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Independence: Vintage Minis
‘To myself alone could I look’
In a cold, unfeeling world Charlotte Brontë’s heroines, Jane Eyre and Lucy Snowe, depend upon no one but themselves. In the face of hardship, from small sacrifices to great heartache, they cling resolutely to their principles of self-reliance. Follow Lucy to France and a career in teaching, whilst Jane’s intelligence draws declarations of love and offers of marriage. Both are the unforgettable creations of the deeply independent and brilliant Charlotte Brontë.
Selected from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Villette.
VINTAGE GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.
A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human
Also in the Vintage Minis
Sisters by Louisa May Alcott
Freedom by Margaret Atwood
Marriage by Jane Austen
Liberty by Virginia Woolf
In a cold, unfeeling world Charlotte Brontë’s heroines, Jane Eyre and Lucy Snowe, depend upon no one but themselves. In the face of hardship, from small sacrifices to great heartache, they cling resolutely to their principles of self-reliance. Follow Lucy to France and a career in teaching, whilst Jane’s intelligence draws declarations of love and offers of marriage. Both are the unforgettable creations of the deeply independent and brilliant Charlotte Brontë.
Selected from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Villette.
VINTAGE GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.
A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human
Also in the Vintage Minis
Sisters by Louisa May Alcott
Freedom by Margaret Atwood
Marriage by Jane Austen
Liberty by Virginia Woolf
- GenresClassics
138 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 5, 2020
About the author
Charlotte Brontë
2,532 books20k followersCharlotte Brontë was an English novelist, the eldest out of the three famous Brontë sisters whose novels have become standards of English literature. See also Emily Brontë and Anne Brontë.
Charlotte Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England, the third of six children, to Patrick Brontë (formerly "Patrick Brunty"), an Irish Anglican clergyman, and his wife, Maria Branwell. In April 1820 the family moved a few miles to Haworth, a remote town on the Yorkshire moors, where Patrick had been appointed Perpetual Curate. This is where the Brontë children would spend most of their lives. Maria Branwell Brontë died from what was thought to be cancer on 15 September 1821, leaving five daughters and a son to the care of her spinster sister Elizabeth Branwell, who moved to Yorkshire to help the family.
In August 1824 Charlotte, along with her sisters Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth, was sent to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire, a new school for the daughters of poor clergyman (which she would describe as Lowood School in Jane Eyre). The school was a horrific experience for the girls and conditions were appalling. They were regularly deprived of food, 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 that swept the school and all four of the Brontë girls became very ill - Maria and Elizabeth dying of tuberculosis in 1825. Her experiences at the school deeply affected Brontë - her health never recovered and she immortalised the cruel and brutal treatment in her novel, Jane Eyre. Following the tragedy, their father withdrew his daughters from the school.
At home in Haworth Parsonage, Charlotte and the other surviving children — Branwell, Emily, and Anne — continued their ad-hoc education. In 1826 her father returned home with a box of toy soldiers for Branwell. They would prove the catalyst for the sisters' extraordinary creative development as they immediately set to creating lives and characters for the soldiers, inventing a world for them which the siblings called 'Angria'. The siblings became addicted to writing, creating stories, poetry and plays. Brontë later said that the reason for this burst of creativity was that:
'We were wholly dependent on ourselves and each other, on books and study, for the enjoyments and occupations of life. The highest stimulus, as well as the liveliest pleasure we had known from childhood upwards, lay in attempts at literary composition.'
After her father began to suffer from a lung disorder, Charlotte was again sent to school to complete 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. During this period (1833), she wrote her novella The Green Dwarf under the name of Wellesley. The school was extremely small with only ten pupils meaning the top floor was completely unused and believed to be supposedly haunted by the ghost of a young lady dressed in silk. This story fascinated Brontë and inspired the figure of Mrs Rochester in Jane Eyre.
Brontë left the school after a few years, however she swiftly returned in 1835 to take up a position as a teacher, and used her wages to pay for Emily and Anne to be taught at the school. Teaching did not appeal to Brontë and in 1838 she left Roe Head to become a governess to the Sidgewick family -- partly from a sense of adventure and a desire to see the world, and partly from financial necessity.
Charlotte became pregnant soon after her wedding, but her health declined rapidly and, according to biographer Elizabeth Gaskell, she was attacked by "sensations of perpetual nausea and ever-recurring faintness." She died, with her unborn child, on 31 March 1855.
Charlotte Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England, the third of six children, to Patrick Brontë (formerly "Patrick Brunty"), an Irish Anglican clergyman, and his wife, Maria Branwell. In April 1820 the family moved a few miles to Haworth, a remote town on the Yorkshire moors, where Patrick had been appointed Perpetual Curate. This is where the Brontë children would spend most of their lives. Maria Branwell Brontë died from what was thought to be cancer on 15 September 1821, leaving five daughters and a son to the care of her spinster sister Elizabeth Branwell, who moved to Yorkshire to help the family.
In August 1824 Charlotte, along with her sisters Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth, was sent to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire, a new school for the daughters of poor clergyman (which she would describe as Lowood School in Jane Eyre). The school was a horrific experience for the girls and conditions were appalling. They were regularly deprived of food, 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 that swept the school and all four of the Brontë girls became very ill - Maria and Elizabeth dying of tuberculosis in 1825. Her experiences at the school deeply affected Brontë - her health never recovered and she immortalised the cruel and brutal treatment in her novel, Jane Eyre. Following the tragedy, their father withdrew his daughters from the school.
At home in Haworth Parsonage, Charlotte and the other surviving children — Branwell, Emily, and Anne — continued their ad-hoc education. In 1826 her father returned home with a box of toy soldiers for Branwell. They would prove the catalyst for the sisters' extraordinary creative development as they immediately set to creating lives and characters for the soldiers, inventing a world for them which the siblings called 'Angria'. The siblings became addicted to writing, creating stories, poetry and plays. Brontë later said that the reason for this burst of creativity was that:
'We were wholly dependent on ourselves and each other, on books and study, for the enjoyments and occupations of life. The highest stimulus, as well as the liveliest pleasure we had known from childhood upwards, lay in attempts at literary composition.'
After her father began to suffer from a lung disorder, Charlotte was again sent to school to complete 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. During this period (1833), she wrote her novella The Green Dwarf under the name of Wellesley. The school was extremely small with only ten pupils meaning the top floor was completely unused and believed to be supposedly haunted by the ghost of a young lady dressed in silk. This story fascinated Brontë and inspired the figure of Mrs Rochester in Jane Eyre.
Brontë left the school after a few years, however she swiftly returned in 1835 to take up a position as a teacher, and used her wages to pay for Emily and Anne to be taught at the school. Teaching did not appeal to Brontë and in 1838 she left Roe Head to become a governess to the Sidgewick family -- partly from a sense of adventure and a desire to see the world, and partly from financial necessity.
Charlotte became pregnant soon after her wedding, but her health declined rapidly and, according to biographer Elizabeth Gaskell, she was attacked by "sensations of perpetual nausea and ever-recurring faintness." She died, with her unborn child, on 31 March 1855.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 6, 2025
I took my time reading Independence, as life got in the way with work and finals. But what I noticed during this experience is something quite personal when I stretch out my reading over long gaps, I tend to lose the emotional thread of the story. Every time I picked it up after a while, I felt disconnected not because of the book, but because of me.
Despite that, Independence left a deep impact on me. Charlotte Brontë’s writing is so rich, emotionally layered, and piercingly sincere that even when I lost touch with the plot for a while, the heart of the book kept calling me back. Her prose is both sorrowful and empowering, full of quiet strength and fierce introspection.
What moved me the most was how deeply relatable the protagonist’s inner struggle felt. Her journey toward self-reliance, emotional clarity, and moral strength is not just inspiring, it’s deeply human. As someone trying to figure things out in my own life, Independence gave me comfort. It reminded me that independence isn’t always loud or dramatic, it can be quiet, painful, and deeply personal.
This book isn't just a story. It’s a mirror. And it left me full of thought, emotion, and admiration. A beautiful read for anyone navigating the complex terrain between sorrow and strength.
Despite that, Independence left a deep impact on me. Charlotte Brontë’s writing is so rich, emotionally layered, and piercingly sincere that even when I lost touch with the plot for a while, the heart of the book kept calling me back. Her prose is both sorrowful and empowering, full of quiet strength and fierce introspection.
What moved me the most was how deeply relatable the protagonist’s inner struggle felt. Her journey toward self-reliance, emotional clarity, and moral strength is not just inspiring, it’s deeply human. As someone trying to figure things out in my own life, Independence gave me comfort. It reminded me that independence isn’t always loud or dramatic, it can be quiet, painful, and deeply personal.
This book isn't just a story. It’s a mirror. And it left me full of thought, emotion, and admiration. A beautiful read for anyone navigating the complex terrain between sorrow and strength.
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August 10, 2025O conceito é bom (e é ótimo para quem quer começar a ler clássicos ou ser introduzido a certas autoras), mas não me convenceu
August 22, 2026
“Her pain, my suffering - her relief, my hope - her anger, my punishment - her regard, my reward. I forgot that there were fields, woods, rivers, seas, and ever-changing sky outside the steam-dimmed lattice of this sick-chamber”
“She gave me the originality of her character to study”
“My little morsel of human affection, which I must prize as if it were a solid pearl”
“I feel that, stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars - a cage. So peril, loneliness, an uncertain future, are not oppressive evils, so long as the frame is healthy and the faculties are employed; so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, and Hope guides us by her star”
“Do you think I am an automaton? - a machine without feelings?”
“I was transported in thought to scenes of childhood”
“I knew I had to do it and I did it mechanically”
“‘And what does your heart say?’ demanded St. John ‘My heart is mute, - my heart is mute,’ I answered, struck and thrilled. ‘Then I must speak for it’ continued the deep, relentless voice. (…) I was no apostle, could not behold the herald, - I could not receive his call”
“Think like me, Jane - trust like me”
“I want a wife: a sole helpmeet I can influence efficiently in life, and retain absolutely till death’ I shuddered as he spoke: I felt his influence in my marrow - his hold on my limbs”
“I had silently feared St John till now, because I had not understood him (…) the veil fell from his hardness and despotism”
“As his wife - at his side always, and always restrained, and always checked - forced to keep the fire of my nature continually low, to compel it to burn inwardly and never utter a cry”
“Once a bloodless and rustless instrument was found, she was careful of the prize, keeping it in silk and cotton-wool. Yet, woe be to that man or woman who relied on her one inch beyond the point where it was her interest to be trustworthy: interest was the master-key of Madame’s nature”
“The negotiation of severe suffering was the nearest approach to happiness”
“She gave me the originality of her character to study”
“My little morsel of human affection, which I must prize as if it were a solid pearl”
“I feel that, stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars - a cage. So peril, loneliness, an uncertain future, are not oppressive evils, so long as the frame is healthy and the faculties are employed; so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, and Hope guides us by her star”
“Do you think I am an automaton? - a machine without feelings?”
“I was transported in thought to scenes of childhood”
“I knew I had to do it and I did it mechanically”
“‘And what does your heart say?’ demanded St. John ‘My heart is mute, - my heart is mute,’ I answered, struck and thrilled. ‘Then I must speak for it’ continued the deep, relentless voice. (…) I was no apostle, could not behold the herald, - I could not receive his call”
“Think like me, Jane - trust like me”
“I want a wife: a sole helpmeet I can influence efficiently in life, and retain absolutely till death’ I shuddered as he spoke: I felt his influence in my marrow - his hold on my limbs”
“I had silently feared St John till now, because I had not understood him (…) the veil fell from his hardness and despotism”
“As his wife - at his side always, and always restrained, and always checked - forced to keep the fire of my nature continually low, to compel it to burn inwardly and never utter a cry”
“Once a bloodless and rustless instrument was found, she was careful of the prize, keeping it in silk and cotton-wool. Yet, woe be to that man or woman who relied on her one inch beyond the point where it was her interest to be trustworthy: interest was the master-key of Madame’s nature”
“The negotiation of severe suffering was the nearest approach to happiness”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2020
What may seem like extracts of greater works is actually an excellent directive narrative running between the novels of Jane Eyre and Villette. Both with remarkably written, Jane and Lucy search for love, for freedom and in the discovery of themselves find their independence. Lucy Snowe is apprehensive of what she’s capable of but without reference or experience becomes a English teacher in a Belgian household. Jane Eyre escapes the man she thought she loves as her morals and religion gives her guidance against what patriarch society expects. The book “Independence” consists of 2/3 Villette & 1/3 Jane Eyre and it is important to note that this is not due to series, nor do the stories coincide each other- they represents strong independent female characters in Brontes narrative (as well as show authorial intent/irony)
May 3, 2021
Vintage minis are short books made up of previously published material (extracts from novels, essays and non-fiction works) by classic writers. The series consists of values and experiences we have in life, such as 'Desire', 'Lies', 'Love', 'Eating', 'Jealousy' and 'Work'. In this case, we experience the theme of 'Independence' with extracts from Jane of Jane Eyre and Lucy of Villette. We see Jane as being incredibly strong-willed and emotionally intelligent, even when presented with attempts of emotional abuse and manipulation by someone she loves, and even in the face of violence. And we see Lucy, a head-strong and career-driven young woman who refuses to be blackmailed into marriage to ensure a career and chooses to make her own way for herself. I feel this book is very important and I really enjoyed it, despite finding the language difficult to follow and having to re-read many passages in order to understand the message.
January 12, 2025
"Courage, Lucy Snowe! With self-denial and economy now, and steady exertion by-and-by, an objection in life need not fail you. Venture not to complain that such an object is too selfish, too limited, and lacks interest; be content to labour for independence until you have proved, by winning that prize, your right to look higher."
What an excellent start to the year - as my first book of 2025. To independence and ambition, and the success that comes along with it!
What an excellent start to the year - as my first book of 2025. To independence and ambition, and the success that comes along with it!
July 17, 2022
Ended up reading this three times as I had no other books with me. Really fitting for solo travelling at the time, an empowering book on independence! Sweet to read the little extracts, need to read the full books now!
March 3, 2026
A beautiful edition with excerpts from famous works, perfect for taking on the go and getting to know the author's style. After reading it, I definitely wanted to read "Villette" in its entirety. I think I wouldn't have gone wrong if I'd bought the entire novel instead of this small edition.
January 29, 2021
Expected more from this book, but it was alright.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews