The Brontë Project 2021 discussion

A forum for all things Shirley.

This started out so promising, but ended up being just good, and not great. It will never, ever be as good as Jane Eyre for me. There's a fair amount of discussion of Napoleonic era politics, war and religion--certainly more than any other Bronte novel I've read. Although it involves factories and workers, only 1 worker is even faintly portrayed, and the struggles between workers and masters is nothing compared to Gaskell's North and South. I liked Caroline's story so much more than Shirley's story. And the hundreds of literary and biblical references and narration language made it less accessible for me. There are some protests at women's ability to be useful and do something of worth, but it never clearly shows a path for women. In their own ways, even Jane Eyre and Helen Graham (of Tenant of WH) took more initiative than either Caroline or Shirley.

This was a re-read for me and I found more reaaons to love this book. There were still some dull moments with all the curates (i get that Brontë really dislikes them but i didnt think we needed that many passages on them) but I found the book grappling with many more interesting themes than i expected.... class struggles and robert moore as a character straddling rich vs poor divide, localised vs foreigner divide. I really like Caroline Helstone. She might not be the most obvious feminist protagonist but she has her own version of feminist views.

I finished "Shirley". My feelings about the novel are quite ambiguous. I enjoyed it in parts but at times I found it a little rambling and lengthy.
It seemed to me as if Charlotte Brontë wanted the novel to include a lot of her own opinions on matters as religion, politics, the situation of women and so on, which made the characters' speeches and the narrator's comments sometimes a little wordy and boring.
I liked Caroline. I think it's quite realistic that a woman, who is sure that she never will marry and who is not allowed to work in order to give life a meaning, falls into depression and is in danger to waste away in some sickness. I liked the character of Robert Moore, too, and I enjoyed their romantic plot.
I didn't know what to make of Shirley. She seemed to me like some kind of 'Superwoman', suddenly appearing out of nowhere, always enigmatic and mysterious. You have to adore her strength and sturdiness until she at last completely submits to a man in one of those unsound student-teacher romances, which Charlotte Brontë seemed so obsessed with: adult women apparently enjoying to be scolded and restricted by their overconfident teachers/lovers. Other examples for this are Frances and William in "The Professor" and Lucy and M.Paul in "Villette" (Although I must confess that I love the character of M.Paul in "Villette" in spite of his offensive behaviour - in contrast, Louis Moore is in my opinion a less well developed character to sympathize with him.)
What I disliked most in "Shirley", however, is the Mrs.Pryor-plot. Which mother would deny her own child even after her abusive husband's death for the only reason that this child is as beautiful as its late father and therefore might become as evil as he was? And then, after years, when becoming aware that the neglected daughter has grown up not to a vain and cruel woman, but to a gentle and sweet one, the unnatural mother suddenly turns into loving and beloved 'Mamma' ??? No!!!
I was astonished to discover an 'abusive-husband-plot' in a novel by Charlotte Brontë who completely objected to "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" and the 'choice of subject in that work'.
So far, "Villette" still remains my favourite novel by Charlotte Brontë, but I'm currently rereading "Jane Eyre"...