'Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!--I have as much soul as you,--and full as much heart!'
~ Charlotte Bronte's, "Jane Eyre"


Charlotte Bronte

Biography and Review


Haworth Parsonage
     Charlotte Bronte, daughter of Maria Branwell and Patrick Bronte, was born in 1816, in Thornton, Yorkshire.  In 1820, the Bronte family relocated to Haworth only to have their mother pass away a year later.  Their mother’s sister, Elizabeth, was left to take care of Maria’s five girls and one boy.  Charlotte Bronte was the third of six children.  Two of which (Maria and Elizabeth) died from tuberculosis in 1825 soon after leaving the Clergy Daughters’ School in Cowan Bridge, Lancashire.

     Subsequently, the four remaining children were mostly educated at home in the Haworth Parsonage, entertaining themselves by writing poems, articles, and works pertaining to their country.  During Charlotte’s attendance at Roe Head, in Mirfield from 1831 to 1832, she came across two girls (Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor) who were admired by Charlotte, in which became her lifelong friends from this point forward.  During this time, Charlotte Bronte wrote, “The Green Dwarf” in 1833, afterward she continued work as a governess, within numerous families throughout Yorkshire, England until 1841.

     Shortly afterward in 1842, Charlotte and her sister Emily moved in order to attend a boarding school in Brussels. With the sudden death of their Aunt Elizabeth the sisters quickly returned home and never returned as a pair.  A year later, Charlotte rejoined the boarding school in 1843 for a short duration before leaving for home the following year.  Five years later, her brother, Branwell passed away, followed by her sister, Emily, a few months later; then, her sister, Anne, in 1849, leaving Charlotte alone.  It is not to be assumed Charlotte had an easy life, consumed with the frequent deaths within her immediate family.

Bronte family photos

     Consequently, Charlotte was left to care for her father. During this period, due to all the heartache and loss, she struggled with depression. After resisting her father, she married Rev. Arthur Nicholls, the curate of Haworth Parsonage. The Couple wasn't married long before Charlotte became pregnant. A few weeks following Charlotte's discovery of her pregnancy, she was diagnosed with pneumonia and dies shortly after in March, 1855. Succeeding Charlotte's death, her husband remained at Haworth, looking after father until his death in 1861.


A Review of Jane Eyre
 


     Charlotte Bronte is best known for her Gothic novel, "Jane Eyre."
  Published in 1847 under Bronte’s pseudonym, Currer Bell, the book was well-received, considering it was assumed a man was expressing a woman’s position in society at the time.  Bronte employed vivid specifics to each facade and physiognomy; that ultimately created an inviting and luring sensation for the reader.  Many of the experiences within the book can be viewed as real-life experiences, both in the life of Charlotte Bronte and the majority of women in her time. The daily struggles of dominance, abuse, neglect, and countless other issues are only a preview to Bronte's, "Jane Eyre," which closely paralleled her own with a dominating father.

     Although Bronte wasn't an orphan, she did lose her mother at a very early age, which resulted in her Aunt coming in to take care of the family.As Jane grew from an orphan into a well-educated young governess for Mr. Rochester, she found her love for him to be too strong to resist his flirtatious ways.
  At the same time, Bronte led women to a closer and more intimate relationship to independence through her works; Jane's independence drove her away from her one true love-- the only one who treated her as an equal in her patriarchal society because she insisted on making the right decision for herself.   While it doesn't stop there, Jane endured more hardships through homelessness and family matters.  A new found family couldn't be closer to Jane's heart, but Mr. St. John had other plans, when Jane disapproved, he shunned her for her demand to keep her life rather than it dying in his possession.



Finally, just as any reader hopes, Jane returned to her one and only Edward.  Sitting on the edge of his or his seat, the reader anticipates a sudden change of plans at any moment.  Bronte ends it on a most pleasing note--while Jane bared a son, Mr. Rochester regained his pride, and his sight was restored in time to see his newborn child.  However, Bronte’s personal life didn't have such a turn of events; just weeks after discovering she was pregnant, Bronte developed pneumonia, which soon took her life and that of her unborn child.  Bronte’s early death made her novel even more famous, but never could she have imagined how her plain, diminutive Jane would inspire women to be themselves in spite of society’s expectations and pressures, and how the novel once penned under a male pseudonym would remain an enduring classic through changing generations of the women’s movement.