Charlotte Bronte = Jane Eyre = Biography?

Question

Is it true that in some regards Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is a biography of Bronte's life to some extent?

Answer 1

I can't give a factual answer on that--I've never read an actual biography on Charlotte Bronte. But my thought is than perhaps some aspects of Jane Eyre's personality were a reflection of CB's. When you can do first person narrative and make it that fiery, chances are you're putting some of your personal energy into it.

Answer 2

Jane Eyre Biography

Answer 3

Well, you want to be careful making arguments like that, since they ultimately denigrate the author's creativity. It's a common trap for that particular genre of literature (19th century realism). It's true that authors of that period felt the compulsion to write what they "knew," or what they perceived in their own lives. Someone could read Jane Eyre and see semi-autobiographical elements, just as one could see semi-autobiographical moments in Dickens' David Copperfield.
That said, as a young girl Charlotte and her sisters attended a boarding school called Cowan Bridge, where Charlotte's two older sisters contracted tuberculosis/consumption. There is evidence from Charotte's personal letters to suggest that she based the character of Helen Burns on her oldest sister. Charlotte certainly took the opportunity to express her ire at the institution through her novel, in a way which wouldn't get her into legal trouble. Charlotte also worked as a governess for a time as an adult, an occupation she always loathed.
There are other suggestively semi-autobiographical moments in Bronte's other novels, especially Villette.
You might also find it interesting that she dedicated the novel to William Makepeace Thackeray, an author she admired but had never met. She unknowingly caused quite a stir by doing this, since his wife had been institutionalized for insanity. Woops!

Answer 4

Yes, it is true. The institution of Lowood in the book is based on the experiences that she and her sisters had at a school where two of them died.

Here is what wikipedia says:

The early sequences, in which the orphaned Jane is sent to Lowood, a harsh boarding school, are based on the author's own experiences. Two of her sisters died in childhood as a result of the conditions at their school, the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge, near Tunstall in Lancashire. Mr Brocklehurst is based on the Revd William Carus Wilson (1791-1859), the founder of the school, and Helen Burns is a representation of Charlotte's sister Maria. These facts were revealed to the public in The Life of Charlotte Bronte (1857) by Charlotte's friend the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell and caused considerable controversy at the time. The Gothic Thornfield was probably inspired by North Lees Hall, near Hathersage in the Peak District. This was visited by Charlotte Bronte and her friend Ellen Nussey in the summer of 1845 and described by Ellen Nussey in a letter dated 22 July 1845. It was the residence of the Eyre family and its first owner Agnes Ashurst was reputedly confined as a lunatic in a padded second floor room. (Davies 2006).

Answer 5

no, it is not...it is called a biography but it's a biography of jane eyre...she didn't really exist but it was a common convention of the time to increase verisimilitude

Answer 6

Erm no! Are you crazy?! Ofcourse it isnt!!