Charlotte Bronte

This event is designed to acquaint you with some of the important events, people and achievements throughout the world during the lifetime of Charlotte Bronte. For the purposes of this assignment, you may be asked to assume the profession of a reporter, medical doctor, writer, traveler, etc. Please feel free to use your imagination in this capacity but always provide documentation, in the form of a bibliography, for all subject content.

If, for example, you are asked to describe the life of a governess, you must accurately depict her occupational characteristics based upon written and valid electronic sources.

SYLLABUS

Day 1 Introduction to the unit. Research reserve materials in the library. Hand in authors and titles of 2 books you intend to use to complete the assignment.

Day 2 Continue research in the library. Hand in an outline of your assignment to Mrs. Morrison-Taylor by the end of the period.

Day 4 Complete assignment in the library and hand it to Mrs. Morrison-Taylor by day 5.

RESEARCH HINTS

• Make a list of them. Use them to search the indexes of relevant reserve books and Web sites.

• Check out any additional materials that you locate in any of the Close libraries by the end of the first day. We have a courier system to assist you with retrieval of non-NCSU books.

• Go to Eagle Eyes and type in the words Jane Eyre to retrieve a list of relevant Web sites.

• Click on home access to use all of the databases such as Wilson Biographies Plus and Grove's Art Online from home. After logging in as "student", a list of databases with their individual usernames and passwords will appear. Print it out and keep it for future reference.

• For automated citation generation, go to www.ncslibrary.org . Click on Noodle Tools. Choose Noodle Bib . Click on the one that says MLA Starter. To use this database from home, type in the username natcat . The password is eagle .

• Remember to type in the title or author of the book you used in the online catalog to retrieve information such as publisher, place of publication, copyright, etc.

QUESTIONS

1. You are a mid-nineteenth century art dealer about to establish a new art gallery in London in which you will sell contemporary British paintings. Two of the currently popular schools in British painting are the Pre-Raphaelites and the New Realists. Select works by two or three artists of each school which you think your upper middle class clients will buy. Write a catalog for your selected collection and in it explain the distinguishing characteristics of each artist's style, the social and artistic goals the artist holds, and how the painting will enhance the life and home of the buyer.

Sources: Treuherz, Julian. Victorian Painting . Chpt. 4, chpt. 5; Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England , p. 228. Grove's Art Online database.

2. The potato famine during the years 1845-1851 was a great catastrophe which had a profound and lasting impact on Ireland. The British government was criticized for its disinterest and inaction throughout the crisis. One group which did respond to the distress in Ireland was the Society of Friends (Quakers), who set up soup kitchens to help feed the starving Irish.
You are a member of the Society of Friends. You have traveled to Ireland to help distribute food, and are horrified at the extent of the famine. You decide to submit a column to the London Times to try to raise awareness in England about the severity of the problem in Ireland. Your column will be a newspaper article providing information about events leading up to the potato blight, an explanation of the economy's complete reliance on the potato, and a discussion of the many permanent changes in Ireland as a result of the famine. In the column, you should state and refute the reasons given by the British government for not helping Ireland.

Sources: Neill, Kenneth. Illustrated History of the Irish People . pp. 103-115. O'Brien, Marie. A Concise History of Ireland . pp. 102-106. Speed, P.F. The Potato Famine and the Irish Immigrants (STAL). Bartoletti, Susan Campbell, Black Potatoes: Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850 .

3. The patterns of prosperity in Great Britain during Bronte's time were influential in determining a person's class in society. Even seats on the train reflected a three-tiered class system. You are a wealthy industrialist who has been invited to dine at a private club in London with Friedrich Engel's, a German Socialist philosopher. The conversation revolves around the development and characteristics of the class system. Engel's asks you as a member of the upper class to identify and describe the three classes of Victorian society. What type of work, in general, does each class engage in? Approximately how many people are in each class? Are there certain trades or occupations that place people automatically in a class? Is income or money the sole determinant of the class to which one belongs?

Sources: Clark, G.Kitson. The Making of Victorian England . P. 112 and 123+. Harrison, J.F. C. The Early Victorians 1832-51 . p. 113+ and Priestley, J.B. Victoria's Heyday. 15, 26, and 29. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew , pp. 89-100. Daily Life in Victorian England by Hibbert pp. 4-39, 66-76.

4. After much discussion, Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester have decided to rebuild Thornfield. They have employed a Victorian architect and commissioned him to design a house to accommodate four children, but on a more modest scale. They would like a house that reflects the latest style in terms of comfort and design. Draw plans and elevations of a country house that will please them. Accompany your plans with a text that explains the features and advantages of the house you have designed.

Sources: Girouard, Mark. Life in the English Country House ; Girouard, Mark. The Victorian House .

5. Charlotte Bronte had many admirers who were writers. Some such as Elizabeth Gaskell and William Makepiece Thackeray were deeply moved by the plight of the characters that C. Bronte created. You are a society writer for The London Times . You have been invited to a tea for Charlotte Bronte to celebrate the reviews of Jane Eyre . Your hostess has supplied you with a short list of some of the more prominent guests so that their names will appear in your society column. How would you describe the setting, conversation, and interaction among guests such as William Makepiece Thackeray and Elizabeth Gaskell? What were their positions in the London literary scene? Be sure to mention the written correspondence between Mr. Thackeray and Ms. Bronte.

Sources : Jane Eyre (Barnes & noble Classics) p. 549 Thackeray letter; Pool, Daniel. Dickens Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered Letters pp. 38, 63-64 +, 77, 79, 91, 94, 104-105, 120-+ , and p. 821 Gaskell, Elizabeth. The Life of Charlotte Bronte.

6. Branwell Bronte, the only brother of the Bronte sisters, was the victim of the Victorian need to rise above one's class and become a gentleman. Describe all that being a gentleman entailed in Victorian times, including the concept of “muscular Christianity.” In your opinion, how did Branwell measure up to this Victorian ideal in terms of education, career choice, talent, monetary success, and comportment? How was he set up to fail or succeed?

Sources: Moglen, Helene. Charlotte Bronte: the Self Conceived . p.19, 21, 22, 25, 33-39, 104, 157, 191, 194, 236, 239. Bentley, Phyllis. The Brontes and Their World . p. 60 -70 +, and Wilks, Brian. The Bronte's: An Illustrated Bibliography , p.143 look in index under Bronte, Patrick Branwell (Brany) lots of pages. Mason, Philip. The English Gentleman .

7. You are a movie producer about to embark on a film that will trace the life of a middle class British couple from the moment of their engagement in 1830 to their twentieth wedding anniversary in 1850. Describe three sets of clothing for them that will represent each decade between 1830 and 1860. Make sketches of the costumes complete with annotations that explain details of the outfits.

Sources: Batterberry, Michael. Mirror, Mirror . Brooke, Iris. English Costume from the Fourteenth through the Nineteenth Century . Peacock, John. The Chronicle of Western Fashion; Victorian Life in Photographs. Daily Life in Victorian England by Hibbert pp. 10-14, 39, 59+.

8. You are an Assistant Professor of British Literature at a small New England College. Before assigning the reading of Jane Eyre, you have decided to give a lecture about how Charlotte Bronte's book mixed the Bryonic hero motif with the elements of the Gothic novel. In your lecture, outline the elements that characterize a Gothic novel. Use examples from Jane Eyre and other similar books of that period to illustrate the Gothic elements and Bryonic hero motifs.

Sources: Moglen, Helen. Charlotte Bronte: The Self Conceived ; p. 27, 29-30, 88;Cruttenden, Aidan, The Victorians , p. 73; King, Neil, The Romantics pp. 9-11,and 73-80; Karson, Jill (ed.) Readings on Jane Eyre , pp. 49, 85; Rogers, PatThe Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature , pp. 296-303, 313-317. Watt, Ian. The Victorian Novel , pp. 165-180.

9. The year is 1847. You recently married a woman of considerable charm and fortune. To your horror, you heard her cursing the servants and saw her strike the gardener. As each day goes by, she becomes more belligerent and physically threatening. The local doctor's diagnosis is lunacy. How did the doctor make this diagnosis? Describe several forms of treatment that were prevalent in the 1800's and several options for dealing with your wife's mental illness that were practiced during this period.

Sources: Haggard, Howard. Devils, Drugs, and Doctors . pp. 369-371; Kent, Deborah Snake Pits,Talking Cures, & Magic Bullets: A History of Mental Illness , pp. 46-77, Oppenheim, Janet. Shattered Nerves , pp. 9, 214, 294, 303 (Look at subheading pages under the larger heading insanity.) Victorian Lunatics pp. 52-54, 114-119.

10. You have just been hired as a governess to a family with two elementary-aged children. Why did you decide to become a governess? How did you go about getting the job? What is your social position in the family? Do you think that you will ever marry and have children of your own? Describe your day, how much time you spend with your charges, and your educational methods. Please cite material or passages from some of the diary entries found in The Victorian Governess .

Sources: Poole, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew . pp. 124, 224-226; Poole, Daniel. Dicken's Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered Letters ; pp. 26, 37-39, 44, 48, 62, 71, 87, 90, 93, 136, 159 ; Suffer and Be Still Chapter one. The Victorian Governess pp. 11-25, 27-53 + other pages. Refer to the book's index.

11. You are a thirteen year old female who recently lost both parents to typhoid fever. In the eyes of the law, you are an orphan. As you rest upstairs on your bed, you can hear your neighbors in the kitchen discussing your options. You decide to eavesdrop on their conversation. Tell your friend how you heard them discussing their intentions to search for a will, living relatives, willing neighbors, boarding schools, an orphanage and the possibility of a workhouse. Each step they take on your behalf will have a great power to determine your future happiness. Tell your friend about the implications of each option.

Sources: Poole, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew , pp. 87, 234- 235 226, 243, 197; Horn, Pamela, The Victorian Town Child . Pp.28, 193,195- 197,220; Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life in Victorian England . pp.106-107, 93,143,253-253. Dickens: The Orphan Condition pp. 11-17.

12. Haworth was the last home of the Brontes. In 1839 the average age at death was twenty-six years and a half in rural countries and in industrialized cities it was only nineteen. Describe the unsanitary conditions in the Bronte's village of Haworth. What major diseases were the Bronte's susceptible to as a result of where they lived? Which diseases were the biggest killers? How were the Brontes and others treated once they contracted any of these diseases?

Sources: Wilks, Brian. The Brontes: An Illustrated Biography . pp. 30-38, 138, 124-125,128; Mitchell, Sally , Life in Victorian England pp. 193 -208, Swisher, Clarice, Victorian England , pp. 84-94., Daily Life in Victorian England by Hibbert, pp. 121-122 ; Victorian Lunatics , pp. 46-48 .

13. Art was a major subject of a woman's education in the nineteenth century. You are an art student who has been asked to draw four landscapes using either Charlotte Bronte's Haworth home and area or described passages in Jane Eyre (p.110, 250 and 406) for inspiration. You may use pencil, charcoal, colored pencils or water colors). Please be sure to consult the following books for photos and illustrations of the Haworth area and moorland.

Sources: Pollard, Arthur. The Landscape of the Brontes ; Bentley, Phyllis. The Brontes and Their World ; Wilk, Brian. The Brontes: An Illustrated Biography.

14. On January 6, 1842 the British army suffered one of the most terrible defeats in the history of British arms at the Khyber pass in Afghanistan. You are a reporter for The London Times . Your assignment is to interview the sole survivor of the massacre, Dr. Brydon. You will need to provide readers with sufficient background of the 1 st British-Afghan war for them to understand the British defeat. What are your conclusions after reading about this event? What do think the Afghans will be like as future adversaries?

Sources: Magnus, Ralph and Naby, Eden. Afghanistan , pp. 32-35, Evans, Martin. Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and Politics , pp.42-50. Afghanistan: A Country Study , pp. 24-30 . Beyond the Khyber Pass by Lowell Thomas pp. 75-81; Beyond the Khyber Pass by John H. Waller pp. 193-268.

15. Edward Rochester was sent by his father to manage an estate in Jamaica. What was Jamaica a source for the British Empire? Explain the business and workings of a sugar plantation. Who did the British employ as a cheap source of labor? Describe a typical day in the life of a plantation worker. Relate the attempts to abolish slavery in Jamaica and the blocking of it by the local Jamaicans.

Sources: Morris, James. Pax Britannica , pp. 168-169; Cambridge History of theBritish Empire Vol. II, 290-291, 718 +, 723-729; Area Handbook of Jamaica . Pp. 58-69. The Story of the Jamaican People , 121-127, 152-153, 160- 161, 210-211 ; History of Jamaica , pp. 97-110

16. There was no television or radio when Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre. How did people amuse themselves when they had leisure time? You have invited several friends for an evening of cards and other Victorian parlour games including some palmistry. Tell your friend about the evening you intend to host. What games are you going to play? What toys will be available if they decide to bring some of their children?

Sources: Pool, Daniel. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew . pp. 62-66; Horn, Pamela. The Victorian Town Child – Chapter 7 “At Leisure”; Baren, Maurice. Victorian Shopping pp. 10-19. Daily Life in Victorian England by Hibbert pp. 89-102; Victorian Parlour Games , pp. 7-51, 97-104.

17. Jane Eyre has been interpreted by some critics as the first feminist protest against the conditions of women in Charlotte Bronte's time and place. It could be that Ms. Bronte read Mary Wollstonecraft's, Vindication of the Rights of Woman published in 1792. Who was Mary Wollstonecaft? Summarize her thoughts on the rights of women. From your reading of Jane Eyre , relate how Bronte's character may have been a prototype for future feminist protests.

Sources: Karson, Jill. Readings on Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre , pp. 102-116; Flexner, Eleanor. Mary Wollstonecraft , selected chapters, Wollstonecraft, Mary. Vindication of the Rights of Woman , pp. “Introduction” and selected chapters. Anderson, Bonnie and Zinser, Judith. A History of Their Own Vol . II . pp. 346-349; 122-128.

18. You have realized your life's dream of becoming a missionary in India. You can hardly wait to convert all the Muslims and Hindus to Christianity. To your shock, however, many of them are perfectly happy with their own customs and religions. Your missionary brother is also planning to come over on another ship. Before he does, write him several letters describing: (1) some of India's holy men, the custom of Sati, and the British East India's Company's participation in various religious festivals; (2) your plan to convert the Indian people by establishing schools and churches; and (3) your ambivalence about your mission because so few Indians are converting and many are increasingly fearful and suspicious of your motives.

Sources: James, Lawrence . Raj: The Making and Unmaking of British India , pp.223-230; 185-186, Cambridge History of the British Empire Vol. II, pp. 212-213; Ashton, Stephen. The British in India From Trade to Empire , pp. 44-450. On the Missionary Trail , pp. 204-270.

19. The Victorians developed a “gospel of work” that combined religion and economics. It manifested itself in daily prayers, regular church attendance, philanthropy, and involvement with many charitable causes and events. Your mother thinks that you are growing up to be a callous, indifferent girl. After haranguing you about your poor attitude, she tells you that you must “fill your days with charity if you are ever to see heaven”. What are your choices? Describe several Victorian charities that you could endow, contribute to or work for. Which ones might appeal to a girl in her late teens?

Sources: Thompson, F.M. L. The Rise of Respectable Society A Social History of Victorian Britain 1830-1900 , pp. 252-253; Houghton, Walter E. The Victorian Frame of Mind 1830-1870 , pp. 126, 251-262; Mitchell, Sally. Daily Life In Victorian England, pp. 257-258, Walvin, James. Victorian Values . pp.96-107; Daily Life in Victorian England by Hibbert, pp. 113-123

20. You have decided to write a psychological biography about three members of the Bronte family: Charlotte, Emily and Anne. While you need knowledge about the basic facts of their lives and accomplishments, you are particularly curious about the influences of their environment, family life, and education. After researching these areas, what factors and influences do you think accounted for their extraordinary creativity?

Sources: Bentley, Phyllis. The Brontes and Their World . pp. 123-126; Wilks, Brian. The Brontes: an Ilustrated Biography . pp. 30-38, 65-75; Pollard. Arthur. The Landscapes of the Brontes . pp. 74-90.

INTRODUCTION

SYLLABUS

RESEARCH HINTS

QUESTIONS