Charlotte Bronte – 1816 – 1855

Charlotte Bronte

‘I’m just going to write because I cannot help it.’

Charlotte Bronte was born in Yorkshire, England in 1816, the third of six children.  She is one of the most popular female authors from the 19^th century, with her most famous work, ‘Jane Eyre’, still a major feature within the English Literature Curriculum.

            Charlottes’ father was an Anglican Clergyman and when her mother died from cancer in 1821, she left the care of her children to her sister, Elizabeth Branwell.  In 1824, Charlotte, along with her sisters Maria, Elizabeth and Emily, attended the newly opened Clergy Daughters School in Lancashire.  Here they encountered a harsh regime, along with cold conditions and poor food.  They left the school in 1825, although the poor conditions they had endured led to Maria and Elizabeth dying from consumption shortly after.  Charlotte was deeply affected by the experience, which would later become the inspiration behind Lowood School, attended by Jane Eyre.

            By 1829, Charlotte had already begun to write, escaping into a literary world of fiction along with her two remaining sisters, Emily and Anne and their brother, Branwell.  She continued her education in 1831 when she enrolled at Roe Head in Mirfield, where she was to meet her lifelong friend, Ellen Nussey.  Her education was completed in 1832, although Charlotte was later to return to Roe Head in 1835, where she worked as a teacher until 1838.

            From 1839-41, Charlotte worked as Governess to a number of families in Yorkshire.  One particularly unruly child that she was in charge of would later become the basis for the character of John Reed.

            Charlotte and Emily travelled together to Brussels in 1842 to enrol in a boarding school, where they taught English and Music in return for their board and tuition.   Their stay was however cut short after the death of their aunt, which led to them returning to England the same year.  Charlotte returned to Brussels in 1843 to take up a teaching post, but soon found that she was unhappy and homesick.  She returned to England in 1944, the time spent in Brussels was later used as experiences for her literary work.

            In 1846, Charlotte, along with Emily and Anne, published a joint collection of poetry.  They used the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.  The choice to use aliases for their work came about because at that time, there was a lot of prejudice against female authors and the sisters felt that their work wasn’t exactly what many would consider to be ‘feminine’.  The book however failed to attract any interest, only managing to sell two copies.  Not to be disheartened, the sisters carried on with their own personal novels, still using their chosen aliases. 

            After her first novel, ‘The Professor’, was rejected, Charlotte Bronte published ‘Jane Eyre’ in 1847, under the name Currer Bell.  The gothic melodrama became an instant success, although once it was discovered that Currer Bell was indeed a woman, many considered it to be an ‘improper’ book.  Even so, ‘Jane Eyre’ still remains as popular today as it was when it was first published.

            In 1848, Charlotte began working on her second novel, ‘Shirley’, although work was soon halted by a series of tragic events.  Her only brother, Branwell, died from Chronic Bronchitis.  Emily became seriously ill soon after and died from Tuberculosis.  Anne was to succumb from the same disease in 1849.  Charlotte resumed writing her novel in order to escape from her grief, and ‘Shirley’ was published later that same year.  Her third novel, ‘Villette’, was published in 1853.

            Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854.  He had been her father’s curate and his middle name, Bell, was the reason behind the Bronte Sisters’ noms de plume.  Although Charlotte initially rejected his proposal, partly due to her fathers’ objections because of Nicholls’ poor financial status, she later accepted after some encouragement from Elizabeth Gaskell and her father finally gave them his blessing.  Their happiness was however cut short.  Charlotte fell pregnant early on and her health began to rapidly decline.  She died in 1855 from phthisis along with her unborn child. 

            Charlotte Bronte was interred in the family vault in the Church of St. Michael and All Angels at Haworth, where her father was Perpetual Curate.  Her first novel, the previously unsuccessful ‘The Professor’, was finally published posthumously in 1857.