Siblings, Independence and Ethics of Love

New Brontë-related papers and theses:

Weaponised imagination : sibling collaborations and rivalries in the Brontë and Rossetti families (Thesis Ph.D.)
Author: Richardson, A., University of Liverpool, 2018
Supervisor:Marsden, Simon ; Bradley, Matthew

For the Brontë and Rossetti siblings, familial collaboration shaped their working methods from their earliest juvenilia to the end of their careers. Both sibling sets would continually compare their works and seek advice on how to develop their early writings - a sense of co-dependence they never fully outgrew. This thesis examines the dynamics of these sibling sets from the early need of parental approval; their ambitious juvenilia - and the need to maintain the familial connection such early works provided upon entering the adult world of work - and finally the autobiographical narratives of the surviving siblings. This analysis will explore how these siblings' literary collaborations altered under the cultural expectations of class and gender, as well as familial aspirations. Nevertheless, the support network of childhood writings could be "restored" by recreating the motifs and methodologies of their early juvenilia. Weaponised Imagination applies close, comparative readings to works completed by the Brontës' and Rossettis' throughout their careers, which can be applied to literary families throughout history.

My Freedom is a Non-Negotiable Right: The Portrayal of Independence in Charlotte Brönte's Jane Eyre and its Film Adaptations  (Bachelor Thesis)
Servera Barceló, Maria Antònia
Sánchez Campos, Noelia, dir. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Filologia Anglesa i de Germanística)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, 2019

Jane Eyre is widely known for being a revolutionary nineteenth-century feminist novel. Its main character is a governess who pursues her own identity and independence, not only in financial terms but also in an ethical sense. In Jane Eyre there are a few episodes that profoundly affect the heroine; these episodes will make her grow into a woman who does not conform to what society dictates. By having as main sources five film adaptations of the book (1944, 1970, 1996, 1997 and 2011) this research seeks to analyse how the character of Jane Eyre is depicted in every film and how the concept of independence is treated in comparison to the novel.

Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Irigarayan Ethics of Love
Shiva Hemmati
Studies in Literature and Language, Vol 18, No 3 (2019)

This paper examines Emily Brontë’s masterpiece Wuthering Heights (1847) through Irigarayan non-possessive and irreducible love of dual subjects in terms of non-duality within duality to argue how Brontë’s main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff, challenge the traditional hierarchical dualities of the patriarchal society of Victorian age through their love relationship. As romantic lovers, they act upon their feelings and desires in contrast to Victorian restrictions and Christian religious tradition that give importance to the soul rather than the body. Catherine and Heathcliff try to express their emotional desire and autonomous being and subjectivity by sharing the same air in the natural landscape of Wuthering Heights, the moors, which allow them the possibility of love. However, they cannot achieve the full measure of non-dual love at the end of the novel due to Catherine’s marriage to Edgar and acceptance of patriarchal dualities represented by the Lintons’ world.