The Professor: By Charlotte Bronte - Illustrated

by Charlotte Brontë

The Professor was the first novel by Charlotte Brontë. It was originally written before Jane Eyre and rejected by many publishing houses, but was eventually published posthumously in 1857 by approval of Arthur Bell Nicholls, who accepted the task of reviewing and editing of the novel.The book is the story of a young man, William Crimsworth, and is a first-person narrative from his perspective. It describes his maturation, his loves and his eventual career as a professor at an all-girls school.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Romance, Victorian, 19th Century, Historical Fiction, Literature

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1857

About the author

Charlotte 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.

Reviews

[La Petite Américaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I finish a Charlotte Bronte novel, my heart pounds and my mind is disoriented. After reaching the end of her stories, closing her pages for the last time, and remembering the long passages written out in long-hand, it's all like slowly surfacing from the depths of another world, and you're back home in reality, not quite sure you want to be there.

Although it doesn't have the exquisite tragedy of Villette or the kick-ass karate-chop combos of romance, ghosts, crazy ladies in the attic, religious nut-jobs, and true love found in Jane Eyre, The Professor is still one hell of a novel.

Its themes are common to Bronte's novels: Catholic wickedness (aka, “Romish wizardcraft” in this book -- HAHAHA!), relationships among the different social classes, social-restraint, and independence. Illustrating these themes are our upright, plain, poor, and virtuous narrator and his love interest, who are contrasted by the so-goddamn-evil-i-love-her Zoraide Reuter and her equally two-faced and back stabbing boyfriend, M. Pelet.

In many ways inferior to Jane Eyre, and in many other ways a "rough draft" of Villette, this novel is probably not the author's best. But I loved it. Why? Because Charlotte Brtone wrote it.

Bronte famously wrote that Jane Austen's writing was like "a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers: but no glance of a bright, vivid physiognomy, no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck ... rather, comprehensive, measured, balanced, certainly “highly cultivated.””

What is Bronte then? Her writing is wild, like weeds, growing out of control and wrapping around you eyes, heart, and mind, but she planted those weeds and cultivated them just as carefully as Austen cultivated her garden -- but with more skill. Bronte gets you in a snare from which you cannot break free. Her words, her writing, her storytelling are all overpowering in their savageness. When you try to release yourself (it's called putting the book down) you'll find your heart beating from the rapid ride that she has taken you on ... and you want to jump right back in.

Seriously, I love this woman. Favorite writer EVER!!

[Henry Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. William Crimsworth newly graduated from exclusive Eton College, writes a letter to his one and only friend Charles, about his adventures since both left the school ( Charles never receives it, having departed for parts unknown). William late mother was an aristocrat but having married "beneath her," had been shunned by her family, something common in the unforgiving mid 19th century England. His father was a wealthy businessman until going bankrupt also deceased. What to do? William has an older brother by ten years Edward, a cold tyrant but rich mill owner he has little seen. Rejecting an offer from Lord Tynedale and the Honorable John Seacombe his maternal uncles, to become a man of the cloth, a rector in a church controlled by Seacombe and even marry one of his six unappealing daughters , young Crimsworth does not like his cousins, they in turn cut loose the ungrateful boy no longer supporting him. So the reluctant distant Edward, gives him a job as a low paying clerk in northern England, a dirty, polluted, ugly town when you can see it through the thick noxious fumes. Translating foreign language business letters, the jealous brother hates the better educated William shows no love, the rich man has little contact with the poor one, kept from Crimsworth Hall...


So proper etiquette must be maintained between the two ... the letter ends but life continues, disaster William is dismissed by his enraged brother when an acquaintance, Mr. Hunsden gossips about the ill treatment receives by the younger Mr. Crimsworth. To make amends Mr. Hunsden ( his nefarious plan successful) tells William to travel to Brussels, Belgium, seek better employment and gives him a letter of introduction. Since no other prospects are on the horizon and always wanting to see the continent he complies, receives an offer as an English teacher from the seemingly affable Monsieur Francois Pelet, a Frenchman who owns a boys school in the Belgium capital, does well and later teaches a class next door at the girls school of charming, older Mademoiselle Zoraider Reuter, a native of the country. But conflict appears a love triangle, William and M.Pelet are enamored of the fetching Mademoiselle Reuter though not beautiful, neither is the professor she does sparkle during their romantic walks in her institutes gardens, and enjoys being wanted by the suitors, playing a fun game of causing the men pain...Still the emotions are complicated, more when another enters the scene, Frances Henri a Swiss seamstress living with her old aunt, employed by Mademoiselle Reuter, becomes a pupil in William's English class the not well educated girl, somehow is brilliant the best of his students impossible... the mystery is solved, she had a English mother. The professor starts to like the young shy lady and Zoraider doesn't like this, she is not happy at all. And the school mistress can do much harm... The perplexing Mr. Hunsden arrives in town, curious to discover what his protege has been up to, and the stories revealed...they have not been dull. The inexperienced in life William, learns ( even teachers must too) the mendacity of people ...The great writer Charlotte Bronte's first novel but not published ( you can see why) until she was no more, interesting view of her beginning, the talent is there... in some pages but it just needed more polish and experience to blossom .

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG I should update this. I do have a love life and it is with Bill, the Starbucks guy. I'm so happyish. It won't last. It never does.
_________

Mostly my love life, or lack of it.
This may have to much personal info for some! I read this in my teens, I know I added it to my shelves but it has disappeared... I can't remember many of the details except that I thought it was very unusual that a woman would write her first novel through the voice of a man. Something she didn't do again. It puts me in mind of Lady Susan, Jane Austen's first novel of a woman in her 30's, somewhat sociopathic and amoral, a character Austen never attempted again. I wonder what made them both choose something so far outside their own experience and do them both so brilliantly, but then for subsequent books change their voice so completely?
__________

So I have a new relationship. I think I might be falling in love again. But because of his tragic story, I'm wary. I don't know if he's ready or will ever be ready for more than a casual fling. I met Bill online back in April, we got on so well on the phone, but were only able to meet once before I came back to the island as he had Covid.

We met in Starbucks. I watched him walk up, one leg dragging, one shoulder slightly down making his tall rangy frame look even more angular. He gave me roses, silver pink ones with thorns and I got coffees. We had a great topic of conversation: we've both travelled a lot and he got kidnapped in Syria, me in Turkey.

Gee was he handsome! He also looked very young and so after Starbucks closed I said to him that it was really great meeting him let's be friends and stay in touch. I thought he was too young for me. But he just looks young as I do, we are both older than our faces!

Bill is gorgeous though, drives a scratched up dirty old Toyota, lol (not the sports cars I like so much). He's a tenured law professor, ex Harvard, interned for Scalia, ex Obama taxation committee. Very interesting, I don't normally even meet academics.

We spoke on the phone for 2 hours each time a few times a week. I held nothing back because we were just friends. I told him of Mr B whom I moved in with in Fort Lauderdale (who ghosted me) and Avon, well he was around one of the times Avon stalked me to my place. We were just friends, and we went out to dinner and he told me he thought I was hot and thought of me as more than a friend. YAY! Six months of friendship.... He also, like me, looked a lot younger than he was.

But he had a tragic story that made me wary of wanting to get involved with him. He was a Washington man, as all government men are, but his wife wanted to move to Florida for the sake of their two daughters. She could work from anywhere - she wrote for the NY Times, Washington Post, Salon and had published a book, made tv appearances. Really a glittering couple, the law professor and the successful journalist with two beautiful daughters living in a big house shaded by old trees in Coconut Grove.

But looks are deceiving. She had been battling depression for years. No medications, no therapy, no hospital stays, no anything at all lifted the depression for long. She wanted to die but promised Bill she would never do anything because of the children.

Four years ago this coming New Year's Eve, her teenage daughter found her body in the swimming pool. She had strapped herself to the heaviest chair in the house, put on swim goggles and clutching her favourite water bottle, drowned herself leaving a note, 'you will all be better off without me'.

Bill's in therapy, one of his daughters is in school in New York, the other lives in a small house in the grounds of the family home and goes out once a week to get her medications. She's become a recluse and refuses therapy: her entire life is online. This traumatised family are looked after by a housekeeper that was the children's nanny, so she is just as devastated.

This doesn't sound like it's going anywhere, does it?

But we had a lovely time at the Miami book fair and Art Basel. We walked 3 miles and still didn't see anything. It's a kind of ordinary relationship, not a fancy car, not fancy restaurants, certainly not fancy clothes (he looks like a slightly unkempt professor who needs a haircut). Sex, well, it's yet again ED, but he's going to see a specialist. I'm like a virgin again since Richie 29th March. See I even know the day and hopefully when I go back to Miami in January, I will lost my virginity and it will better than the first time I did it. (Think: forest, black ants....)

[Sean Barrs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the best way of approaching this book is to look at is a learning curve for the author. The prose in Jane Eyre is sophisticated and eloquent; it is developed and persuasive: it is powerful, and a points simply beautiful. Charlotte’s writing in this just isn’t at the same level.

Perhaps it is because she writes from the perspective of male, a rather bland one at that. The point is there is little point to this book. Jane Eyre is rich in passion and argument. Charlotte was trying to make a point; she was trying to show her readership the corruptness of society and the failing of the governess role; she was trying to show how worthy women are and how the misogyny of the mid-nineteenth century chained up their faculties, and left them to rot in intellectual depravity. With the Professor we have a mundane little romance plot and that really is all.

There are no fiery exchanges of willpower and a mutual understanding of equal partnership on the basis of individuality. There is just simple, dry, love in all its ordinariness. And I don’t care for it. Where is the passion? Where is the soul’s persecution? Where is the mental haunting, the insane power of finding such a person you can be with on such a level? The story is weak, the writing is weak: the book is weak. This is best considered as an early attempt of writing by someone who would one day learn to write like a true artist.

It's only worth a read if you wish to track the author's literary progress.

[Barry Pierce · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlotte's first attempt at a novel comes across as... well... an attempt. It can be clearly seen that elements from this novel reappear in both Jane Eyre and Villette. However this novel pretty much lacks everything that made both of those novels such classics. It's a basic 19th-century romance novel with Charlotte this time writing from a male POV. Even though this is the second shortest Brontë novel (Agnes Grey is the shortest) it still felt vastly overlong. While bits of humour seep in now and again, leaving you with a faint smile, they are not enough to save this somewhat boring misstep. On the plus side however, this is a fairly easy read and won't trouble anyone who isn't familiar with Victorian literature. Reading it though will explain to you why this wasn't published in Charlotte's lifetime.

[Piyangie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Professor is Charlotte Bronte's first written novel though not published till after her death. To me it is ironic, for I found a more interesting story here than in Jane Eyre.

The Professor tells the story of William Crimsworth whose circumstances turned him into a teacher and who with courage, perseverance, and self-control and by relying on his education, skills, and intelligence lifts him up from poverty and dependency. Simultaneously it is also a sweet love story. Though this is a short novel, a number of Victorian themes such as love, jealousy, envy, ambition, tyranny, and morality are all artfully included. It can be said that this book is almost a model of a Victorian Novel.

Written in Bronte's preferred first-person narrative, William tells his story as plainly and unreservedly as possible. The narrative is strong, powerful, and passionate, yet controlled. Interestingly, I found this writing style to suit the male voice very well. In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf says that Charlotte Bronte writes in anger. There is some truth to Virginia's remark. Charlotte Bronte vents out her frustration, dissatisfaction, the social injustice that is caused by class and gender differences quite strongly in her writing. And while it might not suit a Victorian female voice, it suits well a Victorian male when he is the narrative and the protagonist.

With its beautifully written prose, precision in structure, smooth flow, the powerful and controlled narrative, and the different yet interesting characters, the story was quite engaging. I found all aspects of the novel - writing, characters, and the storyline to be in perfect harmony. This would have earned a higher rating had not Bronte willfully ventured into a long and tedious final chapter to describe the marital bliss and the happy ending which kind of destroyed the controlled manner in which the story was unfolded and marred the perfect balance which was kept up until that point.

M9re of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. An enjoyable read, though slow to start, and not as interesting as other Bronte novels for me.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always found Charlotte Bronte’s anger to be subversive. The rage that drives the machine, her understanding of the particular being so needlepoint sharp that it becomes universal.

But she hasn’t got it yet. Not here. It’s all the same material, the same sentiments we’re used to, but she is at once wearing too many masks to be truthful and speaking with the memory of slights too raw for them to be useful. She can’t quite name and point to the root of her anger yet- whether that’s because her publisher made her pull her punches (as is suggested in the forward) or because she isn’t there yet as a writer, I don’t know. But this felt like the thinly veiled diary of a particularly smart teenager who is still reliving her anger rather than being able to reflect on it and use it.

I found her use of a male mask to be particularly debilitating here. Her young professor, William, is not generally believable as a man in any way. It is, for instance, clear to me that she has not much idea of how men interact with each other (which of course is reflective of her own experience of the world). And beyond him, most of the rest of the cast are mere shadows of what’s to come, in Jane and Lucy. I enjoyed Hunsden, deus-ex-smug-jackass that he was. It was also an interesting commentary that Bronte tried to resist using him that way, but couldn’t do so and then deny the reality of what would have happened to William without him or someone equally unlikely coming along. Frances really came into her own with a few speeches just at the end that were glimmers of Lucy, though it had to peek out from behind lines like “it pleased her to make me the master in all things,” after describing in detail her competence and utter lack of need for the protagonist to be any such thing. (PS on this theme though the “you’re the master” stuff between them that’s repeated just a litttttlllee too much and goes just a litttttleee too far for me not to read some kink into it, especially given the letters we *know* she wrote to that teacher she had a crush on. Don’t @ me with your charges of anachronisms.)

I think we also have to mention that you’ll need to endure a good deal of racist judgment of various ethnicities present during the character’s stay in Brussels, with particular emphasis on the “Popish morals” of any character who happens to be Catholic (complete, I swear to God, with a line along the lines of “I’m the last person to be a religious bigot, but....”). I think it is not an accident that the woman our protagonist gets together with is ultimately Protestant and half-English. It’s not just once, either. When I saw her start to describe new characters I’d sometimes flip a few pages ahead to when I thought she might have done with her thoughts one the national character of the Flemish. (The Flemish come in for the most insults by far, for some reason.) There’s some attempt to indicate opposition to these views by both Frances and Hundsen late in the novel, so it may not be entirely editorial position, but it was rather too little, too late to fully convince me. While of course we know time and place, these sections made me think less of the young Charlotte. I don’t remember any of this in Jane Eyre or Villette (other than the standard shorthand of “French lady” for “questionable morals” that is eyerollingly common for this period of Brit lit.)

The writing is earnest, the plot is just almost charmingly straightforward, it’s all just... nice but not there yet. And I think Charlotte herself would have agreed. She’s a fantastic example of the idea that writers often really only tell one story. They just get better at it.

Unless you are a completionist, hie thee to Villette and don’t look back. You’ll thank me later.

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised at how good the social commentary about the work environment was, but shocked that Charlotte Brontë created such a misogynistic and anti-Belgian hero. It gave me the impression that it was written by a woman desperately wanting to tell her readers that she wasn’t like other women. Some of these problems are resolved in the final part, but others remain unresolved. I can see why it was published posthumously, but it remains a fascinating reading experience.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mi libro favorito de Charlotte!!

No soy editora ni nada, pero no comprendo porque rechazaron la novela si tiene muchas cosas interesantes para debatir, así como la historia de amor más bonita y menos rebuscada de las parejas que formó.

William es todo un caballero, encantador y trabajador. La vida no lo favoreció con una gran fortuna, pero eso no lo inquieta, sabe que tiene la capacidad para trabajar y labrarse su propio camino. Se vuelve profesor, y no solo se gana una buena reputación y un sueldo considerable, sino que encuentra su vocación en la formación de nobles caballeros y señoritas de sociedad.

Su interés amoroso es una chica, que, a pesar de tener una precaria situación económica, no pierde el tiempo en lamentaciones, al contrario, busca un empleo y toma cualquier oportunidad para mejorar sus aptitudes y así tener un mejor trabajo, y una mejor calidad de vida.

La chica sabe que no se le paga igual al hombre y a la mujer y busca la manera de hacerse valer, de que sus conocimientos cuenten, y me encanta que él, en lugar de cortarle las alas, la alienta a perseguir sus sueños.

El romance se va formando a fuego lento, del respeto a la admiración y luego al amor. La declaración es muy bonita. Cuando él le propone que no trabaje, ella le expresa sus intenciones y William las acepta. Forman una pareja muy equilibrada y con una relación sana. Se dan su lugar.

En fin, un libro precioso y lleno de significado a pesar del número de páginas.

[Nishat · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the midst of life, we are in death.

Charlotte Brontë died untimely, three weeks before her 39th birthday. The Professor, the first novel Charlotte had written, was published posthumously in 1857.

“A man is master of himself to a certain point, but not beyond it.”

Orphaned in infancy, William Crimsworth had been receiving meager support from his deceased mother's aristocratic brothers. Upon his graduation from Eton, William parts away, in contempt for his abhorrent uncles and seeks employment from his tyrannical brother. Enduring harsh blows of fate, William eventually departs for Brussels and accepts teaching as a career as Charlotte once did in her life. There he meets his future wife, Frances Henri and together they strive to render meaning to their shared lives.

The professor, despite repeated efforts of the author, is a poorly conceived, first attempt of a young novelist at telling a story from an unpolished, under developed male perspective. While the gender issues posed by this work allure the readers, Charlotte's characters are nevertheless unnatural both in speech and act. However Charlotte succeeds to an extent in understanding gender relations and portraying convincingly male dominance and sexual suppression..

“That to begin with; let respect be the foundation, affection the first floor, love the superstructure"

While Charlotte's attempt at voicing an exemplary, conscientious man had been unsuccessful, she triumphed at drawing compelling, spirited female characters. The professor, not necessarily exhibiting the best of Charlotte Brontë, may serve as an introduction to Victorian literature.

[Geo Just Reading My Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Stace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title was a lot harder going than I was expecting, being a lifelong fan of Jane Eyre. This is a fine example of an author honing their craft, knowing the masterpiece that Bronte would write later in her life.

The story follows William Crimsworth from his humble beginnings, to his career as a teacher and eventual marriage to the woman he loves.

Though intended to be a sympathetic hero, Crimsworth is very judgemental and xenophobic (he doesn’t think highly of women or anyone who isn’t English) character and goes on at some length about how superior he is to absolutely everyone. Knowing that this story is the main basis for Charlotte Bronte’s other book, Vilette, which is told from the perspective of a female main character – I can safely say that I prefer this plot as narrated by a character who isn’t a prat.

While this book did lack the underlying passion and angst that Bronte became so brilliant at writing later on, I did find some of the dialogue quite entertaining and more direct than I necessarily expect from a Victorian novel.

On a practical note, I would mention that the font size in this particular edition (9781847497178) is smaller than a standard book. For me, this was a bit of an issue as I struggle with eye strain though it may not be an issue for most other people.

[Luís · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlotte Brontë's first novel, and it shows. The book is rather cutesy, not in its tone, but in the choice of story. The characters are caricatures and not very sympathetic. The hero, in particular, is unattractive.
The whole thing is quite dull.

[J.G. Keely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts off promisingly enough, but as the character grows less sympathetic and the plot draws out predictably, much of the charm is lost. Perhaps it was not unexpected that I would be drawn into the plight of a young, educated man thrust out alone into the world with no prospects, forced to work pointless jobs for frustratingly inept employers for subsistence. It mirrors not only my experiences, but that of most of my generation.

Unfortunately, our narrator becomes a rather stuck-up prig as the text goes on, which slowly killed off my sympathy. It wasn't merely that he conducted himself with pride and intelligence; it was his condescension and self-assuredness that soured the taste. He read into every word and expression, giving the reader an absurd amount of subtext about glances or pauses. He also professed that his certainty in psychology allowed him to manipulate others, by which he meant snide, callous remarks, a cold shoulder, and a childish inability to keep himself in check.

It was like people who write in their dating profile: "I'm interested in psychology, because I have always been really good at reading people" despite the fact that they are not good enough at psychology to recognize that this makes them sound naive and pretentious. So, there certainly was a comical aspect to his arrogant ineptitude, but conceited prigs rarely make for very good romantic interests.

Sure, Austen did it with Darcy, but she knew that the secret was to make his prickly exterior an embittered defense to the false, superficial world around him and give him a good heart despite it all. It's not that The Professor was a bad man, merely that he wasn't interesting enough to overcome his defects.

Bronte's messages were also a bit underwhelming. I found delight in the unintentional humor of her mistrust of Continental ways and those devilish Papists in particular, but this was hardly a mark in her favor. Likewise, the feminist aspects were a bit confused. One female character is strong, but only inasmuch as she is a heartless manipulator. The main love interest is also strong, occasionally moving to defend herself and her ideas, but she is mainly characterized as being our protagonist's devoted subservient--she never argues with him, of course.

Now some of this I must chalk up to the narrator's unreliability. The case that the first woman is heartless and the second woman subservient are things we mostly have to take his word for. Given the circumstances as they are given, it seems more like he makes groundless assumptions, seeing the world in stark black and white and revolving around him.

He also meets a friend on the way, a man who is equally as stuck up and sure of himself, and throughout their dialogues they seem constantly to sneer superiority at one another's faults. That neither is capable of recognizing in himself what he laments in authors.

If tackled with a more satirical style, this could have been a very effective book, lampooning a world of naive, short-sighted people lost in ungrounded assumptions and misunderstandings. As it was, Bronte kept the sentimental, romantic heart of the book. Since we could not take the characters entirely lightly, we had to take them somewhat seriously, which resulted in a story of dumb, somewhat dull characters living out a standard romance plot.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Charlotte Bronte's first novel. She chose to write in a male voice with his concerns for a livelihood, his freedom to choose a vocation, authority to insist on compensation, and his refusal to accept and believe disrespectful pronouncements from others. His search for the employment that suited his soul continued his meeger existence, but his freedom to persist was unlike the females of the time.

It is for these reasons that Bronte chose a male persona for her debut. In 1846 the antithesis was true for women, especially female authors. It was the Bronte Sisters view that women were treated differently from male authors by critics who flattered rather than praised their works. With success as the ultimate goal, Charlotte wrote in a gender that alluded her in life.

Her first outing as an author was about a young man without family financial support. Deaths of parents awarded his older brother the family business. With little education and knowledge of how to decide on a vocation, "he that is low need fear no fall".

But fall he did. The arc of his life is the story of "The Professor".

Recommended for the words, writing style, world view, and struggles different but somehow recognizable today.

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will."
Charlotte Bronte

[Ellie Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely see where Jane Eyre came from in this novel but personally I prefer Emily and Anne Brontë xx Only have Shirley and Vilette by the Brontes left to read xx I just felt very disjointed

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if Jane Eyre had been written from the point of view of Rochester? Would he have seemed more manipulative, more self-centered? Would readers have allowed themselves to be swept away by Jane's passion, and to desire its fruition? In The Professor, Charlotte Bronte narrates the tale from the viewpoint of the male protagonist, and I must confess to finding him frequently unsympathetic. Without seeing this character from the eyes of his affection's object, it is difficult to appreciate him. He too often comes off sounding pious and condescending. There are moments when the narrator acknowledges his vulnerabilities, but this is usually in order to display his virtue in resisting temptation.

Like Jane Eyre, the professor insists on following the stern voice of conscience rather than the warm pull of passion, and the moral of both books is the same: flee temptation. The Professor, however, is more obviously evenagelical than Bronte's later work, and these scenes of moral struggle and victory appear more strained, more self-satisfied than in Jane Eyre. The difference may simply be one of narration; perhaps I am more inclined to accept didacticism from a female narrator than from a male, authoritarian voice. The professor's strength is less impressive, perhaps, because he is less vulnerable in 19th century society than a woman would be. The risks he takes for his values are smaller than the risks Jane Eyre assumes. More importantly, his resistance of temptation sometimes smacks more of pride than of virtue. He seems alternately dominering and liberal; indeed, the book as a whole contains a rather odd mixture of feminism and male authoritarianism.

Despite my inability to fully relate to and admire the protagonist, and despite the annoyance of repeated anti-Catholic thrusts, I found this book to be interesting. It does have many moments of penetrating insight, couched in almost poetic language. I was impressed by the way Bronte weaved scripture and literary allusion so constantly into her work. And the book is well enough written to keep me curious of the outcome, even if I do not precisely adore the narrator. The other primary character, Frances, appears at first docile and then suddenly seems transformed into a vocal feminist. She appears to feel her inferiority and then to assert her perogative. We do not get to know her as we know Jane Eyre, because we can only see her through the eyes of the professor, and his narration seems, at times, slightly unreliable. I do not know that Bronte intended it to be; but as a reader, I hesitate to accept fully the narrator's pronouncement on all matters.

The Professor, Bronte's first novel, was never published in her own lifetime. But it is, in fact, more concise and better structured than Jane Eyre. Nevertheless, the book is simply not as likeable as Bronte's later classic. It is an enjoyable and comparatively easy read, but it does not make as profound an impression on the mind. Indeed, there is a sort of feeling of incompletness to the tale. As a reader, I got the impression that the narrator was, at the close of the novel, painting a happy picture of marital harmony, but underneath this seemed to course tiny hints of something darker. That something darker may have been a figment of my imagination, or it may have been an undeveloped theme. One of the most interesting characters in the book, however, is certainly undeveloped. Hundsen makes an appearance towards the beginning of the novel, disappearing from the tale for many chapters, before returning to capture the reader's interest once again. He is sometimes likeable, at others off-putting, depending on the lens of the narrator, and he seems to demand a book unto himself. This, however, we do not receive, and we are left instead with the story of the professor.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

No matter how hard I looked I could not even begin to find a Rochester or a Jane Eyre character in this book. Charlotte Bronte’s The Professor was her first (or last) book. By that I mean this was the first book she wrote for publication in 1846. She shopped it around but was not successful in getting it printed. It was put aside and only published after her death.

The writing isn’t bad, in fact it usually quite good. My big problem with the book is the characters. The “good” people are uninspiring or even unlikeable and that goes for the protagonist/narrator. He’s a prig, thought too much of himself and displays even more than the usual Victorian religious and national prejudices. The “bad” are wrongheaded but not a bit Byronic. Give me Heathcliff (her sister Emily’s character in Wuthering Heights or Rochester in her own Jane Eyre any day. I’d have really preferred the protagonist in the Professor to end up with a little more comeuppance. He was so unlikeable.

It is amazing that Charlotte’s very next book was Jane Eyre. No comparison. I’d recommend reading this if you’re a real Bronte fan.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very early effort which reads like a practice run for later novels like Villette and Jane Eyre (which reminds me, I must read Villette again). It is an engaging first person narrative in which William Crimsworth describes his young adulthood and his attempts to earn his living.

We learn about his grim family and Bronte uses her experience teaching in Brussels when Crimsworth moves there to teach. Most of the novel revolves around Brussels and the world of the small teaching establishments. The novel doesn’t move at any great pace and we see Crimsworth through romance, dense pupils, and difficult employers to eventual independence, marriage and his own school. The last chapter packs a great deal into a short space of time and it feels like a sketch for extending the novel by another couple of hundred pages.

There are some interesting themes in the novel. Bronte clearly has issues with Catholics and Belgian youth. However, her view of an ideal marriage is noteworthy. When Crimsworth asks Frances Evans Henri to marry him, she is very clear that she will only marry him if she can be independent of him, earning her own money. Crimsworth readily agrees and keeps to the agreement (unlike many men of the time I suspect). This was quite radical for the time.

The ideas are roughly sketched and developed in later novels. It is also a bit reminiscent of the Victorian self help books; hard work and self-reliance win out over the bonds of family and community. It is an easy, pleasant enough read which I enjoyed for what it was; an early effort.

[Celia {Hiatus until August} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperava bastante mais, fiquei desiludida, 3 stars.
Tornou-se bastante entediante.
Uma história com personagens demasiado arrogantes e incoerentes.
Não me conseguiu cativar.

[April (Aprilius Maximus)]

DNF at 20%. The first 20% that I read didn’t hold my attention and I’d rather read something that I know I’ll enjoy rather than this which I already know won’t get more than 3 stars from me, ya feel me?

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can see why Charlotte could never get this published. The Professor was her first outing as an author, or at least her attempted first outing. And oh my, does it read like a first attempt.

The way I see it, this is essentially poorly conceived Charlotte/Monsieur Heger fanfiction. For those of you who don’t know, whilst she was studying in Brussels, Charlotte became slightly obsessed with her (married) Belgian tutor, Monsieur Heger. She did eventually confess her feelings to him via a string of suggestive letters - but he never replied.

Poor Charlotte. She had it bad.

Apparently her solution to this Monsieur Heger-induced depression was to write speculative fiction as to what might have been. The lukewarm ‘romance’ within The Professor, however, doesn’t quite cut it for me. There’s no passion, no fiery dialogue. I don’t believe for a second that this in any way resembles Charlotte’s real fantasies. Perhaps she was just being cautious, testing the water as it were before she wrote anything vaguely truthful - but the result is a relatively dry novel that’s certainly never emotionally compelling.

The publisher Smith, Elder & Co. however saw some potential and offered Charlotte the prospect of publication… on the grounds she could actually write something half decent. Enter Jane Eyre. Hallelujah! The tepid teacher/student relationship was transformed into that sensuous love story we all know and love. In many ways, The Professor was recycled into Jane Eyre and served as a rehearsal for Villette. So I guess we should be grateful for The Professor’s failure - we have it to thank for the sheer awesomeness of Charlotte’s other works.

The main problem I had with this is the unappealing narrative perspective: I hated William Crimsworth. Besides being devoid of soul, he’s slimy, unsympathetic and so up himself. His xenophobia just gets in the way - it serves no other purpose than as a handy plot device. Instead of proof of someone actually doing something unprincipled, we’re expected to accept William’s assertion that someone just is unprincipled - because they’re Flemish and can’t make a proper cup of tea (it’s important to us Brits) or, God forbid, they’re Catholic. Charlotte’s prejudices really shine through here, especially her aversion to ‘Romish witchcraft’ (Catholicism, mwah ha ha…) Which is very ironic - when she was in Brussels, she felt so bad about about fancying Monsieur Heger that she actually went to Confession. Hypocrite.

And that’s not the only instance of double standards. The Professor is a bizarre blend of feminism and male authoritarianism. Frances Henri is said to be Charlotte’s most realistic feminist heroine and I actually agree. Her circumstances are much less extraordinary than Jane Eyre’s or Lucy Snowe’s, and her attitude to work, especially after marriage, is very different. She is however a devoted subservient to William, and insists on relentlessly addressing him as ‘Master’ or ‘Monsieur’ even after they’re married. WTF?! Charlotte was obsessed with power dynamics - especially the romanticised ones. That’s something I appreciated about The Professor: despite the constraints within which Charlotte was writing, it’s very insightful into her emotional life.

I also think Charlotte picked the wrong characters to focus on. This is a distinguished writer whose powers in characterisation are unparalleled, in my opinion - and yet her two central characters are overwhelmingly bland. The supporting characters however are fascinating - they had visible substance, I didn’t have to rely off William’s obsession with physiognomy to get a sense of their personality. Oh they're great, I loved them so much. Mr Hunsden is related to Lord Henry from The Picture of Dorian Gray, I swear - and the Mademoiselle Reuter/ M. Pelet dynamic was so entertaining. Why Charlotte didn’t give these characters more screen time (page space?) I don’t know.

Charlotte Brontë wrote this - of course there was something I inevitably enjoyed. She has a lovely rich (though at times, superficial) writing style and her setting is so atmospheric. It’s tenderly written, and though not outright witty, there are rare instances of warm humour that just about elicit a faint smile.

Ultimately, this novel just feels pointless. There’s no drive to it, no purpose. It’s lacking any evidence of Charlotte’s passion for writing. An ambiguous ending doesn’t help - it’s almost as though she just gave up. (Perhaps she did.)

Other things to mention:
1) For its shortness as a novel, it felt overly long. Be warned, the plot meanders.
2) There’s also a lot of French.

To be completely honest, I think this is only really worth the read if you want to appreciate Charlotte’s astounding growth as a writer. This may also be an excellence source of reassurance for aspiring writers: even Charlotte Brontë wrote crap that no one wanted at first - and look where it got her.

[Dolors · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first novel by Charlotte Brontë, though not published until her death. It has been reviewed as a simple, unimaginative portrait of an English teacher's life in Brussels, an early attempt to what her best known novel Villette would later become.
I don't agree.
This work shines in itself, it's the only story in which Charlotte dares to talk through a man's voice. She talks about responsibility, about earning your own success through effort and sacrifice, to defy the strict clichés and the hypocrisy of the English Society and to stand up to your ideals.
In this novel, William Crimsworth can be seen as a mere strict teacher or as a revolutionary who chooses her wife-to-be because of her intellect and not because of her looks or her position. And later, he lets her grow professionally to work together as good companions, elbow by elbow, always treating her like an equal.
I loved the message the book tries to convey, that work, perseverance and fair values lead you to a happy outcome. As worthy as any other of Charlotte's works, even more so, as I think this book talks more about the writer's own view of life than any other of her novels.

[Ioana Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stilul de scriere a lui Charlotte mereu m-a impresionat. Jane Eyre e cartea mea de suflet, citită și recitită de multe ori, iar acum pot să mai adaug încă una, și anume ,,Profesorul ".
În acest roman, zic eu, o regăsim pe însăși autoarea Charlotte (ador cum în fiecare roman transpune câte puțin din experiența ei de viață, câte puțin din sufletul ei), chiar dacă aceasta se ,,folosește" de un personaj masculin, anume William, pentru a evidenția drumul către maturitate, alegându-și un loc de muncă care sa îi facă plăcere, dar și pentru a afirma egalitatea dintre bărbați și femei în materie de aspirații și obiective. Astfel, se remarcă faptul că femeia este egala soțului ei din punct de vedere profesional, iar ea poate să realizeze ceea ce își propune indiferent de circumstanțe. Nu-i așa oare?
Romanul acesta va fi recitit, cu siguranță, de mai multe ori...

[Oziel Bispo · Rating 4 out of 5]

William teve uma infância e adolescência conturbada; ficou órfão desde de pequeno, saiu de casa porque brigou com os tios, procurou ajuda de um  irmão bruto ,frio e agressivo que deu lhe um emprego ,mas a convivência de ambos era insuportável, com isso William decide então sair da casa do irmão e  recomeçar novamente indo para a Bélgica , tentar a vida como professor de inglês em uma escola para garotas. Nessa escola ele começa a se relacionar e ter amizades com várias pessoas , sendo as duas principais uma diretora, Zoraide Reuter e uma professora ,Frances Evan Henri, que ele  ajuda com a língua inglesa. É aí que sua vida até então solitária sem sentido começa a mudar...

Como sempre Charlotte Bronte cria  personagens marcantes e fortes que refletem o mundo a sua volta e indagam a melhor maneira de se viver de se vencer os problemas cotidianos.

Charlotte Bronte também explora o tema do trabalho, onde só alguns privilegiados conseguem ter sucesso na carreira, os demais dependem de uma força de vontade extraordinária para ter pelo menos um trabalho digno.

Charlotte Bronte não poderia estrear de maneira Mais brilhante como escritora , o livro é muito bom!!

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sin temor a equivocarme puede ser fácilmente la peor novela escrita de Charlotte.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Reread and I didn't remeber much of it since last ime I red it. I didn't particular enjoy it but was bit interesting at times. 2.5 stars rounded up.
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Charlotte Brontes first novel but I think it was skillfully done for it to be a first novel. It's a 3.5 stars for me. We follow professor William Crimsworth as he starts a new life in a new place and starts working at an all girls boarding school. Charlotte Bronte did make the story slow and calm with no super dramatic things going on but I didn't get bored by it anywho. Not a new favorite of mine but I'm very glad I've read it and might revisit it again someday

[Carmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

O Professor, foi o primeiro livro escrito por Charlotte Brontë e o último a ser publicado, já depois da sua morte.
De forma muito resumida a história do livro é mais ou menos esta: quando Charlotte esteve na Bélgica ter-se-á apaixonado por um dos seus professores. O senhor era casado, tinha filhos, e Charlotte achou prudente regressar a casa. Terá então decidido escrever o livro inspirada no seu amor proibido, mas sob o ponto de vista do professor. Anos mais tarde escreveria Vilette, uma história muito semelhante, mas desta vez pelo prisma da personagem feminina. O primeiro é, claramente, uma obra de principiante em comparação com obras futuras. Em Vilette já se nota um maior desenvolvimento da história assim como personagens mais complexas e um desfecho que é um desafio ao leitor e não feito para agradar a corações moles. Em O Professor, pelo contrário, o final é-nos apresentado num bonito embrulho com as pontas todas amarradinhas e certinhas. Um final que talvez fosse o reflexo do sonho da jovem autora.
Não será o melhor da Charlottinha, mas foi um bom começo.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Professor is Charlotte Brontë’s first novel, and not surprisingly, not her best. There are glimpses of the genius that would become Charlotte Bronte in this novel, but it has not emerged yet, as it would with her epic, Jane Eyre. As in Villette, she has set her tale abroad, this time in Belgium, and she deals with the life of a man, William Crimsworth, who finds himself teaching English at a school for young women. I must confess that I believe Charlotte Bronte is far better at fashioning female protagonists than male ones.

Bronte, in what seems to be the be a very affected manner, resorts to writing some of the dialogue in French, and while I wish that I were conversant in French and could read it without missing a beat, my school days are far behind me and even then the textbook French I knew would no doubt have let me down. So, at some crucial times in the narrative, entire conversations are patchy because the French I possess does not allow for accurate translation and the effort of translating each passage through Google breaks the action too much to be endured.

While at moments interesting, the story itself is a bit stilted and goes on too long past the point when one feels it should naturally end. As one might expect in a first effort, she also feels the need to give her characters a happy ending, so there seems very little of the conflict which is necessary to make a book really interesting. Her most interesting character, for my money, is the sarcastic, and inexplicable, Mr. Hunsden, who makes only a few critical appearances, but succeeds in changing the course of the life of our narrator, nonetheless.

I have but one more book by Charlotte Bronte yet to cross off my reading list, Shirley. I am beginning to suspect that had she not written Jane Eyre, she might well have sunk into obscurity along with a number of lesser writers of her time.