I've only read the first post in this thread, but I wanted to let you know that you weren't the only one to notice this. I'd never seen the 1944 Jane Eyre until last night when I watched it on Twilight Time's Limited Edition Blu-ray. I connected the dots the very first time I heard the theme, but I "rewound" enough to replay and confirm that it was identical. Without reading the rest of this thread, I'm wondering if it John Williams' homage to Hermann.
P.S. I scrolled back to read the post right before mine. Looks as if I also guessed right about the homage.