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Shirley (2 volumes) #1
Shirley I
Shirley narra a história da complicada amizade entre duas mulheres muito distintas: Shirley, a corajosa herdeira e Caroline, a tímida filha de um clérigo. Considerado um dos romances mais inovadores de Charlotte Brontë, Shirley está à frente de seu tempo em termos de forma, atualizando a tentativa de compreensibilidade que se tornaria comum na literatura do século XX. A autora apresenta uma ferramenta narrativa que foi largamente utilizada posteriormente, a fragmentação, tornada possível pelo uso de um narrador em terceira pessoa, além da divisão da função de protagonista em duas personagens distintas. Uma obra-prima que merece ser conhecida e apreciada.
274 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2022
7 people are currently reading
278 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Brontë
2,258 books19.3k 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 18, 2021
4 Estrellitas para ésta primera mitad de la novela.
Admito que iba con algo de miedo a la hora de afrontar su lectura porque "Villette" me pareció un rollo soporífero, pero ésta "Shirley" es más distinta y parecida a "Jane Eyre" en cuanto a romanticismo.
En "Shirley" encontramos una novela escrita en tercera persona, ubicado en el rural Yorkshire de 1811-1812, con el trasfondo de las guerras napoleónicas, y la crisis del comercio, al no poder exportar mercancías. Ésta vez, Charlotte Brontë presenta una novela histórica, para su propia época, en los inicios del ludismo, pues la guerra obliga a reducir costes, y los dueños de las fábricas apuestan por las nuevas máquinas que hagan el trabajo de los obreros.
En éste ambiente tendremos a los tres protagonistas de la novela, Robert Moore, el dueño de una fábrica de paños. Su prima, la jovencita Caroline Helstone, que lleva desde su niñez enamorada de Robert. Y la llegada de Shirley Keeldar, una joven y hermosa heredera, de arrollador e independiente espíritu. Caroline y Shirley en seguida se harán amigas, pero Charlotte Brontë creará una especie de triángulo amoroso (muy, muy inocente para la época), entre estos personajes.
No contaré más, pues aún me queda la segunda parte de la novela, que empezaré ahora mismo.
Admito que iba con algo de miedo a la hora de afrontar su lectura porque "Villette" me pareció un rollo soporífero, pero ésta "Shirley" es más distinta y parecida a "Jane Eyre" en cuanto a romanticismo.
En "Shirley" encontramos una novela escrita en tercera persona, ubicado en el rural Yorkshire de 1811-1812, con el trasfondo de las guerras napoleónicas, y la crisis del comercio, al no poder exportar mercancías. Ésta vez, Charlotte Brontë presenta una novela histórica, para su propia época, en los inicios del ludismo, pues la guerra obliga a reducir costes, y los dueños de las fábricas apuestan por las nuevas máquinas que hagan el trabajo de los obreros.
En éste ambiente tendremos a los tres protagonistas de la novela, Robert Moore, el dueño de una fábrica de paños. Su prima, la jovencita Caroline Helstone, que lleva desde su niñez enamorada de Robert. Y la llegada de Shirley Keeldar, una joven y hermosa heredera, de arrollador e independiente espíritu. Caroline y Shirley en seguida se harán amigas, pero Charlotte Brontë creará una especie de triángulo amoroso (muy, muy inocente para la época), entre estos personajes.
No contaré más, pues aún me queda la segunda parte de la novela, que empezaré ahora mismo.
April 25, 2023
-> Não recomendo esta edição, apesar de não ter indicação disso, está cortada e adulterada.
4*
Vídeo de Opinião em: https://youtu.be/6A2rR8v54PY
4*
Vídeo de Opinião em: https://youtu.be/6A2rR8v54PY
May 19, 2025
la sindrome dell' amica geniale ai tempi di Charlotte Bronte.
Con tanta bastardaggine in meno, si intende.
Con tanta bastardaggine in meno, si intende.
October 7, 2025
Primo libro più interessante del secondo
May 2, 2024
3.75⭐️
November 13, 2009
Ever since I first read it in late adolescence, Jane Eyre has been my favorite book. It’s fascinating, moving, just exquisite. Last year I read Villette, also by C. Bronte and also loved it. As a whole it was not quite as wonderful as Jane Eyre but elements of it were just as delicious, if not better. I’d never heard of Shirley, and I was a little apprehensive – if it’s not well-known, could it be as good as her other works?
Well, I really enjoyed it but it’s not quite as good as her other ones. I think the reason for this is it involves 4 main characters plus peripheral folks. Part of the power of Jane and Villette is you get to know the main character, who is narrating, so well and by the end the empathy is complete (at least for me.) My theory is that Charlotte’s genius was in the single-point-of-view in the first person, not the 3rd party narrator who shows you many perspectives and adds commentary. (George Eliot excels at this, especially in Middlemarch.) The characters in Shirley are meant as types to be compared and contrasted, and they are not strongly believable. I did not find myself relating to and empathizing with all of them.
Rather than an intimate exploration of someone’s emotional life and relationships, this book is a social commentary. I was quite surprised by some of the views expressed by the characters, they seem very progressive and ahead of their time. There were things that were very bluntly stated about what people honestly believed about the role of women (middle-class women), the attitudes and behavior of the clergy, and the economic upheaval of the time. During the Napoleonic wars the manufacturers were unable to trade with other nations and couldn’t stay profitable in domestic markets. The workers displaced by new machinery were facing starvation and blamed the mill owners.
There were a lot of plot twists and exciting scenes. There were dramatic conversations and amusing descriptions of characters and their foibles. Charlotte Bronte’s skill at writing shines through in these elements. However, she failed to bring some of the concepts she introduced into satisfactory resolution. One of these was, is there such a thing as a happy marriage? (I suppose a suggestion does lie hidden in the story, that a young person should let time reveal the true colors of one’s future mate) Is there such a thing as a fulfilling single life? One thing that was suggested, not explicitly presented, was that we should not judge people by their station in life. Just because someone is a curate or a vicar doesn’t mean he lives a Christ-like life. Just because someone is poor doesn’t mean he is stupid or not deserving of respect. Just because someone is rich and successful doesn’t mean he or she is above reproach. Just because someone is a woman doesn’t mean she can’t have good ideas and make decisions. We can’t depend on institutions and our assumptions about their roles or results. We must think and act for ourselves.
In conclusion, I guess I would say if you’ve read CB’s other works already, give this one a try, it’s a notable contrast. If not, read Jane Eyre or Villette first. Charlotte’s sisters Anne and Emily were incredibly talented authors as well, Anne’s Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of my top favorites and while Emily’s Wuthering Heights is not to my taste and did not endear itself to me at all, it’s top-notch fiction, Romanticism at its finest.
Well, I really enjoyed it but it’s not quite as good as her other ones. I think the reason for this is it involves 4 main characters plus peripheral folks. Part of the power of Jane and Villette is you get to know the main character, who is narrating, so well and by the end the empathy is complete (at least for me.) My theory is that Charlotte’s genius was in the single-point-of-view in the first person, not the 3rd party narrator who shows you many perspectives and adds commentary. (George Eliot excels at this, especially in Middlemarch.) The characters in Shirley are meant as types to be compared and contrasted, and they are not strongly believable. I did not find myself relating to and empathizing with all of them.
Rather than an intimate exploration of someone’s emotional life and relationships, this book is a social commentary. I was quite surprised by some of the views expressed by the characters, they seem very progressive and ahead of their time. There were things that were very bluntly stated about what people honestly believed about the role of women (middle-class women), the attitudes and behavior of the clergy, and the economic upheaval of the time. During the Napoleonic wars the manufacturers were unable to trade with other nations and couldn’t stay profitable in domestic markets. The workers displaced by new machinery were facing starvation and blamed the mill owners.
There were a lot of plot twists and exciting scenes. There were dramatic conversations and amusing descriptions of characters and their foibles. Charlotte Bronte’s skill at writing shines through in these elements. However, she failed to bring some of the concepts she introduced into satisfactory resolution. One of these was, is there such a thing as a happy marriage? (I suppose a suggestion does lie hidden in the story, that a young person should let time reveal the true colors of one’s future mate) Is there such a thing as a fulfilling single life? One thing that was suggested, not explicitly presented, was that we should not judge people by their station in life. Just because someone is a curate or a vicar doesn’t mean he lives a Christ-like life. Just because someone is poor doesn’t mean he is stupid or not deserving of respect. Just because someone is rich and successful doesn’t mean he or she is above reproach. Just because someone is a woman doesn’t mean she can’t have good ideas and make decisions. We can’t depend on institutions and our assumptions about their roles or results. We must think and act for ourselves.
In conclusion, I guess I would say if you’ve read CB’s other works already, give this one a try, it’s a notable contrast. If not, read Jane Eyre or Villette first. Charlotte’s sisters Anne and Emily were incredibly talented authors as well, Anne’s Tenant of Wildfell Hall is one of my top favorites and while Emily’s Wuthering Heights is not to my taste and did not endear itself to me at all, it’s top-notch fiction, Romanticism at its finest.
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July 13, 20203.5/5
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews