THE BRONTE SISTERS.....Out of Tragedy Great Literature...By Gail L. Jenner

It is probably safe to say that very few writers have not read Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights.  Most writers are also aware that the three noted literary Bronte sisters suffered through their lives and died relatively young. But their combined story is even more stirring. Out of such tragedy arose such great and revered literature.

Born in 1816, Charlotte Bronte was one of six children born to Patrick Bronte, an Anglican preacher. 

When Charlotte was five, the family moved to Hawthorne, a small remote village located in the grim and gloomy marshy moors. That year Charlotte's mother also died, leaving Pastor Bronte with six children (five girls and one boy) to raise alone.

Charlotte, along with her two older sisters and younger sister Emily, were sent off to a school for the not-so-wealthy daughters of the clergy—but the institution was cold, the food was insufficient and poor and the discipline was harsh. 

Maria, Charlotte’s oldest sister (and thought, by Charlotte, to have been highly intelligent, lively and sensitive) fell ill and died from tuberculosis in May 1825. She was only eleven. Less than a month later, in June of 1825, Elizabeth, the second oldest of the siblings, also died from privation and illness--very likely tuberculosis. She was only ten years old.

At this point, Charlotte and Emily were brought home. There is no doubt that Patrick Bronte was devastated by the loss, especially since he had been advised that the school—although a charity school—was adequate, but, without money or prestige, he had few choices for educating his daughters. For Emily and Charlotte, the loss was traumatic. Most scholars assert that life at the Cowan Bridge School became a major inspiration for Jane Eyre’s story.

Back at home, Charlotte, Emily, Anne (the youngest Bronte), and Branwell, their only brother, spent much of their time fantasizing and creating stories. When Patrick Bronte brought home some toy soldiers to Branwell, it inspired the four children to create worlds of fantasy and stories, many of which they spent days composing. Some even turned into major stories as they grew older. The creative children gathered their stories into little books, the size of matchboxes, each one intricately woven together with colored thread, illustrated and lavishly embellished.

As they grew older, Charlotte took a position at a girls’ school and also worked as a governess for several families. Anne became a governess. Meanwhile, Charlotte and Emily began dreaming of opening their own girls’ school and in 1842, traveled to Brussels with their father where they studied languages and school administration. Emily learned to play the piano and also learned German; additionally, the two sisters learned to write essays in an advanced level of French. While in Brussels, however, young Charlotte fell in love with the married headmaster—Constantin Heger; this heartbreaking experience also found its way into Charlotte’s later writing, and letters she sent to him later on (to which he did not respond in kind) were later found.

 

Wuthering Heights

All three of the girls’ most famous novels—Charlotte's Jane Eyre, Emily's Wuthering Heights, and Anne’s Agnes Grey appeared in 1847 under psuedonyms. Jane Eyre was published by Smith, Elder & Co in London and soon became what we now call a bestseller. The stories by Emily and Anne were given to Thomas Cautley Newby. Both Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey garnered critical acclaim, although Wuthering Heights was criticized for its violence and immorality. Some critics maintained that it had to be the work of a man with a depraved mind.

Charlotte returned to Hawthorne and helped care for her ailing father; it was at this time, she began working on Jane Eyre. Sadly, Branwell, who was also a talented writer and artist, began drinking and using opium. He declined rapidly as he went in and out of delirium and drunkenness. He died at the age of 31 in September 1848. Only three months later, in December 1848, Emily Bronte died. She was 30 years old. And five months later, Anne, the youngest of the Bronte clan, died on May 28, 1849, at the age of 29.

Alone, Charlotte continued to care for her father. She also married Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854. Within the year, she became pregnant then contracted pneumonia and died on March 31, 1855. She was 38. Some have suggested that as heartbroken as she no doubt was through her life, that she "allowed" herself to die.

Incredibly, this family of gifted, talented writers and creative minds, appeared to have been stricken--or cursed--by illness and grief. Such tragedy--and yet, out of it or because of it--such brilliance. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gail L. Jenner is grateful for being able to work with Prairie Rose Publishing, and her collection of stories published by PRP has grown since "joining the gang" in Dec. 2013 with the re-release of her WILLA Award-winning Across the Sweet Grass Hills.
For more about Gail, check out: www.gailjenner.com or http://www.amazon.com/Gail-Fiorini-Jenner/e/B005GHR47O