Engel Dissects 'Jane Eyre,' 'Wuthering Heights' At Annual Author Dinner
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
LEESBURG - Before they were 34 years old, all of the Bronte children were dead.
Yet, two of the children's novels live on today to be two of the most acclaimed novels of all time - "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights."
Thursday night at the Kosciusko Literacy Services' seventh annual Author Dinner, Dr. Elliot Engel gave his seventh presentation to KLS supporters and donors.His topic, "The Brilliant and Bizarre Brontes," had the audience laughing and gasping as he unveiled the story behind the Bronte family.
In the history of all literature in every country, the only example of two sisters producing two works of literature that "will live on forever," Engel said, is Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" and Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," two sisters from the British Isles.
But in order to understand where the books came from, Engel delved into the family's history.
The Bronte name is a different sort of name for Britain. What kind of name is it? "It is pure Sicilian. It is a Sicilian name," Engel said. But not one drop of blood is Sicilian about them except for the name.
The father's original name was Patrick Brunty. That had been changed from O'Brunty. "It was entirely Irish," said Engel. The father was born dirt poor, but brilliant.
In order to get ahead in British society, Engel said, the father knew he had to become a rector in a church. At age 19, seeing the name Bronte in the newspaper, a name with status, Patrick Brunty changed his name to Patrick Bronte.
Then, to also help him move up society's ladder, he needed the perfect wife. "Unfortunately for her," Engel said, "he found her." He married Maria Branwell in 1812. Over the next 8-1/2 years, Maria had two miscarriages, five girls and one boy. Maria then died in 1820.
Mr. Bronte was given a parish in Haworth. The parish, even today, is in the middle of nowhere. He was left there with six children and no wife. The first thing he needed to do was get a housekeeper. He interviewed and hired Maria's sister, who could not cook.
Fortunately for his children, he had a very good library. Four of his surviving children read books from that library at a very early age. The other two children, Maria, 10, and Elizabeth, 9, were sent off to a private school. Both girls died the same week of diseases they caught at the awful school, Engel said.
Mr. Bronte wanted to know how his children were going to be rich and support him. The only job available for women at that time was that of governess. Engel said the jobs were very alienating. Governesses would have nothing to do with the families they worked for because families looked down on people who had to work. And the other servants wouldn't have anything to do with governesses because the servants thought them too high up. If a governess was beautiful, then the family would treat them well.
Charlotte was not even plain. She was "really, really ugly," Engel said. She had coke-bottom glasses, terrible hair, a bad complexion and only stood at 4 feet, 9 inches.
"I tell you this because it was her greatest gift as an artist," Engel said. When she wrote "Jane Eyre," Charlotte wrote Jane Ayre as unattractive as she was. Jane Ayre is the first and last unattractive heroine in literature, Engel said.
Jane also was a plain name in the 19th century. "There had never been a heroine named Jane before," Engel said.
"'Jane Eyre' is the story of an ugly duckling who grows up to be an ugly duckling," said Engel.
But by making Jane unattractive, "she is more realistic than any other heroine in English literature," Engel said. Even today, girls are inspired by the book. "It is a great triumph of the imagination," he said.
Charlotte doesn't get a job as governess.
Emily, on the other hand, is attractive. How did she do as governess? "We'll never know because she was so weird, she was never let out of the house," Engel said.
The other daughter, Anne, got a job as governness. After she got her brother, Branwell, a job with the family, too, both were fired. Branwell, 19, had an affair with the matriarch of the family, who was 43.
In 1847, upon Charlotte's insistence, all three of the daughters decided to try writing novels. Charlotte got hers, "The Professor," completed first. It was rejected by publishers six times, but the sixth publisher told Charlotte to send her next book to him first. She writes "Jane Eyre." But the publisher, George Smith, wants to give the author a man's name. Charlotte refuses to change her name to a man's name, but accepts an androgenous name, Currer Bell. "Jane Eyre" becomes a best seller.
Eight days before "Jane Eyre" comes out, Branwell drugs and drinks himself to death in front of the family. Four weeks later, after Emily's book "Wuthering Heights" also is published, Emily is dying of consumption. Critics hated it, until 1910, when opinions changed. Emily dies six months after Branwell.
Anne then contracts consumption. Charlotte takes Anne to a seashore resort to help her lungs. Thirty minutes after checking into a resort, Anne dies in Charlotte's arms.
Charlotte writes two more books, one good one, "Villette," and one bad one, "Shirley," Engel said.
At age 34, Charlotte gets a proposal of marriage. After fighting with her father for 13 months, he finally consents for her to marry Arthur Bell Nicholls, his curate. She didn't love him at first, but upon returning from their honeymoon, they were in love. Three months later, Charlotte was pregnant.
At eight months pregnant, Charlotte dies of consumption, and the child does, too.
While all the children died before age 34, Mr. Bronte lives to 89-1/2 years old.
Today, "Wuthering Heights" is described as the greatest English novel, but it's Charlotte who opened literature up to all female authors.
