“The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed; the thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, whose charms were broken if revealed.” Charlotte Bronte is one of the most famous Victorian women writers. She experimented with the poetic forms that became the characteristic modes of the Victorian period. Charlotte Bronte was the most dominant and ambitious of her siblings. Her novels, until this day, are still English literature standards. Through out her life, Charlotte Bronte stayed energetic during her early life, her many careers, and finally her memorable publications. In 1816, Charlotte Bronte was born. She was born one year after her sister Elizabeth and years after Maria. She was the third child of six born to Rev. Patrick Bronte and his wife Maria. In 1817 her brother Branwell was born. Her sisters Emily and Anne were born in 1818 and 1820. In 1821, her mother died of cancer. Thereafter, it was her sister’s job to take care of them. In 1824 Charlotte and three of her sisters enrolled at the Clergy Daughters School. One year later, her sisters Maria and Elizabeth died of tuberculosis. She was then raised by her father and religious aunt. After their deaths Emily and Charlotte were removed from school. Charlotte became very close to her other siblings after the tragedies and they spent most of their childhood writing poems about their make believe land. They channeled their struggles into those of their fictional characters. http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/brontbio.html Between 1831 and 1832 Charlotte continued her education at Roe Head School. In 1835, she returned as a governess at Roe Head School while Emily was a pupil. She left in 1838 to pursue other jobs. In 1... ... middle of paper ... ...ope was unconquerable Still flying high Still strong and supportive Fearlessly Hard times will come Victory and glory Courage will end your despair(Lines 17-24). Work Cited Alexander, Christine (March 1993). “‘That Kingdom of Gloo’: Charlotte Bronte, the Annuals and the Gothic”. Nineteenth-Century Literature 47 (4): 409-436 Charlotte Brontë." 2014. The Biography.com website. May 02 2014 http://www.biography.com/people/charlotte-brontë-11919959. Cody, David. “Charlotte Bronte: A Brief Biography,” 1987 Lane, Margaret (1953). The Bronte Story: a reconsideration of Mrs. Gaskell’s Life of Charlotte Bronte. Miller, Lucasta (2002). The Bronte Myth. London: Vintage. ISBN 0-09-928714-5. The Poetry Foundation“Charlotte Bronte” .
In Stephen Dunn’s 2003 poem, “Charlotte Bronte in Leeds Point”, the famous author of Jane Eyre is placed into a modern setting of New Jersey. Although Charlotte Bronte lived in the early middle 1800’s, we find her alive and well in the present day in this poem. The poem connects itself to Bronte’s most popular novel, Jane Eyre in characters analysis and setting while speaking of common themes in the novel. Dunn also uses his poem to give Bronte’s writing purpose in modern day.
Maria Brandwell Bronte gave birth to Charlotte, her third child out of six within the span of seven years, on April 12, 1816 in Bradford, Yorkshire. Charlotte began her schooling at the Clergy Daughter’s School on August 10, 1824, but due to harsh conditions at the school she returned after only one year. Upon returning home she was schooled by her aunt, and then attended Roe Head in 1831. Charlotte struggled finding an occupation that she enjoyed. She became a teacher at Roe Head, but she hated the way it was run and left shortly thereafter. She also tried to be a governess twice, but due to her shy nature and the fact that she missed her sisters so dearly, she returned home. Charlotte’s thirst for knowledge took her to Brussels with her sister Emily, where she learned French, German, and management skills.
Yaeger, Patricia S. "Honey-Mad Women: Charlotte Bronte's Bilingual Heroines." An Annual of Victorian Literary and Cultural History. 14. 1986. p. 11-35.
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature.
"Charlotte Bronte as a 'Freak Genius'", David Cecil in Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyreand Villette (A Casebook Series) ed. Miriam Allot.
Bronte, Charlotte. The Letters of Charlotte Bronte: 1829-1847. Ed. Margaret Smith. 2 vols. New York: Oxford UP, 1995-2000.
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 3rd ed. New York: The Modern Library. Bronte, Charlotte. "
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
Brennan, Zoe. "Reader's Guide: Bronte's Jane Eyre." Ebrary. Continuum International Publishing 2 2010. Print. April 28, 2014
The issue of lack of opportunity for women to engage in intellectual preparation and continuation is prevalent within the character of Jane. Expectation of women’s role was a social norm, with a lack of diversity or individuality. Bronte challenges this issue through the character of Jane, whom experiences a tug-of-war sensation between being herself, who she wants to be and should be, and what society wants her to be, and pushes her to be. Bronte was trying to explain that women have the same capability as men to be productive individuals in society, but they are held back from establishing their potential.
Reef, Catherine. The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. New York:
Charlotte Bronte’s own mother died when she was only five years old, so she and her sisters were raised by her father, Patrick. According to John Cannon, author of The Road to Haworth, "The image of their mother was strong in their minds, and it is often seen in the fictional characters which the girls created, but they were all far too young to be influenced by her in any other way" (Cannon 19). Charlotte’s father tried to remarry yet was unsuccessful, and he therefore raised his children alone with some aid from his wife’s sister. Charlotte’s older sister, Maria, ...
Charlotte Bronte assumed the role of intermediary between her late sister and the perplexed and hostile readers of Wuthering Heights (Sale and Dunn, WH p. 267). Charlotte attempted to provide Emily’s readers with a more complete perspective of her sister and her works. She selectively included biographical information and critical commentary into the revised 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights, which gave the reader a fuller appreciation of the works of Emily Bronte. Charlotte championed the efforts of her younger sister and believed that Emily’s inexperience and unpracticed hand were her only shortcomings. Charlotte explains much of Emily’s character to the readers through the disclosure of biographical information.
Born to Patrick and Maria Bronte, Emily Bronte, the fifth girl out of six children, would lead a short life of isolation and unhappiness. Her father was an “industrious Irish clergyman” who had been born in Ireland on March 17, 1777. He was a teacher and graduated from Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts degree before being “ordained to curacies” (Laban). Her mother, Maria Bronte, was a Cornish merchant’s daughter. Emily Bronte was born at Thornton in a parish in July of 1818.
Emily Bronte was born in Thornton on July 30, 1818 and later moved with her family to Haworth, an isolated village on the moors. Her mother, Maria Branwell, died when she was only three years old, leaving Emily and her five siblings, Maria, Elizabeth, and Charlotte, Anne, and Branwell to the care of the dead woman’s sister. Emily, Maria, Elizabeth, and Charlotte were sent to Cowan, a boarding school, in 1824. The next year while at school Maria and Elizabeth came home to die of tuberculosis, and the other two sisters were also sent home. Both spent the next six years at home, where they picked up what education they could.