CHARLOTTE BRONTE

(1816-1855)

YUMNA JAVERIA SADIA

SALEEM BAIG KHAN
 BACKGROUND OF VICTORIAN ENGLAND:

-Women faced political difficulties.

-There was lack of support.
-Offensive comments by the critics.
STRUGGLE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË
TO START HER CAREER:

-Demotivating comments.
Robert Southey said that:
"Literature can not be the business of a woman's life,
and it ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her
proper duties, the less leisure will she have for it, even
as an accomplishment and a recreation"
 STRUGGLE OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË
TO START HER CAREER:

-Worked as a governess.
-Tried to start a school but failed.
-Used male pseudonyms because
of the double standards.
-Some works were rejected.
 SUCCESS

She became a
Jane Eyre was respected
the beginning of member of the
her success. literary
community.
 TRAGEDIES

-Her success was affected by

family tragedies.

-Loss of her remaining siblings.

 WRITING STYLE

-Express the perfect meaning she wants to convey.

-Spontaneity, felicity, simplicity in her words.

-Using alot of dialogues.

-Drawing an unforgettable picture of scenes and the people.

THEMES
-Women.
-Marriage.
-Education
-Social Class.
-Morality.
-Ethics.
-Independence.
-Family.
CHARLOTTE BRONTE’S WORKS

• Poetry, short stories, novellas, and the

novel

• A shift from poetry to the novel as the

dominant form of literature was observed.
 POETRY

First published work was a self-

funded collaboration with her
sisters Emily and Anne

Conventional rhyme, which

was easy to read and in a
narrative style, containing
themes of love and everyday
life.
 LIFE, BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE

Life, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses
bloom,
O why lament its fall ?
 Novels

The four novels of Charlotte Brontë are regarded as

masterpieces of English literature.

The characters she created are powerful, and their stories

are profoundly original.

Through her novels Charlotte Brontë criticized the

conditions surrounding women, marriage, social class
and employment
 The Professor
• The story of William Crimsworth

“Well monsieur, I wished merely to say that I should like, of

course, to retain my employment of teaching [….] Think of my
marrying you to be kept by you, monsieur! I could not do it;
how dull my days would be!  [….] I like a contemplative life,
but I like an active life better. I must act in some way, and act
with you.” (The Professor: 167-168.)

‘You have conceived a plan, Frances,’ said I, ‘and a good plan;

execute it. You have my free consent, and wherever and
whenever my assistance is wanted, ask and you shall have.’”
(The Professor: 185)
 SHIRLEY
Shirley Keeldar – an independent woman
Caroline Helstone – a poor young woman

Caroline,” demanded Miss Keeldar abruptly, “don’t you wish

you had a profession – a trade?”
    “I wish it fifty times a day. As it is, I often wonder what I
came into the world for. I long to have something absorbing
and compulsory to fill my head and hands and occupy my
thoughts.”
    [….] “But hard labour and learned professions, they say,
make women masculine, coarse, unwomanly.” (Shirley: 171)
 VILLETTE

The life of Lucy Snowe

Villette is considered Charlotte Brontë’s most poignant

novel

The story ends with ambiguous events as Lucy

anticipates Paul Emanuel’s return after three years in
the West Indies.
Her work depicts originality, beautiful language, complex
and compelling protagonists, and its exploration of love,
religion, nature and society.

She disrupted the social norm, as she sought to prove that

(in regards to women) “society’s expectations had to be
rethought and reworked”.
 DRAMATIC READING AND
EXPLNATION OF JANE EYRE
 “Do you think I am an automaton?
— a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of
bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed
from my cup? 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! And if God had gifted
me with some beauty and much wealth, I should
have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave
you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom,
conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that
addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave,
and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!”
The repetition of rhetorical questions denotes
Jane questioning Rochester and his values,
portraying the dismissal of the traditional
notion of a typical passive woman of the
Victorian era.

The metaphor 'automaton' compares Jane to

an encrypted robot who is set to fulfil the
submissive and obedient role of women.
This comparison indicates that Jane is expected
to conform to the passive nature of women of the
Victorian era by performing a specific role.

She defies this by challenging this traditional

role and vocalizing her thoughts, rather than
being the subservient wife society expects.
THANKYO
U!