Charlotte Brontë by RANDEE-MARIE MALILONG https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s by Claire Harman en-us 2019-11-12 21:56:33 UTC 2024-06-08 09:01:30 UTC hello@padlet.com Bibliography malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/431701588 Harman, Claire. Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart. New York, Knopf, 2016. ]]> 2020-01-15 05:34:42 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/431701588 (1) Birth malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/432569399 Charlotte Brontë was born on April 21, 1816 in Thornton, United Kingdom. Her father was Patrick Brontë and her mother was Maria Branwell Brontë. At the time she was born, she had two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth. ]]> 2020-01-16 18:10:52 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/432569399 (2) The Death of Her Mother malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/432573660 After the Brontë family moved to Haworth, United Kingdom in 1820 for their father's job, their mother Maria Brontë fell ill. She had been weak ever since and had been on bed rest by the end of January 1821. Charlotte was only 5 years old at this time. The eldest sister, Maria (7 years old), was appointed to take care of the rest of the children before their aunt Elizabeth Branwell came to help. On September 15, 1821, Maria Brontë passed away at age 38 due to cancer. After months of seclusion from their mother, the children were distraught. None of the family fully recovered from her death. ]]> 2020-01-16 18:17:35 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/432573660 (3) Life With Her Aunt malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433306432 When her mother died, Charlotte Brontë and her siblings needed someone to take care of them. While their father searched for a new wife, the children stayed with their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell. Her aunt was described to have, "seemed consciously to adopt an unsentimental, rather withholding demeanor, so as not to intrude too far on her dead sister's territory," (Harman 48). Elizabeth Branwell knew that she could never replace their mother and seemed to not have love powerful enough to be adored by the children. ]]> 2020-01-18 21:21:40 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433306432 (4) Cowan Bridge malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433320491 After the death of their mother, Patrick Brontë decided to send his three oldest daughters to Cowan Bridge School to gain an education. He first sent Maria and Elizabeth in July and later sent Charlotte to the school on August 10.  Charlotte showed resentment toward this school and its founder. In page 46 of the biography, it is said that Charlotte disliked "the cold, the scant, bad food, the rote learning, the strict discipline,  the soul-stifling air of Calvinism," (Harman 46). She also complained that the school was prone to outbreaks of typhus and scrofula due to its location and that the school as a whole was hazardous to students. ]]> 2020-01-18 23:49:19 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433320491 (5) The Death of Maria and Elizabeth malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433323933 Early in the year of 1825, there was an outbreak of typhus fever at Cowan Bridge. This was during the time that Charlotte, Emily, and their older two sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, were attending the school. The school's lack of communication was a factor in many of the sicknesses of their students and most certainly harmed Maria and Elizabeth. Maria had shown symptoms of a sickness but Patrick, her father, was not notified of them by the school. Maria did not have typhus, but had pulmonary tuberculosis. Due to the lack of communication, Patrick was slow to remove Maria from the school but eventually did and brought her back home. After being cared for for two and a half months, Maria died on May 6. Worried that his other daughter Elizabeth may be sick, he went to the school to get her and his two other daughters, but he was too late as Elizabeth also died two weeks after. The deaths of her two older sisters stunned and terrified Charlotte as she was eight years old and her sisters being only ten and eleven. ]]> 2020-01-19 00:32:54 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433323933 (6) Roe Head School malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433326240 During the summer and autumn of 1830, Patrick Brontë, Charlotte's father, fell ill with a lung infection. Patrick knew that if he died, Elizabeth Branwell would not be able to financially support his children and that they would need to find jobs of their own. Patrick was always thinking about the future of his children, with Charlotte even saying, "He didn't need such a prompt to consider his children's futures; it must have always been on his mind," (Harman 69). He asked for help from friends to find a school to enlist his children in. Charlotte's godparents ended up not only finding her a school but also paying for the tuition. Charlotte was set to attend the school in the next upcoming year, just months before her fifteenth birthday. ]]> 2020-01-19 00:59:36 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433326240 (7) Mary Taylor and Ellen Nussey malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433370574 At her new school, Charlotte Brontë met two new people, Mary Taylor and Ellen Nussey. Mary Taylor was the eldest daughter of a local cloth manufacturer and attended the school before Charlotte arrived. Ellen Nussey was the daughter of a cloth merchant from a nearby town. and had joined the school not too long after Charlotte did. Ellen and Charlotte being the new kids was a factor in their long relationship as they were both in a new environment and could start to understand the school together. These three girls became very good friends and their friendship extended into adulthood. Ellen and Mary helped Charlotte overcome her separation from home and her family, even being called her "substitute sisters," (Harman 74).

]]> 2020-01-19 09:38:05 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433370574 (8) Art Exhibition in Leeds malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433482117 In the summer of 1834, two of Charlotte's pencil drawings were accepted by the Royal Northern Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts for their annual summer exhibition in Leeds. Her two drawings were of the Bolton Priory and the Kirkstall Abbey. The Kirkstall Abbey was the location her parents engaged at and she had visited the Bolton Priory the previous summer with her friend Ellen Nussey. The art exhibition in Leeds was Charlotte's highest points in her artistic career as after that, she never exhibited anywhere or attempted to sell her art.  

Below is a drawing made by Charlotte.]]> 2020-01-20 01:02:57 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433482117 Charlotte Brontë malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433482273 Portrait]]> 2020-01-20 01:03:42 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433482273 (9) Religious Doubts malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433482378 While attending Roe Head, Charlotte would have conflicts between herself and her religious and spiritual beliefs. Charlotte had been alarmed on multiple occasions that she may be incapable of being in sight of God’s will. In a letter she wrote to her friend Ellen Nussey, she said, “I know not how to pray—I cannot bend my life to the grand end of doing good,” (Harman 108). She feared that she might forget God and that God might forget her. ]]> 2020-01-20 01:04:13 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433482378 (10) Inspired to Travel Abroad malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433487790 The family of Charlotte’s friend, Mary Taylor, were avid travelers. They shared French newspapers and bales of French books to Charlotte over the years of knowing her. The father of the Taylors, Mr. Taylor, was keen to “have his girls finish their schooling abroad and acquire languages,” (Harman 147). Charlotte had once read a letter from Mary describing her travels in Belgium and Holland that summer and this is what seemed to inspire Charlotte to travel the most. After asking her Aunt Branwell to fund her trip, she received £150 for her and her sister, Emily, to study abroad. ]]> 2020-01-20 01:35:51 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433487790 (11) The Death of Her Aunt malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433490850 While in Brussels, Charlotte and Emily received a letter from their father that their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, had become seriously ill. The two girls immediately began to plan for their trip back home, but just after their father’s first letter, they received another from him that Aunt Branwell had passed away. They knew however quickly they left, they would not make it in time for her funeral. Still, they decided to return home from Brussels without hesitation. Their schooling would remain uninterrupted as their teachers were said to be “always very sympathetic to matters of family duty,” (Harman 169). Upon their arrival home, they were greeted with the rest of their family in a somber family reunion.]]> 2020-01-20 01:52:07 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433490850 (12) Publication of "Poems" malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433493614 Charlotte and her two sisters, Emily and Anne, created a collection of poems and it was accepted for publication by Aylott and Jones. With having spent so much money on publication of their book, it was said that the sisters “baulked at finding more money for advertising, and kept it to a minimum, £2.00,” (Harman 238). The typical price for advertising at their time would be ten times as much. The book, Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell, was published and available to the public by the end of May, but it didn’t gain much attention. 

Below is a copy of their collection of poems in Poems, by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell.
]]> 2020-01-20 02:07:43 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433493614 (13) Charlotte Begins "Jane Eyre" malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433497531 After the lesson she received from the rejection of her previous book, The Professor, Charlotte decided to begin writing another book. This time, it would be, and in her own words, “something more imaginative and poetical—something more consonant with a highly wrought fancy, with a native taste for pathos—with sentiments more tender—elevated—unworldly,” (Harman 246). She used her own personal life experiences as inspiration for the book as she found that her own life was the best source for strong feeling. This book would come to be known as Jane Eyre. ]]> 2020-01-20 02:29:40 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433497531 (14) "Jane Eyre" Accepted for Publication malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433502751 While Charlotte had almost finished copying out her second novel, Jane Eyre, she attempted to find someone who would publish her first book, The Professor. After many tries, Charlotte sent out her book one last time to publisher George Smith. He had already seen the requests for the book to be published, so he sent it to his colleague, William Smith Williams, who wrote back to “Mr. Bell” (Charlotte was using the pseudonym Currer Bell in her publications at this time) saying that they did not want to publish The Professor, but the manuscript “evinced great literary power,” (Harman 255). Charlotte was thrilled to receive this feedback as it motivated her to finish Jane Eyre and to attempt to get it published. She wrote back to them and told them that she had a book nearly ready that she could send in about a month. When Williams read Jane Eyre, he pressed it on Smith with urgency, and the day after reading the manuscript, Smith wrote back to Currer Bell accepting the book for publication.

]]> 2020-01-20 02:59:46 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433502751 (15) "Jane Eyre" Published malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433502830 After Charlotte’s book was accepted for publication, the title was changed from “Jane Eyre: a novel in three vols. By Currer Bell” to “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell.” This title change was said to have the potential of making readers wonder if the story was true. The change to the title made Jane less fictional and made her into an autobiographer. George Smith, the publisher, offered £100 for the copyright, which was more than a woman could dream of making in a year, but Charlotte being under the pseudonym Currer Bell, she knew that she could ask for a higher offer. Jane Eyre had been moving quicker than the books of Charlotte’s sisters with her even saying, “by the end of October Jane Eyre had sailed into print while Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey still languished on Newby’s desk,” (Harman 257). After the book was released and sold to the public, reviews immediately began flooding in. The responses were powerful, positive, and immediate. It sold in thousands and was reprinted within ten weeks. The book even got attention from Queen Victoria. The publication Charlotte’s second book had proven become a success. 

]]> 2020-01-20 03:00:09 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433502830 (16) Joe Taylor's Visit malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433519705 After the third edition of Jane Eyre was published, Mary Taylor’s brother, Joseph “Joe” Taylor, had turned up uninvited at the Parsonage with his cousin William Henry and another cousin. Charlotte was suspicious of his motives for this visit as “no Brontë liked or encouraged informal socializing,” (Harman 272). Charlotte had guessed that Joe had been curious and had deduced the identity of “Currer Bell.” She ended up fending off Joe and his cousins, as well as Ellen Nussey, who also questioned the identity of Currer Bell. Reading the book many years later, Ellen described the book as though Charlotte herself was present in every word. Even in the time of its release, Ellen had questions about Currer’s identity and had linked the story to Charlotte in some ways. ]]> 2020-01-20 04:38:14 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433519705 (17) Currer Bell and Smith malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433521149 After the release of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, pseudonym Anton Bell, there was a spike in interest for “all these Bells,” referring to Currer Bell, Anton Bell, and Ellis Bell. Publisher Thomas Newby suggested to an American publisher that the Bells’ works were all products of one single person, Currer Bell. The American publishing firm, Harper’s, had an agreement with Smith, Elder to publish Currer Bell’s next book and when this news broke out, they were offended. George Smith demanded an explanation from Currer Bell. When Charlotte received the request via letter by George Smith, she decided to go and meet George Smith in person. She set off by foot with her sister, Anne, to reveal their identity to Smith. When they arrived, they introduced themselves both to George Smith and Williams, who both were surprised by the news. They agreed only for William and Smith to know and keeping Currer, Anton, and Ellis’ identities secret. ]]> 2020-01-20 04:47:39 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433521149 (18) The Death of Her Siblings malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433523631 In late September of 1848, Branwell Brontë passed away. Branwell suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis which may have been triggered by his recent contraction of bronchitis. He died in his father’s arms, surrounded by his family. Charlotte did not have a strong relationship with her brother as his addiction to drinking and opium along with his will to do nothing in life bothered her. When he died, a letter written by Charlotte a week later showed that her feelings for Branwell had sunk in the  preceding four or five years. On the day of Branwell’s funeral, Emily had caught racking and persistent cough. Charlotte blamed the weather for the cough, but it persisted and worsened over time. Eventually, as Emily’s condition worsened, she passed away in December. Charlotte was not totally distraught over this as she saw how much her sister was suffering from this illness and described her passing as God’s way of ending her suffering. Then, Anne was caught with the same symptoms of tuberculosis which ultimately led to her death. The sudden deaths of all her siblings completely distraught Charlotte and guessed that her whole family had been suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis.

]]> 2020-01-20 05:03:31 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433523631 Books by Charlotte Brontë malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433531487 2020-01-20 05:52:54 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433531487 (19) Frenzy Around Currer Bell's Identity malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433539362 The publication of Shirley by Charlotte, aka Currer Bell, left her very vulnerable to not just reviews, but to the frenzy of interest in the identity of Currer Bell. Readers were doubting the author being a male. Also, Jane Eyre had been released all over the district in her old town and she noticed that people were treating her differently. Old classmates and teachers greeted her with generous warmth, which made Charlotte uncomfortable because this had meant that the anonymity of Currer Bell had nearly been compromised. The disappointment of not being able to “walk invisible” as Currer Bell came with the annoyance of Currer Bell’s gender always being the matter of concern to readers and critics. 

]]> 2020-01-20 06:45:05 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433539362 (20) Her Death malilran001 https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433539448 In the last three months of Charlotte’s life, she showed symptoms of what many people believed was tuberculosis. It was only recently that her real cause of death was discovered. With the publicity to the condition called hyperemesis gravidarum, or HG, researchers found that this was the real cause of death to Charlotte. Her suffering in an age with so little knowledge of this condition or medicine can be contemplated only with pity. ]]> 2020-01-20 06:45:30 UTC https://padlet.com/malilran001/ohamgk7f6j4s/wish/433539448