamie Bell as St. John
- Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Reed
- Simon McBurney as Mr. Brocklehurst
- Valentina Cervi as Bertha Mason
- Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax
- Su Elliot as Hannah
- Holliday Grainger as Diana Rivers
- Tamzin Merchant as Mary Rivers
- Amelia Clarkson as Young Jane
- Craig Roberts as John Reed
- Lizzie Hopley as Miss Abbot
- Jayne Wisener as Bessie
- Freya Wilson as Eliza Reed
- Emily Haigh as Georgiana Reed
- Sandy McDade as Miss Scatcherd
- Freya Parks as Helen Burns
- Edwina Elek as Miss Temple
- Ewart James Walters as John
- Georgia Bourke as Leah
- Sally Reeve as Martha
- Romy Settbon Moore as Adèle Varens
- Eglantine Rembauville-Nicolle as Sophie
- Rosie Cavaliero as Grace Poole
- Angela Curran as Undercook
- Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram
- Sophie Ward as Lady Ingram
- Joe Van Moyland as Lord Ingram
- Hayden Phillips as Colonel Dent
- Laura Phillips as Mrs. Dent
- Harry Lloyd as Richard Mason
- Ned Dennehy as Dr. Carter
- Joseph Kloska as Clergyman Wood
- Ben Roberts as Briggs
- Sarah Jane Close as Thornfield's Maid (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 4 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 2% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 146
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 to 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 to 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 to 16 | 17 | 8 |
| 17 to 20 | 9 | 6 |
| 21 to 24 | 14 | 0 |
| 25 to 28 | 22 | 12 |
| 29 to 32 | 33 | 8 |
| 33 to 36 | 33 | 8 |
| 37 to 40 | 33 | 0 |
| 41 to 44 | 14 | 6 |
| 45 to 48 | 1 | 0 |
| 49 to 52 | 18 | 0 |
| 53 to 56 | 19 | 0 |
| 57 to 60 | 22 | 19 |
| 61 to 64 | 51 | 51 |
| 65 to 68 | 26 | 30 |
| 69 to 72 | 14 | 0 |
| 73 to 76 | 12 | 8 |
| 77 to 80 | 14 | 2 |
| 81 to 84 | 35 | 36 |
| 85 to 88 | 6 | 13 |
| 89 to 92 | 38 | 12 |
| 93 to 96 | 6 | 3 |
| 97 to 100 | 32 | 27 |
| 101 to 104 | 7 | 6 |
| 105 to 108 | 6 | 7 |
| 109 to 112 | 0 | 19 |
| 113 to 116 | 2 | 8 |
| 117 to 120 | 26 | 37 |
| 121 to 124 | 27 | 26 |
| 125 to 128 | 25 | 24 |
| 129 to 132 | 8 | 0 |
| 133 to 136 | 3 | 0 |
| 137 to 140 | 0 | 0 |
| 141 to 144 | 6 | 0 |
| 145 to 146 | 12 | 12 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
BESSIE: For shame, hitting your master. MISS ABBOT: If you don't sit still you must be tied down! BESSIE: What we do is for your own good. If you are passionate and rude like this, your Aunt Reed will send you away. MISS ABBOT: You're worse than us servants. We work for our keep; you do nothing. Pray for forgiveness Miss Eyre or something bad will come down that chi…
BESSIE: Miss Eyre what is it? JANE: Bessie! BESSIE: Have you seen something? JANE: There was a light.
MARY: Look at the suffering in her eyes. They're like dark pools - DIANA: She has a peculiar face; I rather like it.
JANE: I must keep in good health and not die. MRS REED: I've been her sole benefactress and her kindest friend. But she shows no gratitude and brings nothing but discord into my house.
BESSIE: You're such a queer, solitary little thing. If only you could make yourself more appealing. Perhaps if you tried smiling from time to time, … JANE: Don't scold me Bessie. I know you dislike me - BESSIE: I don't dislike you Miss; I'm fonder of you than of anyone. JANE: You don't show it.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 60 are women's.
591 lines from women, 388 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
25 women and 11 men in the cast. 16 women and 9 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 23 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 53% of the words (6,086), men 47% (5,308). Women have 60% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
51
Two men
5
Exhibit F: behind the camera
5 of the 11 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 39% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Cary Joji Fukunaga (man)
- Written by
- Moira Buffini (woman)
- From the novel by
- Charlotte Brontë (woman)
- Produced by
- Alison Owen (woman), Paul Trijbits (man)
- Shot by
- Adriano Goldman (man)
- Edited by
- Melanie Oliver (woman)
- Music by
- Dario Marianelli (man)
- Production design by
- Will Hughes-Jones (man)
- Costumes by
- Michael O'Connor (man)
- Cast by
- Nina Gold (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Production
10 women, 4 men, 6 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 10 men, 7 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 4 men, 10 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 8 men, 5 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
4 women, 1 men, 7 not listed
-
Other crew
3 women, 6 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
1 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
-
Lighting
0 women, 1 men, 3 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 39 on average. Men: 37 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Mia Wasikowska 21, Holliday Grainger 22, Tamzin Merchant 24, Sally Hawkins 34, Valentina Cervi 34, Su Elliot 60, Judi Dench 76
Men
Jamie Bell 24, Michael Fassbender 33, Simon McBurney 53
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.7 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $13 million
- Box office
- $34.7 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 146 scenes and 997 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
