There's been discussion on here asking if she is a ghost or the above.
If the movie sticks rigidly to the novel - she is a time traveller. After she dies with Eban, it's reported on the news the next day that a certain Jennie Appleton was reported washed overboard from a passenger liner. So she doesn't actually die until the end of the novel.
As I say, if the movie is the same!
What happens in the film is that every so often (years pass for Jennie, but only days, or weeks at most, for Eben), she slips through time to meet him. At one point, she says that "time made a mistake" by having them born generations apart, so I don't say she is doing it willfully; it just happens. Eben goes to where he has been told she was lost in the storm because he has been told about it, he wants to save her and almost succeeds. I know that I am not the only person who on first viewing thought that he would save her and they would live out their lives together, as it had also been said that her body was never found. I really do not see how anyone could interpret the film as depicting Jennie as a ghost, since it's crystal clear that she's slipping through time. The one scene where Miss Spinney (Ethel Barrymore) walks up to Eben as he watches Jennie skating (or is it just walking?) away and sees no one doesn't offset all the evidence the other way. It isn't even truly inconsistent with it.
The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!
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I've always considered her a ghost, but the time traveler theory makes sense, too. I just think ghost is more likely, so that's what I'm going to go with.
"He's already attracted to her. Time and monotony will do the rest."
I kept looking for a TARDIS.
shareI always thought of it as time travel or times when the threads of the past and present "touched". They add that hazy effect; then, when she leaves, the scene clears. Jennie says that she will try to see him but obviously fails, so it isn't something she can simply do. It's interesting that she always remembers Eben but forgets details such as the scarf, which is mentioned several times.
Also, I find it intriguing that, when he is painting the portrait, Jennie is drifting off to sleep. She appears to be fading from his reality. The notion of her being with him while she's sleeping in HER reality crossed my mind. I suppose it made me think of "Peter Ibbetson" (1935).
From IMDb:
Architect Peter Ibbetson is hired by the Duke of Towers to design a building for him. Ibbetson discovers that the Duchess of Towers, Mary, is his now-grown childhood sweetheart. Their love revives, but Peter is sentenced to life in prison for an accidental killing. Mary comes to him in dreams, and they are able to live out their romance in a dream world.
That's why I continue to love this film, which I've seen no less than 100 times in my 60-plus years. I've also read the novel numerous times, including for a college seminar course titled "Supernaturalism in Literature". There are numerous interpretations that keep it from being pigeonholed. The closest to category might be romantic fantasy. There's not a moment that strikes a discordant note to me; it has such a wonderful atmosphere.
(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC