These are 2 passages translated from the German Sunshine web site:
The first generation:(Erste Generation)
Valerie Sonnenschein/Sors 1872-1962
(played by Jennifer Ehle)
To István Szabó, Valerie is the 'silent heroin' of the film. She always stays true to herself and her convictions. She doesn't tell others what to do, she doesn't speak about other people's actions. She's the most subtle character of the film. And because of the delicacy of her character, it's difficult to bring her to life. You cannot describe her roughly, it's againts her nature. Jennifer Ehle had difficulties characterising her role as well, so she trusted her instincts instead: "I immediately liked Valerie as a person. She loses her parents when she's still very young, is then adopted by Emmanuel and Rose Sonnenschein who bring her up as if she were their own child. She's very close to this family and eventually falls in love with Ignatz. She's completely different from other female characters we see on screen. She's strong, doesn't complain or bother other people, but it's very important to her to lead a happy life. She wants to keep harmony and stability, a difficult task in her family."
Rosemary Harris tells us, that she wasn't the first in her family to read the screenplay for A Taste Of Sunshine: " I heard about it for the first time from my daughter Jennifer Ehle who liked it. She was going to play the part of young Valerie. But even then, I still didn't read it. I was just glad that Jennifer was holding a screenplay she loved. Some time later, they sent it to me as well. I had to agree with Jennifer that this was one of the best screenplays of the past years." Rosemary Harris was also very much impressed with the character of Valerie. "For her time, she's truly a very remarkable woman. She doesn't run along with the masses, she's got her own opinion and feelings on the course of events, and she can see right through the games other people play."