Posted by Mary on June 03, 1997 at 08:44:03:
In reply to Re: ages -- Miss & Mrs Bates posted by Ann on June 01, 1997 at 13:37:30
] ] If Miss Bates was in her late 30's to early 40's, then it seems that Mrs Bates shouldn't necessarily be much past the age of 65. The adaptations seem to portray her as 80-ish -- especially when they show her as constantly confused.
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] As I said below, the portrayal of Mrs. Bates in both Emma2 and Emma3 is a bit of a sore point with me. In the book when Emma comes to try to make ammends to Miss Bates after Box Hill, she is received by Mrs. Bates only. They carry on a pleasant conversation. Neither of the productions had a Mrs. Bates capable of carrying on such a conversation. I hate the fact that a bit of deafness mentioned by JA was turned into near senility by both productions. Just because she has some trouble hearing--though she always understands Jane--does not mean that she is an unaware idiot! This really does bug me.
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I wonder if she was really deaf or just "tuning out" her daughter. The fact that she carries on conversations with Emma and Jane would indicate that the deafness was selective.