Epilogue

Abstract The epilogue reflects on the bias towards male-authored sources still existing in adaptation studies, which Theatrical Afterlives aspires to counteract—thus contributing to the creation of a more balanced and diverse scholarship of adaptation and the nineteenth century. The epilogue reminds us of the value of adaptations (for example, in the classroom), and the way the theatrical afterlives encourage us to reexamine the novels with fresh eyes. The adaptive fortunes of woman-authored novels reveal the transferability and adaptability of their stories, and also little-noticed strands in the source texts (e.g., the embedded theatricality of George Eliot’s early fiction, the latent Irishness of the Brontës’ novels, and much more). The next stage on this journey might be adaptations outside the anglosphere, such as the Norwegian Jane Eyre (2022) that the epilogue briefly discusses.