Life of Charlotte Brontë | Page 8

in
defiance of the accepted canon.
The writer of the beautiful obituary article on "the death of Currer Bell"
most likely learnt from herself what is there stated, and which I will
take the liberty of quoting, about Jane Eyre.
"She once told her sisters that they were wrong--even morally
wrong--in making their heroines beautiful as a matter of course. They
replied that it was impossible to make a heroine interesting on any
other terms. Her answer was, 'I will prove to you that you are wrong; I
will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself, who shall be
as interesting as any of yours.' Hence 'Jane Eyre,' said she in telling the

anecdote: 'but she is not myself, any further than that.' As the work
went on, the interest deepened to the writer. When she came to
'Thornfield' she could not stop. Being short-sighted to excess, she wrote
in little square paper-books, held close to her eyes, and (the first copy)
in pencil. On she went, writing incessantly for three weeks; by which
time she had carried her heroine away from Thornfield, and was herself
in a fever which compelled her to pause."
This is all, I believe, which can now be told respecting the conception
and composition of this wonderful book, which was, however, only at
its commencement when Miss Bronte returned with her father to
Haworth, after their anxious expedition to Manchester.
They arrived at home about the end of September. Mr. Bronte was
daily gaining strength, but he was still forbidden to exercise his sight
much. Things had gone on more comfortably while she was away than
Charlotte had dared to hope, and she expresses herself thankful for the
good ensured and the evil spared during her absence.
Soon after this some proposal, of which I have not been able to gain a
clear account, was again mooted for Miss Bronte's opening a school at
some place distant from Haworth. It elicited the following fragment of
a characteristic reply:--
"Leave home!--I shall neither be able to find place nor employment,
perhaps, too, I shall be quite past the prime of life, my faculties will be
rusted, and my few acquirements in a great measure forgotten. These
ideas sting me keenly sometimes; but, whenever I consult my
conscience, it affirms that I am doing right in staying at home, and
bitter are its upbraidings when I yield to an eager desire for release. I
could hardly expect success if I were to err against such warnings. I
should like to hear from you again soon. Bring ---- to the point, and
make him give you a clear, not a vague, account of what pupils he
really could promise; people often think they can do great things in that
way till they have tried; but getting pupils is unlike getting any other
sort of goods."
Whatever might be the nature and extent of this negotiation, the end of

it was that Charlotte adhered to the decision of her conscience, which
bade her remain at home, as long as her presence could cheer or
comfort those who were in distress, or had the slightest influence over
him who was the cause of it. The next extract gives us a glimpse into
the cares of that home. It is from a letter dated December 15th.
"I hope you are not frozen up; the cold here is dreadful. I do not
remember such a series of North-Pole days. England might really have
taken a slide up into the Arctic Zone; the sky looks like ice; the earth is
frozen; the wind is as keen as a two-edged blade. We have all had
severe colds and coughs in consequence of the weather. Poor Anne has
suffered greatly from asthma, but is now, we are glad to say, rather
better. She had two nights last week when her cough and difficulty of
breathing were painful indeed to hear and witness, and must have been
most distressing to suffer; she bore it, as she bears all affliction, without
one complaint, only sighing now and then when nearly worn out. She
has an extraordinary heroism of endurance. I admire, but I certainly
could not imitate her." . . . "You say I am to 'tell you plenty.' What
would you have me say? Nothing happens at Haworth; nothing, at least,
of a pleasant kind. One little incident occurred about a week ago, to
sting us to life; but if it gives no more pleasure for you to hear, than it
did for us to witness, you will scarcely thank me for adverting to it. It
was merely the arrival of a Sheriff's officer on a visit to B., inviting him
either to pay his debts or take a trip to York. Of course