A Triangle of Women Writers

The latest number of SEL: Studies in English Language 1500-1900 contains an Brontë-related article:

Peterson, Linda H.
Triangulation, Desire, and Discontent in The Life of Charlotte Brontë
SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 - Volume 47, Number 4, Autumn 2007, pp. 901-920

In The Life of Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell not only traces the literary career of her subject but also depicts a triangle of women writers based in the north of England and dedicated to the amelioration of social problems. This triangle—including Harriet Martineau as well as Brontë and Gaskell—expresses bonds of attraction and affiliation, yet, as is inevitable in a triangular relationship, also reveals feelings of rivalry, discontent, and difference. At stake in Gaskell’s Life are issues of the woman writer’s cultural authority and literary status and the representation of Brontë as an exemplary woman writer.

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