The Differences in Bronte Sisters Novel Creation

黃文琪

湖北文理學院

【Abstract】The three sisters living in a wasteland in 1847 launched their “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights” and “Agnes Grey”.T The main reasons for their differences are the following three aspects： one is the differences of personality and psychology， the other is the difference of life experience， and the other is the different literary spirits influenced of the three.This article starts from the text， carries on the similarities and differences of the Bront three sisters work .

【Key words】Bronte sisters； novel creation； difference； fusion

1. Difference in the Performance

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a novel of expectation， love， oppression， sin， religion and betrayal.It portrays the disintegration of the marriage of Helen Huntingdon， the mysterious ‘tenant of the title， and herdissolute， alcoholic husband. Defying convention， Helen leavesher husband to protect their young son from his fathers influence， and earns her own living as an artist. Whilst in hidingat Wildfell Hall， she encounters Gilbert Markham. who falls in love with her. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall challenges the social conventions of the early nieenth century in a strong defence of women rights in the face of psychological abuse from their husbands. Anne Brontes style is bold， naturalistic and passionate， and this novel， which her sister Charlotte considered ‘an entire， has earned her a position in English Literature in her own right， not just as the youngest member of the Bronte family.

2. The Reason for the Difference

Charlotte Bronte was the eldest of the three Bronte sisters . Charlotte Bronte was born at Thornton， in Yorkshire， England， the third of six children， to Patrick Bronte and his wife， Maria . In April 1820 the family moved to Haworth， where Patrick had been appointed Perpetual Curate. Maria Branwell Bronte died of cancer on 15 September 1821， leaving five daughters and a son to the care of her sister Elizabeth Branwell. In August 1824， Charlotte was sent with three of her sisters to the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire . Its poor conditions， Charlotte maintained， permanently affected her health and physical development， and hastened the deaths of her two elder sisters .At home in Haworth Parsonage， Charlotte and the other surviving children — Branwell， Emily， and Anne — were influenced by their fathers library of Walter Scott， Byron， Tales of the Genii and The Arabian Nights. They began chronicling the lives and struggles of the inhabitants of their imaginary kingdoms. Charlotte and Branwell wrote stories about their country — Angria. The sagas were elaborate and convoluted and provided them with an obsessive interest in childhood and early adolescence， which prepared them for their literary vocations in adulthood. Charlotte continued her education at Roe Head school in Mirfield from 1831 to 1832， where she met her lifelong friends and correspondents， Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor. Charlotte returned as a teacher from 1835 to 1838. In 1839 she took up the first of many positions as governess to various families in Yorkshire， a career she pursued until 1841. In 1842 she and Emily travelled to Brussels to enroll in a pensionnat run by Constantin Heger（1809–1896）and his wife Claire Zo Parent Heger（1804–1890）. In return for board and tuition， Charlotte taught English and Emily taught music. Their time at the pensionnat was cut short when Elizabeth Branwell， their aunt who joined the family after the death of their mother to look after the children， died of internal obstruction in October 1842. Charlotte returned alone to Brussels in January 1843 to take up a teaching post at the pensionnat. Her second stay at the pensionnat was not a happy one； she became lonely， homesick， and deeply attached to Constantin Heger. She finally returned to Haworth in January 1844 and later used her time at the pensionnat as the inspiration for some of The Professor and Villette.

Emily Bronte was born in Thornton， near Bradford in Yorkshire， to Patrick Bronte and Maria. In 1824， the family moved to Haworth， where Emilys father was perpetual curate， and it was in these surroundings that their literary oddities flourished. Little of Emilys work from this period survived， except for poems spoken by characters.

In 1838， Emily commenced work as a governess at Miss Patchetts Ladies Academy at Law Hill School， near Halifax， leaving after about six months due to homesickness. Later， with her sister Charlotte， she attended a private school in Brussels run by Constantin Heger and his wife， Claire Zoe Parent Heger. They later tried to open up a school at their home， but had no pupils.

It was the discovery of Emilys poetic talent by Charlotte that led her and her sisters to publish a joint collection of their poetry in 1846， Poems by Currer， Ellis， and Acton Bell.

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