Sisters Brontk

Bronte sisters were three sisters who became famous novelists - Charlotte (1816—1855), Emily (1818—1848), and Anne (1820— 1849). Their lives and works are associated with the lonely moors of Yorkshire, England, where they were born.

Their lives. Patrick Bronte, the sisters' father, was a poor Irishman who became the parish clergyman in the small, iso­lated town of Haworth, Yorkshire. Bronte was somewhat ec- ccntric and inclined to be strict. His wife died in 1821 and her sister brought up the family conscientiously, but with little af­fection or understanding. The sisters went to several boarding schools where they received a better education than was usual for girls at that time, but in a harsh atmosphere.

Few jobs were available for women at that time, and the Bronte sisters, except for occasional jobs as governesses or schoolteach­ers, lived their entire lives at home. They were shy, poor, and lonely, and occupied themselves with music, drawing, reading and — above all — writing. Their isolation led to the early development of their imaginations. In 1846, under the masculine pen names of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, the sisters published a joint volume of po­ems. Although only two copies were sold, all three sisters soon had their first novels published.

Their works. Charlotte Bronte's famous novel «Jane Eyre» (1847) is largely autobiographical. Through the heroine, Charlotte relived the hated boarding school life and her experiences as a gov­erness in a large house. Rochester, the hero and master of the house, is fictional. «Jane Eyre» was enormously successful, but many read­ers were shocked that Rochester, who tried to make Jane his mis­tress, should be rewarded by marrying her. Some readers were also shocked because Jane wanted to be regarded as a thinking and in­dependent person, rather than as a weak female.

Charlotte Bronte wrote three other novels. The first one, «The ProfessoD>, was not published until 1857, after her death. «Shirley» (1849) is set among labor riots of the early 1800's. «Villctte» (1853), the most popular of the three, is based on Charlotte's unhappy ex­periences as a governess in Brussels.

Emily Bronte wrote only one novel, «Wuthering Heights» (1847), a romantic masterpiece. The work was not as popular as «Jane Еуге», and was even more strongly condemned for its bru­tality, its lack of conventional morality, and its glorification of ro­mantic passion. Not all readers find the supernatural elements, or the hero Heathcliff's pitiless cruelty, wholly believable. However, the author's vivid descriptions and her understanding of social class and individual temperament give even the exaggerated elements of her story impact. The book's portrait of the moors reveals Emily as a poet of enduring power.

Anne Bronte was the mildest and most patient of the sisters. Both her novels, «Agnes Grey» (1847) and «The Tenant of Wildfell Hall» (1848), can be seen as less violent versions of «Jane Eyre».