195- ] English Literature

195- ] English Literature

Charlotte Bronte

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

Elizabeth Gaskell's biography The Life of Charlotte Brontë was published in 1857. It was an important step for a leading female novelist to write a biography of another, and Gaskell's approach was unusual in that, rather than analysing her subject's achievements, she concentrated on private details of Brontë's life, emphasising those aspects that countered the accusations of "coarseness" that had been levelled at her writing. The biography is frank in places, but omits details of Brontë's love for Héger, a married man, as being too much of an affront to contemporary morals and a likely source of distress to Brontë's father, widower, and friends. Mrs. Gaskell also provided doubtful and inaccurate information about Patrick Brontë, claiming that he did not allow his children to eat meat. This is refuted by one of Emily Brontë's diary papers, in which she describes preparing meat and potatoes for dinner at the parsonage. It has been argued that Gaskell's approach transferred the focus of attention away from the 'difficult' novels, not just Brontë's, but all the sisters', and began a process of sanctification of their private lives.

Nussey letters

Brontë held lifelong correspondence with her former schoolmate Ellen Nussey. 350 of the some 500 letters sent by Brontë to Nussey survive, whereas all of Nussey's letters to Brontë were burned at Nicholls's request. The surviving letters provide most of the information known on Charlotte Brontë's life and are the backbone of her autobiographies.

Brontë's letters to Nussey seem to have romantic undertones:

What shall I do without you? How long are we likely to be separated? Why are we to be denied each other's society- I long to be with you . Why are we to be divided? Surely, Ellen, it must be because we are in danger of loving each other too well-

Ellen, I wish I could live with you always. I begin to cling to you more fondly than ever I did. If we had but a cottage and a competency of our own, I do think we might live and love on till Death without being dependent on any third person for happiness...

how sorely my heart longs for you I need not say... Less than ever can I taste or know pleasure till this work is wound up. And yet I often sit up in bed at night, thinking of and wishing for you.]

Some scholars believe it is possible that Charlotte Brontë was in a romantic or sexual relationship with Ellen Nussey. Brontë would certainly have been aware of female same-sex attraction as she lived near Anne Lister.

Héger letters

On 29 July 1913 The Times of London printed four letters Brontë had written to Constantin Héger after leaving Brussels in 1844. Written in French except for one postscript in English, the letters broke the prevailing image of Brontë as an angelic martyr to Christian and female duties that had been constructed by many biographers, beginning with Gaskell. The letters, which formed part of a larger and somewhat one-sided correspondence in which Héger frequently appears not to have replied, reveal that she had been in love with a married man, although they are complex and have been interpreted in numerous ways, including as an example of literary self-dramatisation and an expression of gratitude from a former pupil.In 1980 a commemorative plaque was unveiled at the Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, on the site of the Madam Heger's school, in honour of Charlotte and Emily.

Historical Significance

Following her death, Charlotte’s first novel, The Professor, was published posthumously in 1857. The fragment of a new novel she had been writing in her last years has been twice completed by recent authors, the more famous version being Emma Brown: A Novel from the Unfinished Manuscript by Charlotte Brontë by Clare Boylan in 2003.

A biography, The Life and Death Of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, was published in 1857. This was somewhat revolutionary at the time, because it was an important step for a leading female novelist to write a biography of another.

Charlotte was not a successful poet in her own day, and today she is still rightfully known for her novels rather than for her poems. She has remained of huge historical significance since her death, with her works being read, analysed and enjoyed by readers across the globe. She has been recognised thanks to her progressive beliefs and for allowing the “modern woman” to be heard, particularly in a time when women were considered much less in comparison to men. By writing about her stifled ideas and lack of acceptance in society, she has spoken to generations of readers since her death.

Publications

Juvenilia , The Young Men's Magazine, Number 1 – 3 (August 1830) , A Book of Ryhmes (1829) , The Spell  , The Secret , Lily Hart , The Foundling , Albion and Marina  , Tales of the Islanders , Tales of Angria (written 1838–1839 – a collection of childhood and young adult writings including five short novels)

Mina Laury , Stancliffe's Hotel  , The Duke of Zamorna , Henry Hastings , Caroline Vernon , The Roe Head Journal Fragments:   , Farewell to Angria

The Green Dwarf, A Tale of the Perfect Tense was written in 1833 under the pseudonym Lord Charles Albert Florian Wellesley.[70] It shows the influence of Walter Scott, and Brontë's modifications to her earlier gothic style have led Christine Alexander to comment that, in the work, "it is clear that Brontë was becoming tired of the gothic mode per se".

"At the end of 1839, Brontë said goodbye to her fantasy world in a manuscript called Farewell to Angria. More and more, she was finding that she preferred to escape to her imagined worlds over remaining in reality – and she feared that she was going mad. So she said goodbye to her characters, scenes and subjects. [...] She wrote of the pain she felt at wrenching herself from her 'friends' and venturing into lands unknown".

Novels

Jane Eyre, published in 1847 , Shirley, published in 1849 , Villette, published in 1853 , The Professor, written before Jane Eyre, was first submitted together with Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë. Subsequently, The Professor was resubmitted separately, and rejected by many publishing houses. It was published posthumously in 1857

Emma, unfinished; Brontë wrote only 20 pages of the manuscript, published posthumously in 1860. In recent decades at least two continuations of this fragment have appeared:

Emma, by "Charlotte Brontë and Another Lady", published 1980; although this has been attributed to Elizabeth Goudge, the actual author was Constance Savery. , Emma Brown, by Clare Boylan, published 2003

Poetry

Bell, Currer; Bell , Ellis; Bell, Acton (1846) . Poems .

Selected Poems of the Brontës, Everyman Poetry (1997)