CHARLOTTE BRONTE

Charlotte Bront was a British novelist, the eldest out of the three famous Bront sisters whose novels
have become standards of English literature. She was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England, the third
of six children, of Patrick Bront and Maria Branwell. In April 1820, the family moved to Haworth,
where the Bront children spent most of their lives. Unfortunately, their mother died from what was
thought to be cancer on 15 September 1821, and she left five daughters and a son to the care of her
sister Elizabeth Branwell, who moved to Yorkshire to help the family.
In August 1824 Charlotte and her sisters Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth were sent to the Clergy
Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire, which was at that time a new school for poor
children. The school was a horrific experience for the girls and the conditions were appalling. They
werent given food, they were beaten by teachers and humiliated for the slightest error. The school
was unheated and the pupils slept two to a bed for warmth. Seven pupils died in a typhus epidemic
and also, all four of the Bront girls became very ill - Maria and Elizabeth died of tuberculosis in
1825. Charlottes experiences at the school deeply affected her - her health never recovered and she
immortalised the cruel and brutal treatment in her novel, Jane Eyre.
Charlotte Brontes early interest in writing was stimulated when she was just a child. The Bronte
children made an imitation of a London monthly magazine and the articles which were written there
were most astonishing because of their originality. Charlotte also published in that magazine stories
which were extremely imaginative and they reflected the young writers enthusiasm for her work and
confidence in herself as a creative writer. Also, she composed more than sixty five poems, most about
the nature of poetic genius, about the creative process and about the progress of literary history. Some
examples of titles of poems could be Life, The Letter, Passion, Momentos,
Presentiment, Regret and The Wood.
This author also wrote novels, for instance The Professor, Shirley, Vilette, but the most
representative work of Charlotte is the novel named Jane Eyre. It was published on 16 October
1847 and it has the characteristics of a bildungsroman. Jane Eyre follows the emotions and
experiences of its title character, including her growth to adulthood, and her love for Mr. Rochester.
Also, the author focuses on the Janes moral and spiritual sensibility, and all the events have a special
intensity. The novel also contains elements of social criticism, with a strong sense of morality at its
core. The action is set somewhere in the north of England, during the reign of George III, and it goes
through five distinct stages: Janes childhood, when she is emotionally and physically abused by her
aunt and cousins, her education at Lowood School, her time as governess at Thornfield Hall and her
time with the Rivers family. During these sections, the novel provides perspectives on a number of
important social issues.
To sum up, Charlotte Bronte is one of the most well-known authors of the English literature and even
if she had a tough childhood, she succeeded in being a famous writer due to her poems and novels.