The Brontë Sisters

Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë were English writers during the 19th century. They were predominantly influenced by Gothic Fiction, an extension of the Romantic Movement, and have inspired many studies due to their talents for writing. This is usually attributed to the environment that all three of them grew up in, at Haworth Parsonage.

Their father kept a well-stocked library that included the Bible, Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Scott, and many others, and examined articles from Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Fraser's Magazine, and The Edinburgh Review. In addition, they read history, geography and biographies. As children, the sisters (together with their brother, Branwell) created imaginary kingdoms of their own and chronicled the lives and struggles of the imaginary inhabitants. These juvenile creations served as the apprenticeship of their later literary talents.

The sisters’ very first published book was a joint venture by the three of them, Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell (1846). They used pseudonyms so as to avoid any prejudice against female writers. While the book received rather favourable reviews, it only sold two copies and was a failure. Despite this, all three sisters went on to write the classics that they are known and loved for today.

Charlotte Brontë was born 21 April 1816 in Thornton, Yorkshire and was the eldest of the Brontë sisters. She wrote four novels: Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), Villete (1853) and The Professor (1857, post-humously), the first of which was undoubtedly her most famous work. She married Arthur Bell Nicholas in 1854, and became pregnant soon after. However her health rapidly declined during this period, and on 31 March 1955 she passed away at the young age of 38.

Jane Eyre is written in first-person narrative from the title character’s point of view, and chronicles Jane’s experiences. She starts out in her aunt’s home, where she is physically and emotionally abused by her cousins and aunt, and forced to go to a repressive boarding school. After she graduates, she becomes the governess at Thornfield Manor, where she falls in love with her employer Mr. Rochester. Their romance goes through several trials, including Mr. Rochester’s deranged wife, but they are eventually reunited and married. The book is lauded for its sharp social criticism, and for its strong sense of morality.

Emily Brontë was born 30 July 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire and was the second eldest of the Brontë sisters. She only published one novel, Wuthering Heights (1847), which received harsh criticism at first but has come to be accepted as an English literary classic. Her health suffered from the harsh local climate at home and at school, and she caught a cold that led to tuberculosis. She stubbornly refused medical help until it was too late, and she died on 19 December 1948.

Wuthering Heights centers around the intense relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine, which is undermined by the social norms of that era. The story is told through the eyes of the newcomer Mr. Lockwood, who meets his eccentric landlord and neighbour Heathcliff, owner of Wuthering Heights. Through the housekeeper Nelly, he (and the reader) gradually learns more about Heathcliff and Catherine’s tragic romance. The past and present narratives are intertwined, with the repercussions of the previous generation obvious in the next. Emily Brontë demonstrates great skill in her portrayal of flawed, selfish and human characters, making them sympathetic even though they are no means moral or upright.

Anne Brontë was born 17 January 1820 in Thornton, Yorkshire and was the youngest of the three sisters. She is also the least known of the three and has been described as ‘less talented’, perhaps because her writing style was less dramatic than either of her sister’s and her novels thus less sensational. She is most known for her novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), and also published Agnes Grey (1847) together with her sister’s Wuthering Heights. Emily’s death deeply affected her and grief worsened her health. In an attempt to recover, she visited Scarborough with her sister, but her health declined and she died away from home on 28 May 1849.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall tells the story of a woman who escapes with her son from her alcoholic, possessive and unfaithful husband. She meets Gilbert Markham, a prosperous farmer, and after trials the two are married. Anne Brontë’s depiction of alcoholism and debauchery was disturbingly accurate, but it is really known for challenging the legal and social structures of that time, which gave little support for independent women.

(414 2010)