Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte originally published their novels under the pen names of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. They felt that book publishers and the reading public would take them more seriously if they used the names of men. The year 1847 saw the publication of Charlotte's masterpiece, Jane Eyre; Emily's singular contribution to literature, Wuthering Heights; and Anne's Agnes Grey.
Both Charlotte and Anne's novel concerned the lives of governesses. Both sisters pointed out the plight of single, educated women in a time when women were dependent on male relatives for financial security. Employment opportunities were few and far between for an unmarried woman of those days. Without a husband or relative to depend on, Victorian women faced a life of poverty and peril. Governess jobs, or employment in a girls' school was the only avenue for success. And those jobs did not allow for Independence. A governess lived in the home of her charges while a teacher at a girls' school generally lived on the school campus.
CHARLOTTE
The Bronte sisters understood these problems first hand. The knew that if their preacher father would die, they would be left penniless and homeless. All three sisters attempted employment in the above mentioned fields. Emily had the most difficult time. She became homesick and pined for her 'liberty,' as she called her time spent alone on the moors. Indeed, Emily was a recluse and spent little time away from home. Charlotte Bronte bemoaned the drudgery of her employment and felt that the dull routine stifled her mind.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte decided to open a girls school, hoping for the intellectual challenge of being in charge, as well as creating a place for themselves to work and prosper after the death of their father. The school project failed. Charlotte urged her sisters to write novels and the three of them produced their books in secret, in the dining room of the Parsonage at Haworth.
It was not until after the death of Emily that Charlotte and Anne revealed their true identifies to their publisher. Anne died shortly after, leaving Charlotte alone, to deal with the legacy of the Bronte Sisters.
Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte - The Popular Victorian Writers Who Were Sisters
Check out this fun site about the Bronte Sisters. The popularity of these three talented writers encouraged me to create an article with a bit of humor. Including pictures (one sketch of Anne by Charlotte), great links, videos, and places to buy Victorian costume patterns, as well as books and biographies. http://hubpages.com/hub/TheBronteSistersBuyEverythingBronteOnlineFromBookstoVictorianDressPatterns
This article is about Charlotte Bronte and her masterpiece Jane Eyre, a novel of social conscience and feminism in Victorian times. "Social convention is not morality" - Charlotte Bronte http://hubpages.com/hub/Charlotte-BronteandJaneEyreSocialConscienceandFeminisminVictorianLiterature
CHARLOTTE
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