Table Of Content
“Shirley” is a social novel penned by Charlotte Brontë, enriching the literary world with its exploration of political and economic turmoil and the role of women in such circumstances. Set against the backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in Yorkshire, the narrative intertwines the lives of Caroline Helstone and the titular character Shirley Keeldar. Caroline, a timid and undervalued orphan, finds her life entwined with Shirley, an independent and wealthy heiress. The novel, through the contrasting characters, delves into the gender norms of the period, offering a critique of limited roles available for women.
Examining the Literary Influences on the Bronte Sisters’ Writing Styles
It was Aunt Branwell’s death in 1842 which brought the sisters back to Haworth. Emily remained at the Parsonage as housekeeper, whilst Charlotte returned to Brussels. Charlotte returned to Haworth permanently in 1844, suffering the pains of unrequited love for her teacher, Monsieur Heger. By this time Patrick Brontė was a published author of poetry and fiction, so that his children grew up accustomed to the sight of books carrying their name on the Parsonage shelves. To find two writers of genius in one family would be rare, but to find several writers in one household is unique in the history of literature. Charlotte and Emily Bronte are ranked among the world’s greatest novelists; Anne is a powerful underrated author, and both their father, the Revd.
Media portrayals of Charlotte Brontë
Brussels square named after Bronte sisters - BBC.com
Brussels square named after Bronte sisters.
Posted: Mon, 06 Jul 2020 07:00:00 GMT [source]
All three sisters attended different schools at various times as well as being taught at home. The Brontë children were often left alone together in their isolated home and all began to write stories at an early age. Agnes Grey was considered ‘more agreeable’, although reviewers felt that it lacked the intensity of Wuthering Heights and all contemporary readers considered it inferior to Jane Eyre. While the latter novel also received mixed praise and condemnation, it was a runaway success, selling out its first and second printings within a year. Given the Victorian mores of the mid-nineteenth century, it’s not surprising that the three novels were considered scandalous.
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Yet the mystique of the mysterious Bells became a literary cause celebre. Critics still believed the author of all Bell novels to be men (some thought one man with three names). One wrote of Anne's work, “There is nothing kindly in [this] author's powerful mind.” Another commented, “[No] woman could have written such a work.” “Brutal” and “coarse” were words often used by critics describing the sisters' works. Some praised the unflinching descriptions of humanity's worst impulses. In the century and a half since, however, many have described the works as examples of early feminism—subversive in their very style. In addition to her poetry, Charlotte wrote two further novels published in 1849 and 1853.
Formal education and time as a governess
In 1824 Charlotte and Emily, together with their elder sisters before their deaths, attended Clergy Daughters’ School at Cowan Bridge, near Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire. The fees were low, the food unattractive, and the discipline harsh. It is only since Emily's death that this tale of love and revenge has been recognised as a masterpiece. Like her sisters' works, the novel contains wit and dramatic intensity but, unlike them, Wuthering Heights is pure fiction, with minimal autobiographical content. Unsurprisingly for four children without a mother, the children grew up to be extremely close. Games on the moorlands exposed them to the wild winds and fragile beauty of West Yorkshire; inclement weather kept them inside for long periods of time, entertaining each other by making up stories together.
So embark on this literary voyage and experience the profound depth of Brontë’s words, as she invites you to explore the complexities of the human spirit and the power of self-discovery. In 1824, Charlotte and her sisters Maria (their departed mother’s namesake), Elizabeth, and Emily were sent away from the Parsonage where they lived with their father and an aunt, to a school for daughters of the clergy in Cowan’s Bridge. Maria and Elizabeth fell ill while there and died of tuberculosis; Charlotte and Emily returned home. In 1825, Anne faced further tragedy with the deaths of her sisters Maria and Elizabeth from tuberculosis. Charlotte and Emily were subsequently brought home from school and educated by their father, who instilled in them a love for reading and learning, exposing them, along with Anne, to classical literature and other genres. Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontė were the authors of some of the best-loved books in the English language.
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However, the depth of imagination and originality demonstrated in the novel suggest an extraordinary creative mind at work, able to craft a world and characters that extend beyond her immediate experiences. Charlotte Brontë, the eldest of the three, was the only one who married. She married her father’s curate, Arthur Bell Nicholls, in June 1854. Unfortunately, her marriage was short-lived as she died nine months later in March 1855.
What was Charlotte Brontë famous for?
Maria and Elizabeth, the two eldest siblings, died of tuberculosis in 1825. In 1834, Branwell painted a portrait of himself with his three sisters. But he became so dissatisfied with his own image that he painted himself out of the picture (see portrait above). To this day, Branwell’s painting of his sisters remains one of the best-known images of the Brontës. Branwell Brontë was a year younger than Charlotte and older than Anne and Emily. The four were the youngest of the Brontë siblings, and they became very close.
Denunciation of boarding schools (Jane Eyre)
Tabby helped relieve their possible boredom and loneliness especially by recounting local legends in her Yorkshire dialect as she tirelessly prepared the family's meals.[14] Eventually, Patrick would survive his entire family. Six years after Charlotte's death, he died in 1861 at the age of 84.[5] His son-in-law, the Rev. Arthur Bell Nicholls, would aid Mr Brontë at the end of his life as well. In 1848 Brontë began work on the manuscript of her second novel, Shirley. It was only partially completed when the Brontë family suffered the deaths of three of its members within eight months. In September 1848 Branwell died of chronic bronchitis and marasmus, exacerbated by heavy drinking, although Brontë believed that his death was due to tuberculosis.
He was often the driving force in the Brontë siblings' construction of the imaginary worlds. The influence revealed by Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is much less clear. Anne's works are largely founded on her experience as a governess and on that of her brother's decline. In 1824, the four eldest girls (excluding Anne) entered the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge,[22] which educated the children of less prosperous members of the clergy, and had been recommended to Mr Brontë.
In 1847, she published her first and only novel, Wuthering Heights. The tale, told by a narrating housekeeper, is a romance which trends towards violence, madness, or passion—depending on the page. The moors on which the novel is set are reminiscent of the sisters' home surroundings.
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