Japanese Brontë Society Open Day Lectures 2023

Today, June 3, the Japanese Brontë Society Open Day Lectures takes place at the Waseda University in Tokyo:

Saturday, June 3, 2023
Time: 14:00-16:10
Venue: Waseda University, Toyo-Yama Campus, Building 38, AV Classroom 1
Moderator: Professor Yoko Nagai, Keio University

Opening Address: 14:00, Professor Michiko Kurisu, Daito Bunka University (emeritus)

Lecture I: 14:05-15:00
Examining the Experience of Bertha Mason in 'Jane Eyre': A Wife Confined in a Foreign Land
by Rie Yamauchi, Professor at Kobe City College of Nursing

Bertha, a Creole woman from the West Indies, is brought to Thornfield Hall in England by her husband, Rochester, and is confined to the attic. This study considers the psychological impact of her experience of confinement in a foreign land.

Lecture II: 15:10-16:05
Women with Jobs - Laura in 'Shirley,' Charlotte in 'Villette,' and Helen in 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'
Lecturer: Mitsuko Suzuki, Professor Emeritus at Tohoku University

Helen, the protagonist of 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,' is a married woman who earns a living by selling paintings, a rarity in novels of that time. This lecture examines how Helen fits into the lineage of "working women" often found in Romantic-era novels.

Closing Address: 16:05, Professor Seiichi Hashimoto, Aoyama Gakuin University (emeritus)