Book review: Shirley
Nov. 3rd, 2012 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
birdienl
The novel Shirley (1849) was Charlotte Brontë's second novel, published two years after Jane Eyre under the pseudonym of Currer Bell. Shirley is a historical novel, taking place in around 1811 and depicting the influence of the Napoleontic Wars on the textile industry and the so-called Luddite uprisings of textile workers. It takes place in a fictional parish in Yorkshire, Briarfield and chronicles the lives of its inhabitants, especially the shy pastor's niece Caroline Helstone and the rich and independent heiress Shirley Keeldar. Caroline takes French lessons from her Belgian cousin Hortense and is secretly in love with Hortense's brother and textile mill owner Robert Moore. When Shirley takes up residence in the neighbourhood, she and Caroline fast become good friends, despite their different characters. But Caroline is worried by the interest Robert takes in the beautiful and rich Shirley.
With my reading of Shirley, I have finished all four major works of Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre, Vilette and The Professor. Shirley stands somewhat apart from the other three in not having a teacher or governess as it's central character. There is however, still evidence of Charlotte's interest in this subject in Shirley; Robert Moore's brother Louis is a tutor and Mrs. Pryor, Shirley's old governess is an important secondary character. Caroline Helstone herself thinks about becoming a governess, but Mrs. Pryor tries to discourage her in this, telling Caroline about her own experiences as one. Also Charlotte Brontë's time in Brussels, inspiration for the events in Vilette and The Professor, seems to come back in Shirley. Robert and Louis Moore and their sister Hortense come from Belgium (though from Antwerp and not from Brussel) and much is talked about the differences between British and Belgian society.
During the writing of Shirley, Charlotte Brontë lost all her three siblings. Her brother Branwell died in September 1948 and her sister Emily in December of this year. Her last sibling Anne became ill and died in May 1949. Finishing her novel became escape and therapy for Charlotte, but it is impossible these tragedies did not influence her writing and perhaps even the plot of Shirley. I found it very interesting to read that Charlotte Brontë might have based the main characters of Shirley on her sisters: Caroline on Anne and Shirley on how Emily might have been if she was born into a wealthy family. Though this is only speculation, it gives a tantalizing insight in what the characters of the Brontë sisters might have been.
After the enormous success of Jane Eyre, Shirley was given a muted reception by the critics. One of the main criticisms was the incoherence of the plot. I'm afraid I have to agree with this. During my reading and also after finishing the novel, my main question was: what is this book about? It is partly about industry and social unrest, but this plot point does not influence or involve all the main characters. It is also partly about the place and dependency of women in society and many beautiful sections are devoted to this subject, but it does not really take precedence. The two main characters, Caroline and Shirley, do not really develop or change during the course of the narrative, even though there characters are crafted skilfully. Characters are introduced in the beginning of the novel who hardly feature again after that and some important characters we don't get to know until very late in the narrative. In fact, the book left me wondering why it is called Shirley. We do not get to meet Shirley herself until 75 pages in and the narrative is as much with Caroline's or even Robert's point of view as with hers. A better name for the novel might have been Briarfield, as it describes many persons of the neighbourhood.
Do I have something other than negative things to say about Shirley? Yes, because I did enjoy it. For it's beautiful language and descriptions and for it's depiction of female friendships. But among the novels of Charlotte Brontë, it unfortunately must take last place.
During the writing of Shirley, Charlotte Brontë lost all her three siblings. Her brother Branwell died in September 1948 and her sister Emily in December of this year. Her last sibling Anne became ill and died in May 1949. Finishing her novel became escape and therapy for Charlotte, but it is impossible these tragedies did not influence her writing and perhaps even the plot of Shirley. I found it very interesting to read that Charlotte Brontë might have based the main characters of Shirley on her sisters: Caroline on Anne and Shirley on how Emily might have been if she was born into a wealthy family. Though this is only speculation, it gives a tantalizing insight in what the characters of the Brontë sisters might have been.
After the enormous success of Jane Eyre, Shirley was given a muted reception by the critics. One of the main criticisms was the incoherence of the plot. I'm afraid I have to agree with this. During my reading and also after finishing the novel, my main question was: what is this book about? It is partly about industry and social unrest, but this plot point does not influence or involve all the main characters. It is also partly about the place and dependency of women in society and many beautiful sections are devoted to this subject, but it does not really take precedence. The two main characters, Caroline and Shirley, do not really develop or change during the course of the narrative, even though there characters are crafted skilfully. Characters are introduced in the beginning of the novel who hardly feature again after that and some important characters we don't get to know until very late in the narrative. In fact, the book left me wondering why it is called Shirley. We do not get to meet Shirley herself until 75 pages in and the narrative is as much with Caroline's or even Robert's point of view as with hers. A better name for the novel might have been Briarfield, as it describes many persons of the neighbourhood.
Do I have something other than negative things to say about Shirley? Yes, because I did enjoy it. For it's beautiful language and descriptions and for it's depiction of female friendships. But among the novels of Charlotte Brontë, it unfortunately must take last place.
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Date: 2012-11-03 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-04 10:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-04 11:22 am (UTC)Great icon BTW
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Date: 2012-11-08 04:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 11:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-10 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-10 05:21 pm (UTC)But in fact all the novels of the Brontë sisters were published under pseudonyms in the time. They believed they would sell better if they were published under male names: Currer Bell for Charlotte Brontë, Ellis Bell for Emily and Acton Bell for Anne.