Brontë Studies. Volume 33, Issue 1

The new issue of Brontë Studies (Volume 33, Issue 1, March 2008) is already available on-line. We provide you the table of contents and abstracts:

Editorial : pp. iii-iv(1) Author: Adams, Amber M.

ARTICLES

Call for Papers: The BRONTËS and the Idea of Influence
pp. v-v(1) Author: Whitehead, Stephen

Mary Taylor's Response to the Journal et Lettres of Eugénie de Guérin
pp. 1-8(8) Author: Summers, Mary
Abstract
Eugénie de Guérin (1805-1848) began a secret correspondence with her younger brother, Maurice, in 1834 while he was living away in Paris. The intimate letter booklets she sent him were later set out in the form of a diary and published posthumously as Reliquiae in extract format in 1855 and in fuller format in 1862 as her Journal et Lettres. This accorded Eugénie the right to be considered the first French woman to have her letters published as a journal and thereby creator of a new genre in France. Mary Taylor responded to the many reviews on Eugénie's Journal et Lettres by writing an article in 1866 in the Victoria Magazine called 'A Philistine's opinion of Eugénie de Guérin'. In this response, she gave her opinion on Eugénie herself, the 'actual woman', rather than discussing the merits of her journal. Her views reveal as much about herself as about the author of the book. They are also a useful pointer to her thoughts on her friend, Charlotte, and more widely on issues such as the need for the reform of female education and of the lack of financial independence of most women of her time.

Do Unto Others: Learning Empathy in Agnes Grey
pp. 9-19(11) Author: Miele, Kathryn
Abstract
The central problem facing Agnes Grey is that of how to teach someone to 'feel' for someone else. Agnes has trouble understanding those who make no attempt to understand others; she meets with very little consideration herself and is appalled by the failure of those she meets to exhibit compassion. As governess and narrator, she reflects upon the process of learning empathy, which often seems beyond the reach of her pupils and many of their acquaintances. Factors such as rank and different types of influence in appropriating compassion, the economy of emotional resources, the power of example and surveillance, and religious lessons about the treatment of the less fortunate are considered in the novel and by its heroine. In Agnes Grey, Anne Brontë explores the importance of empathy to the humane development of the moral person, as well as the wider social implications of learning to consider the feelings of others.

Beginning Where Charlotte Left off: Visions of Community in Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
pp. 20-29(10) Authors: Colón, Christine
Abstract
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë explores Jane's struggle to escape isolation and find a community that will value her, but when Jane does find love and acceptance, it occurs in an isolated romantic utopia that allows Jane and Rochester to escape the outside world as they immerse themselves in their overwhelming love for each other. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë questions whether this type of romantic love is sufficient, widening the focus of her novel from romantic love to social responsibility. Through the character of Helen and the influence she has on her friends' lives, Anne proposes that society will only begin to change when individuals break out of their isolation and begin to help their neighbours. While Helen does receive her own romantic conclusion, Anne places Helen's story within the context of a community that, with Helen's help, is beginning to be transformed for the better.

From Werther to Wuthering Heights: Possible Convergences
pp. 30-43(14) Author: Tonussi, Paola
Abstract
The impressions drawn from reading a great novel stir up thoughts, and these require proof to support them. The proof of a correspondence between an author and another might be philological or intuitive, but the divinatio (poetical intuition) almost always holds supremacy over the lectio (the canon) and the editio (published edition). The reading of Goethe's Werther very probably influenced the writing of Wuthering Heights: in the famous German novel, Emily Brontë could find kindred images and a similar philosophical outlook towards nature, God, death and what lies beyond. The poems of Ossian, which Emily surely read and which dominate the second part of Werther, may be a possible link of inspiration.

Masters and Servants in Wuthering Heights
pp. 44-53(10) Author: Tytler, Graeme
Abstract
Wuthering Heights is unusual among masterpieces of fiction for its elaborate treatment of the relationship between masters and servants. Such relationships play a significant part both in developing the plot and in revealing character. Although masters (and mistresses) ultimately have the upper hand of their servants, it is noteworthy how much power servants exercise within the sphere of domination to which they are subject. The tendency of servants to be insubordinate for one reason or another highlights the problem of a hierarchical society while raising certain questions of peculiar moral interest. That the author herself seems to call the system of masters and servants in doubt is hinted at throughout the narrative, and more especially through her presentation of Hareton and the younger Catherine. Emily's ingenious handling of this theme helps us to recognize that her novel is concerned not merely with a singular love relationship but with human relationships in general.

Patrick Brontë's Lost Landlords
pp. 54-57(4) Author: Bedford, Kristina
Abstract
This paper traces the family with whom the Revd Patrick Brontë lodged at Lousy Thorn Farm, using online genealogical resources.

Recent Acquisitions at the Brontë Parsonage Museum
pp. 58-64(7) Author: Dinsdale, Ann
Abstract
This paper traces the family with whom the Revd Patrick Brontë lodged at Lousy Thorn Farm, using online genealogical resources.

REVIEWS pp. 65-86(22)

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