Charlotte Brontë

Portrait of Brontë by J.H. Thompson, 1850s

Ellen Nussey (friend, 1817-1897)

> "*The human heart has hidden treasures. In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed.*"
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Charlotte Brontë (April 21st, 1816 - March 31st, 1855) was an English novelist and poet, best known as the author of *Jane Eyre* and the eldest of the Brontë Sisters. Publishing her novel under the name "Currer Bell," Brontë herself is also famous for being the most ambitious and strong-willed of the sisters, as her narrative in her stories revolutionized Victorian society and feminism at the time.

She is also the author of other works, such as *Villette* (1853). She outlived both of her sisters, dying of consumption at 38 years old.

## Biography

### Parental History

Patrick Brunty was born on March 17th, 1777, at Emdale, County Down, Ireland, the eldest of ten children. His father, Hugh Brunty, was an orphan from southern Ireland and a Protestant agricultural labourer. It was believed that Hugh may have been descended from an ancient family.

Hugh married Elinor Alice McCory and settled in a small, two-room cottage where their eldest son, Patrick, was born before they moved to a two-storey house in Lisnacreevey, where Patrick was educated. His parents were illiterate and poor, and the family only owned four books, which included two copies of the Bible, Robert Burns’s poems, and John Bunyan’s *The Pilgrim’s Progress*.

When Patrick was 12 years old, he was apprenticed with the local blacksmith and then as a line-weaver. He was an avid reader at a young age and spent most of his money on books and memorizing their verses, with John Milton’s *Paradise Lost* being his personal favourite. Reverend Andrew Hardshaw, the local minister, heard him read aloud the verses and was so moved that he allowed him access to his library. At age 16, Patrick was offered a job at a village school in Glascar. But he struggled at his job and had a low salary, while his siblings worked as labourers. One of his brothers, William, fought in the Battle of Ballynahinch during the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

After leaving his teaching job, Patrick met Thomas Tighe, a vicar in Drumballyroney, who offered him to tutor his children and encouraged him to participate in the church’s movement. During his tutoring, he learned Latin and Greek and then decided to pursue a career in priesthood. In 1802, at age 25, he left Ireland and attended St. John’s College in Cambridge to study theology as a sizar. While in Cambridge, he changed his surname to Brontë. It is unknown why he changed his name, but there have been some theories, such as wanting to keep his humble Irish origins a secret. The name “Bronte” meant “thunder” in Greek.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1806, he briefly visited Drumballyroney and preached his first sermon at Tighe’s church. He also made sure any records of his birth were kept hidden. After that, he never returned to his native Ireland again. He then moved to Essex, where he was appointed curate at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Wethersfield. During his curacy, he fell in love with his landlady’s niece, Mary Burder and proposed to her in 1808. But following a disagreement with her family, Burder left him, and Patrick ended his curacy in 1809. He moved to Wellington in Somerset and became an assistant curate of Reverend John Eyton. He was also curate at Huddersfield and Dewsbury in West Yorkshire from 1810 to 1811. Around this time, he wrote and published a collection of poems.

After his curacy in Dewsbury, Patrick moved to Hartshead and was appointed assistant curate at the Church of St. Peter. About a year after moving to Hartshead, industrial unrest broke out into the Luddite riots. On April 11th, 1812, the Luddites attacked Rawfolds Mill in Patrick’s parish. While Patrick was against any acts of violence on property, it’s believed he sympathized with the rioters. He may have buried some of the fatally injured rioters in unmarked graves. In July 1812, he visited the Woodhouse Grove School near Guiseley to examine the students’ studies on classics. There, he met 29-year-old Maria Branwell, the niece of the school’s headmaster, John Fennell.

Maria Branwell was born on April 15th, 1783, in Penzance, Cornwall, England. She was the daughter of Thomas Branwell, a successful merchant in Cornwall, and Anne Carne. She was the eighth of twelve children, but five of her siblings died in childhood. The family had made several investments in the local brewery and bank and was involved with the town council. The Branwells were also Methodists and were involved in helping build the first Methodist chapel in Penzance. Between 1808 and 1811, the deaths of her parents and two siblings broke up the immediate family, and she searched for employment to support herself. In 1812, she left Cornwall to help her uncle John Fennell and his wife Jane run his school, where she assisted her aunt in housekeeping.

Following their meeting at Woodhouse Grove, Patrick and Maria became acquainted at the school until they developed a courtship. After a secret engagement, they were married on December 29th, 1812, at St. Oswald’s Church in Guiseley. That same day, her sister Charlotte married their cousin Joseph, and the Fennells’ daughter, Jane, married Patrick’s close friend William Morgan.

After their wedding, Patrick and Maria lived in a rented house in Hartshead. Their first child, Maria, was born on April 23rd, 1814, followed by a second daughter, Elizabeth, on February 8th, 1815. Since he couldn’t build a new parsonage, Patrick struggled to find a new parish until his friend Thomas Atkinson offered him to take up curacy at his parish in Thornton, Yorkshire. Patrick and his young family then moved to their new home at Market Street in Thornton. He became curate at the St. James Church in 1815, a mile from his home. The family also made close friends in Thornton, and Maria’s sister, Elizabeth Branwell, often spent time with them during their first year in the town.

### Early Life/Education

Charlotte Brontë was born on April 21st, 1816, in Thornton, Yorkshire, England, the third child of Patrick and Maria Brontë. She was christened at the St. James’ Church, where her father was curate. Her two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, were also christened there.

Shortly after Brontë’s birth, her parents hired an orphan girl named Nancy Garr to help run the household and care for the children. 14 months later, Brontë’s brother, Patrick Branwell, was born on June 26th, 1817, followed by sisters Emily on July 30th, 1818, and Anne on January 17th, 1820. Nancy’s sister, Sarah, later joined her to support the family.

In 1820, Patrick was offered a new position as curate of Haworth by the vicar of Bradford. Haworth was located a few miles away from Thornton in Yorkshire, and Patrick accepted the post since their home was becoming too small to raise their six young children. In April 1820, the Brontës moved to Haworth and took up residence at the local parsonage next to St. Michaels and All Angels Church. Patrick would be the church’s curate for the next 40 years. The parsonage was built in 1778 and had more living space for the family. It was surrounded by a garden and a stone archway that led into the churchyard.

In the early 19th century, Haworth was a poor, industrial mill town ridden with disease from the contaminated water and poor sanitation. Most of the residents were poor and worked in nearby factories and mills. Death was also rampant in Haworth, with the average life expectancy being about 25 years, and many of the residents’ children died before age 5. The town was surrounded by the moors that would later be an influential backdrop for Brontë and her sisters’ novels.

In 1821, Maria became gravely ill, and the children all contracted scarlet fever. Patrick struggled to maintain his parish business and tend to his family, with the servants watching the children and a nurse hired to look after Maria. Brontë’s aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, was called from Penzance to help the family. While the children recovered from their illness, Maria suffered from her painful illness for a few more months, and no other medicines could treat her. On September 15th, 1821, Maria died with her husband and children by her side. She was 38 years old, and her cause of death was believed to be uterine cancer, possibly resulting from giving birth to Anne. She was interred in the family vault at St. Michaels and All Angels Church.

Following Maria’s death and funeral, Elizabeth Branwell had planned to stay at the parsonage temporarily before returning to Penzance. But when Patrick couldn’t remarry, she decided to stay permanently. However, Brontë wasn’t doted on by her aunt, as Elizabeth was closer to Anne than the other children.

As soon as she could learn to read and write, Brontë would play with her siblings by making up their own stories and playing their roles. While Patrick and Elizabeth taught the children their first lessons, they decided that the girls should receive a formal education so they could pursue careers as schoolteachers or governesses as adults. In 1824, The Clergys’ Daughters of Cowan Bridge opened in Cowan Bridge, Lancashire, which was nearly 40 miles away from Haworth. Patrick enrolled his daughters at the school, and Maria and Elizabeth were the first students sent there that summer. 8-year-old Brontë arrived shortly afterward, and then Emily a few months later.

At Cowan Bridge, Brontë endured long prayers, strict discipline, cold temperatures, and disgusting food. On Sundays, the students walked to a church two miles away in rain or shine, and it was worse when it snowed. In the winter of 1825, a typhus outbreak occurred at the school. Maria fell ill with tuberculosis and was quickly sent home, where she died on May 6th at age 12. Elizabeth also suffered from tuberculosis and died on June 15th at age 10, after she was sent home. Both girls joined their mother in the family vault.

Now fearing for the lives of his two surviving daughters, Patrick immediately ordered the school to withdraw them and be sent home. Brontë and Emily were at the school for one more month before returning home. Later in life, Brontë criticized the school for its harsh regime and became the inspiration for the infamous Lowood School in *Jane Eyre*. The school’s headmaster, William Carus Wilson, inspired Lowood’s greedy, hypocritical headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst.

When Brontë and Emily arrived home, they saw that the Garr sisters had left and were replaced by Tabitha “Tabby” Aykroyd. She was a local Haworth woman who would serve the family for the next 30 years. Since Patrick won’t send his children to school again, he and Elizabeth would tutor them at home instead. Elizabeth taught the girls needlework, reading, and French, while Patrick taught his son Branwell Greek, Latin, and literature. The children also had free access to their father’s library, and they read anything from the Bible, *The Pilgrim’s Progress*, and Shakespeare’s plays. Since they lived in isolation at the parsonage without any friends outside of their home, Brontë and her siblings developed a close bond, and they entertained each other with stories of their fantasy worlds inside their study. For example, Brontë’s “fantasy world” was called Angria, and her sisters shared their fantasy world called “Glass Town.” They even made tiny books for Branwell’s toy soldiers to read that he received for his 9th birthday, and the writing would be too small for Patrick and Elizabeth to read.

In 1830, when Brontë was 14 years old, she wrote a series of poems and even wrote miniature books she called “*The Young Men’s Magazines*” on matchboxes that she made with Branwell.

### Teaching Years/Brussels

In 1831, Brontë was enrolled at Roe Head, a Mirfield girls' school run by Miss Margaret Wooler and her three sisters. She arrived at the school in January and was initially shy and nervous. Unlike Cowan Bridge, Roe Head was close to home and taught common subjects for girls, such as literature, geography, drawing and music. Most girls attending the school were seven to ten years old, and Miss Wooler was a kind, loving woman. Shortly after arriving at Roe Head, Brontë met Mary Taylor and Ellen Nussey, who became her lifelong friends and correspondents. Miss Wooler would also be Brontë's role model and advisor, and Brontë and her friends enjoyed visiting her to read and learn. Brontë later excelled in her studies and reached the top of her class, and before she left Roe Head, she was rewarded a silver medallion. While Brontë was happy at Roe Head, she often thought about her deceased older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, which made her depressed. She would stay with friends during holidays instead of returning home.

In 1832, Brontë returned home as a model student and shared correspondence with Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor. Brontë and her sisters spent most of their time doing lessons with Patrick and going out for walks in the moors. Meanwhile, Patrick had opened a Sunday school with a grant of £80 from the National School Society. Brontë and her siblings had taught at the school several times. The family also had a talent for drawing, and Branwell planned to enrol at the Royal Academy to study art. Patrick had engaged art teacher John Bradley to teach his children drawing, and Branwell later painted a famous portrait of his three sisters. He even included himself in it but wasn’t satisfied, so he removed his painted self.

In 1833, Brontë wrote a novella called “*The Green Dwarf*” and did some sketches of Kirkstall Abbey and Bolton Priory. Her paintings were even exhibited at the Royal Northern Society in Leeds. In 1835, she returned to Roe Head to work as a teacher. Emily also attended the school as a student but became homesick and left the school after only three months. Anne then arrived shortly afterwards to take Emily’s place.

However, Brontë’s job as a teacher was difficult. In a journal entry she wrote in 1836, she complained about her frustrations and concerns about Angria. Her close relationship with Miss Wooler had started to deteriorate. She would write poetry to ease her loneliness and wrote “*We Wrote a Web in Childhood*” in 1835. In December 1836, she wrote a letter to Poet Laureate Robert Southey, asking for encouragement about pursuing a career as a poet. Southey warned her that being a female poet is impossible and that she must follow her proper duties when married.

In December 1837, Anne became gravely ill. When Miss Wooler suggested Anne’s illness could be a common cold, Brontë got angry at her since Brontë believed Anne could be suffering from consumption that killed her two older sisters, and Miss Wooler didn’t know the difference. After Miss Wooler had written to Patrick about his daughters, he had Anne sent home. The school then moved to Healds Hall in Dewsbury Moor. Following a brief stay at Haworth, Brontë returned to continue her teaching job at Healds Hall, but she was unhappy with her position. She was lonely without her sisters and friends and was constantly worried about Anne’s frail health. She often visited the Dewsbury Parish Church, where Patrick used to be a curate. In 1838, Brontë resigned from her position and left the school for good.

In 1839, Brontë applied for work as a governess. Her first position was with the Sidgwick family at Stonegappe in Lothersdale, 12 miles from Haworth. Her pupils were Mathilda and John, a spoiled, bratty child who later inspired the character John Reed in *Jane Eyre*. The family also had two other children, with a fifth on the way. Mrs. Sidgwick was an unkind, snobbish woman who complained about her children, but Brontë found Mr. Sidgwick interesting. She worked with the family until July, and she and Nussey went on a seaside trip to Bridlington in September. That same year, Patrick appointed 26-year-old Durham graduate William Weightman as his second curate. He frequently visited the parsonage, and the family became close with him. He became beloved in Haworth for tending to the sick, and Brontë even sketched his portrait. There had also been some rumours that Anne or Emily were in love with him.

In 1841, Brontë was again hired as governess to the White family of Upperwood House in Rawdon. Again, her job was difficult, and her young students were unruly toward her, and she ended her post after nine months. Shortly afterwards, Brontë and her sisters devised plans to open their own school, and she thought this would be a better solution than being a governess or a teacher in another school. At the same time, Patrick’s eyesight had started to fail, and the sisters knew that if he became blind, they would lose the parsonage and live on the streets. As such, they must work hard to find successful jobs to support themselves and their family and to live as independent women.

With the suggestion of running their own school, the sisters decided to add the French language to their school’s curriculum. After writing to her aunt Elizabeth Branwell for her support to enlist in the plan, she gave Brontë £100, which is enough to leave the continent. It was also decided that Brontë shouldn’t go alone, so she convinced Emily to accompany her. Several local clergymen recommended attending a school in Lille, France. Mary Taylor and her sister Martha attended Château de Koekelberg, a highly successful girls’ school in the suburbs of Brussels, Belgium. But since the school was too expensive for the Brontës, they were recommended a cheaper school highly regarded in the area: the Pensionnat Héger.

In February 1842, Patrick, Mary Taylor and her brother Joe accompanied Brontë and Emily as they left Haworth and travelled to London by railway train. After arriving in London, they went on a steamship that took them across the English Channel, into the port city of Ostend, and then took a coach to Brussels. The Pensionnat Héger was located on the Rue d’Isabella, close to the central park and Rue Royale. The school was owned by Madame Zoë Héger, a Catholic Frenchwoman and mother whose husband is Constantin Héger, the school’s headmaster. Once comfortable in their new school, Patrick returned to England. Both sisters were shy and uncomfortable in a school filled with Belgian girls, and she didn’t get to see Mary and her sister Martha very much. Monsieur Héger taught the sisters separately and started teaching them French literature.

Brontë and Emily had planned to stay at the school for six months. They began progressing in their studies, and Brontë even had a romantic crush on Monsieur Héger. That summer, Héger and his family departed Brussels for a vacation by the seaside, allowing the sisters to explore the city and admire the school’s beautiful garden. Later that year, they received bad news from back home that Branwell had lost his job in Bradford and was spending much time drinking at the Black Bull, a local inn in Haworth. William Weightman, the young clergyman whom the Brontës had befriended and was beloved in their parish, had died suddenly of cholera at 28 years old. Mary Taylor’s sister Martha also fell ill with cholera in Koelkelburg, and Brontë hurried there to be by Mary’s side. But Martha died on October 12th before she could make it. Martha was just 23 years old.

Then, in November, they received a letter from Patrick saying that Aunt Branwell was gravely ill. The sisters immediately made plans to return home, but they received another letter from their father announcing that their aunt had died. They left Pensionnat Héger and travelled back to London, where they arrived in Haworth 5 days after their aunt’s funeral. The sisters received a small fortune from Elizabeth Branwell’s will, and Branwell was initially supposed to have his share, but his reckless spending and debts left him out of the will.

In 1843, Brontë returned to Pensionnat without Emily and became a teacher at the school, teaching English, German, and French with a £16 salary. But towards the end of the year, Brontë’s working hours and environment became strained, and she resigned from her post on December 29th, 1843, and arrived home four days later. Patrick’s failing eyesight was worsening, and the sisters set to work to open their school in the parsonage. In August 1844, Brontë printed some advertisement flyers for the school called “*The Misses Brontë’s Establishment for the Board and Education of a limited number of Young Ladies*.” The average sum would be £35, and the subjects include writing, arithmetic, history, geography, and needlework. Additional subjects such as English, French, German, Latin, music and drawing would be an extra guinea. Brontë desperately tried to write and call local families about her school, but by October, no students showed up, so the sisters gave up. Patrick wasn’t uncomfortable sharing his home with young female students he didn’t know, and Branwell’s outbursts from his alcohol and drug addiction made the parsonage unsafe to be a school. In addition, Haworth was a small town with a low population in rural Yorkshire, and it would have been impossible to try and find any students nearby.

### Jane Eyre and Other Works/Family Tragedies

In May 1845, a 26-year-old Irishman named Arthur Bell Nicholls was appointed as Patrick’s assistant curate. He had recently graduated from Trinity College in Dublin a year ago, and after taking up his post, he became well-acquainted with the family and the Haworth residents.

That summer, Brontë and Ellen travelled to the town of Hathersage, and they visited North Lees Hall, home to the Eyre family, who have lived there for generations. She heard the story of Agnes Ashurst, an insane woman confined in the house’s attic and then died in a fire. This story would be the inspiration for Mr. Rochester’s insane wife confined in Thornfield Hall’s attic in *Jane Eyre*.

In the parsonage, the sisters spent their time writing alone. Brontë started writing the manuscript for her first novel, *The Professor*, which takes place in a Belgian school. When she unexpectedly discovered Emily’s poems, she suggested to her sisters that they should write poetry in a collection of poems, and they would use male pen names to keep their identities hidden and increase the chance of having the poems published. Brontë’s pen name was “Currer,” Emily’s was “Ellis,” and Anne’s was “Acton,” all using the surname “Bell,” which was taken from Arthur Nicholl’s middle name. The poems were sent to publishers Aylott and Jones in London, and paid £35 to publish them.

The poems were published in 1846 with positive reviews but only sold 2 copies. With the failure of the poem collections, the sisters were then motivated to write novels. Every night, the sisters gathered in their dining room to write their stories, correcting their mistakes and reading aloud their ideas. Brontë started writing *Jane Eyre*, while Emily wrote *Wuthering Heights* and Anne wrote *Agnes Grey*. That same year, *The Professor* was rejected by publishers, but Brontë wasn’t discouraged and eager to have her writing published. In August 1846, while she accompanied Patrick to Manchester to have a cataract surgery, Brontë completed the manuscript of *Jane Eyre.* By now, Emily and Anne’s novels were accepted by publishers and ready to be published, so Brontë sent her manuscript to Smith, Elder and Co., in London, and on October 16th, 1847, *Jane Eyre* was finally published, under her pen name, Currer Bell.

    The passionate romance story of a plain governess and her sardonic employer was met with critical acclaim. It became an instant bestseller and is one of the most popular novels by one of the Brontë sisters. Almost immediately, Brontë gained fame as a female novelist, even though nobody knew who Currer Bell was and assumed a gentleman had written *Jane Eyre*. In December, Emily’s *Wuthering Heights* and Anne’s *Agnes Grey* were published. *Agnes Grey* also received positive feedback, but *Wuthering Heights* was harshly criticized. In addition, Brontë received £500 from the publishers, which was more than her average governess salary. She also developed a close correspondence and friendship with her publisher, George Smith.

In 1848, Brontë started the manuscript for her second novel, *Shirley*. The first half of 1848 was marked with the family affected by Branwell’s violent outbursts and episodes from his drug and alcohol abuse to the point when Patrick had him sleep in his room to keep a close eye on him. The third edition of *Jane Eyre* was published in April 1848, and Anne’s next novel, *The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,* was published in June.

But Brontë’s fame as a writer was quickly overshadowed by tragedy. In late 1848, Branwell’s alcoholism worsened, and he then fell ill with what was assumed to be tuberculosis. Branwell died in the parsonage on September 24th, 1848, with the family by his bedside. He was only 31 years old. Emily developed a severe cold shortly after Branwell’s funeral, and her health deteriorated within a few months. She refused medical treatment until the last second, but it was too late. She died at the parsonage on December 19th, 1848, at just 30 years old. Both Branwell and Emily were interred in the family vault within a short period.

Anne also became sick with tuberculosis but was determined to fight her illness with the seaside air. A doctor warned Brontë not to take Anne to the seaside during winter and recommended going there in spring. Anne’s illness became stable for some time, but by May, it had worsened, and she requested travelling to Scarborough with hopes that the seaside air would cure her illness. On May 24th, 1849, Brontë and Anne left for Scarborough, located 70 miles away from Haworth. But just 4 days after arriving there, Anne died at 29 years old. She would be the only Brontë relative not interred in the family vault, as she was buried at St. Mary’s Church in Scarborough. Brontë chose to bury her sister in Scarborough to spare her father’s pain from another funeral, and Anne loved the sea so much that her grave was on a hillside of the churchyard overlooking the seaside. Ellen arrived shortly after Anne’s death to help Brontë make the funeral arrangements, which were held at Christ Church. Miss Wooler attended Anne’s funeral, and Brontë’s friendship with her was rebuilt since her return from Brussels.

Patrick convinced Brontë not to return home immediately and spend some time away from home to cope with her tragic loss, so Brontë and Ellen left for the nearby fishing village of Filey. When she arrived home a month later, she was depressed and miserable from losing all her siblings, and the only family she had left was her ailing father.

Brontë was halfway with her second novel *Shirley*, but her writing was constantly disrupted by the deaths of her siblings. In late 1849, Patrick fell ill with bronchitis and Tabby and another servant, Martha Brown, also got sick. Brontë worked alone in the dining room she and her sisters wrote their stories together, and the illnesses of her father and servants were very distressing for her. *Shirley* was published that same year in October, but was less successful as *Jane Eyre*. Many reviewers still believed that Currer Bell was a man and lived in the district where the story took place. Some reviewers suggested that *Jane Eyre* was written by an unknown governess.

George Smith encouraged Brontë to travel to London and be part of a social circle with other writers. While she initially refused, Brontë travelled to London anyway and met several famous writers, such as William Thackery, Harriet Martineau, and Elizabeth Gaskell, who would both become friends with her. Brontë had even sent a copy of *Shirley* to Martineau for publication, and they discussed about racial relations and the abolitionist movement, to the point when Martineau was close to solving Currer Bell’s true identity.

In 1850, Brontë began writing her third novel, *Villette*, and she also started editing the manuscripts of her sisters’ novels: Emily’s *Wuthering Heights* and Anne’s *Agnes Grey*. She even wrote a preface for both novels, revealing their identities for the first time. A year earlier, Brontë and Anne visited Smith to confirm that they are Currer and Acton Bell, but Emily refused to accompany them as she wanted to keep her identity a secret. In 1852, Brontë sent the last volume of *Villette* to Cornhill for publication, but it was delayed for a few weeks. She wrote to Smith for an explanation, and he expressed his disappointment in the novel, and he had only £500 for copyright. After she finished her novel and went to London to see it through publication, *Villette* was finally published in 1853. It received widespread acclaim and would be Brontë’s last completed novel.

### Marriage, Final Days, and Death

Brontë had always dreamed of finding true love, but it almost always doesn't come to light. She rejected a marriage proposal from Ellen Nussey's brother George in 1839 and turned down another later. In 1852, around the time she was writing *Villette*, she sensed that Nicholls was in love with her, and on December 13th, he surprised her with a marriage proposal. During the past eight years, Nicholls’ feelings for Brontë had increased and had built up his courage for so long until he could finally pop the question. Patrick wasn’t impressed with his curate marrying his only surviving daughter, and Brontë quickly rejected his proposal. Even Ellen was against it as she wanted to grow old with Brontë as unmarried spinsters.

Shortly after his failed marriage proposal, Nicholls resigned from his position and planned to travel to Australia as a missionary. But he changed his mind about being a missionary and worked at another parish in Yorkshire, although he and Brontë continued to run into each other in Haworth. Brontë became more depressed following his absence, that when Nicholls proposed to her a second time, she caved in and finally accepted his proposal. Even Patrick relented and allowed Nicholls to wed his daughter.

Brontë and Nicholls were married on June 29th, 1854, at St. Michael's and All Angels Church. The wedding was small and simple, with Ellen and Miss Wooler attending the ceremony. Patrick didn’t attend his daughter’s wedding, so Miss Wooler led Brontë to the altar. The couple honeymooned in northern Wales followed by Dublin and Banagher in Ireland before returning to Haworth in August. Following her wedding, Brontë was forced to give up her writing career and cut off all ties with Smith, so she could focus on her duties as a minister’s wife. She was seemingly happy with her marriage, although there were rumours that she never loved Nicholls.

In early 1855, Brontë was pregnant with her first child, but became sick with morning sickness and confined to bed. She had made plans to visit Ellen, but her illness made her too weak and only wrote a handful of letters to her. Tabby died in February, and Brontë’s illness took a turn for the worse. She experienced severe nausea and vomiting, and unable to eat. Even the sight of food made her more sick. Within the next month, Brontë became thin and delirious, and contracted consumption, which caused her health to fail rapidly. She died on March 31st, 1855, at age 38. She was just three weeks away from her 39th birthday, and still in the early stages of pregnancy. Her unborn child died with her.

Within less than a year after being married at St. Michaels and All Angels Church, Brontë’s funeral was held on April 4th, and interred in the family vault. Her death certificate listed “phthisis” (also known as consumption or tuberculosis) as the cause of death. However, it’s strongly believed that Brontë may have died from hyperemesis gravidarum (a morning sickness illness), which explained her excessive vomiting and nausea that took a serious toll on her health.

## Legacy

News of Brontë’s death quickly spread, and many of her readers and critics were saddened by her tragic passing. In 1857, Brontë’s first novel, *The Professor*, was published posthumously. That same year, Elizabeth Gaskell wrote a biography of Brontë called, *The Life of Charlotte Brontë*, and carefully assured that her identity was revealed to those who didn’t know who Currer Bell was, and in doing so, saved her reputation and made her a beloved writer, even in her death.

Following Brontë’s death, Nicholls stayed at the parsonage and became a caregiver to his father-in-law, hoping he’ll be his successor, until Patrick’s death on June 7th, 1861, marking the end of the Brontë family line. The church trustees chose Reverend John Wade as Patrick’s successor, so Nicholls returned to his native Ireland, and stayed there for the rest of his life. In 1893, the Brontë Society was founded and Sir James Roberts, a local in Haworth, bought the parsonage for £3,000, and gifted it to the Brontë society. The Brontë parsonage opened as a museum in 1928.

Brontë was portrayed in at least two adaptations based on her and her sisters' lives. A TV mini-series, "*The Brontës of Haworth,*" premiered in 1973 and followed the lives of the Brontë sisters at the Haworth parsonage. A BBC TV movie, "*To Walk Invisible*," is about the sisters' ordinary lives and their rise to power as female novelists.

Vickery Turner portrayed Brontë in "*The Brontës of Haworth*" and Finn Atkins (Rosie Boore as her younger self) in "*To Walk Invisible*."

## Trivia

* + Brontë was good at drawing and sketching and originally wanted to be an artist instead of a writer. The publishers even convinced her to sketch illustrations for the second edition of *Jane Eyre*, but she refused the offer.
	+ Brontë suffered from near-sightedness and had to wear glasses most of the time. She could not read piano sheets but could see well in the dark since her students noted that she could read to them without light.
	+ Brontë spoke with an Irish accent since this was passed on by her father, who was born and raised in Ireland.
	+ Brontë was shorter than her sisters; her height was only about less than 5 feet tall.

* Because her mother died when she was still a young girl, Brontë had very few memories of her mother. One of them, she recalled, was seeing her with her younger brother Branwell.
	+ Brontë was known to be a very religious woman throughout her life. She was also very strong and independent and always stood up for what she believed in, and she showed some faith in some of her writings. She wasn't perfect in her faith, but she did express her love of God in her works.
	+ Brontë was once acquainted with Victorian politician and educationist Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth and even visited his home a couple of times, which was close by Haworth. Brontë had a close bond and correspondence with her publisher, George Smith, and was possibly in love with him. They once dined at his home in Kensington, London, to celebrate her writing career, and they even visited Scotland.

## External Links

Charlotte Brontë: A Life, by Claire Harman: http://www.claireharman.com/books/charlotte-bronte/

1. ↑ The Victorian Era was the reign of Queen Victoria between 1837 and 1901.