Brontes - any fans who can explain…

[Peverellshire]

1. Which was the most talented? Best book in your opinion?
2. Could most clergymen’s daughters write well? Did their isolation set them apart & focus imagination.
3. Was Branwell an alcoholic? And or mentally unwell? What was up? Did he have an affair with that woman of house or exaggerated? What was root of downfall?
4. Was Patrick Bronte, unusual, aspirational even? Thinking about emphasis on education & changing surname from more ordinary, Brunty. Why?
5. If the sisters had moved & lived away from home would they have ultimately led happier lives, been more content? I know one did but the lure of home too strong.
6. If their mother had lived would that have dramatically altered the course of their life?

Thanks!

It’s hardly surprising, is it? Men held all the power and most of them didn’t want to share it.

Probably because he knew they’d have to earn their own living and you had to be educated to be a governess.

A slightly different view, OP, but the Brontes were pretty poor writers full stop. The only exception is the Lowood part of Jane Eyre, which is very good. The rest is navel-gazing drivel, probably the result of spending too much time in the middle of nowhere with not enough social interaction.

They all had rich inner lives, to the extent of maladaptive daydreaming. Emily used to be frustrated if she was disturbed. They were very literate and creative. Wuthering Heights is a brilliant book, but I've no idea why people think it's a romance! I also agree that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is excellent.

Emily is a highly imaginative and moving writer - but Wuthering Heights is also a complete mess in dire need of an editor.

Anne is probably the least imaginative but the most capable of putting a readable book together, however her themes were very shocking for the time.

I grew up in Brontë country - the house that Fieldhead in Shirley was modelled on was just a short walk from my childhood home, and we went there a lot. So the descriptions of the wild moors, unforgiving weather and brusque Yorkshire folk are very dear to me, and I read most of the books in my teens.

I think the best one is Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It must have been utterly scandalous at the time! But Jane Eyre has a special place in my heart; I must have read it a hundred times.

I dated a bloke called Heathcliff for a while, admittedly in large part because of his name - and he was also dark, brooding and very handsome, but fortunately not a psychopath.

I agree with pps that To Walk Invisible was superb, and I suspect pretty close to reality. I would recommend that to anyone interested in the lives of the Brontës.

I also strongly recommend Wide Sargasso Sea to any lovers of Jane Eyre who haven’t already read it. It puts a whole new slant on things and is utterly haunting.

My favourite is Withering Heights - it is completely chaotic, but the structure reflects the turmoil of the narrative. I love it.

Lucky to live close to Howarth and visit regularly. The Parsonage is the museum and so worth a visit. Learned lots of interesting things about the family.

Emily took on a lot of domestic duties because she struggled to to work away from home. But she was also the only member of the family that Patrick trusted to wield the family gun!

Branwell was an alcoholic and was also addicted to Laudinum. He bought it from the local apothecary, which is now the most incredible shop. The original fittings are beautifully preserved.

In terms of the drainage from the graveyard making the parsonage an unhealthy place to live, actually the whole town was affected.

Last time we were there, we went on a walking tour and the guide explained that water drained off the graveyard. People used the water for drinking and washing but it was riddled with diseases. Deaths were so common and frequent that morgues were set up in pub cellars. The dead were then buried in the (already overcrowded) graveyard and the cycle was perpetuated.

Haha! I did a stint in France as a twenty something and had SUCH a crush on a short middle aged guy who I barely know because he reminded me of M Emanuel! Sadly when I got to know him he was no where choleric or Catholic enough!

I find it very interesting how crucial supportive men were to women's education and emancipation.

YES and especially as you say when fathers supported their daughters or taught them/inspired them in some way - eg Artemisia Gentileschi, Margaret Thatcher (!), Victoria Wood. Sometimes just because they didn't have sons, unfortunately, but in any case, the support and belief of a dad can be incredibly important to women.

I think the sisters were all bright and articulate women who had the opportunity to express themselves through writing. Emily had a particularly strong and distinctive vision of what she wanted to express. Their childhood, where they were allowed to play imaginatively and built their own worlds, was the foundation and then as they grew up and encountered life experiences they processed these through writing.
I think Branwell was an alcoholic, that and his unwise affair had a terrible effect on his mental health. I think Emily gave up any sort of fight for life (which would have been futile anyway) but we know Anne very much wanted to get better and fought for her health. Can you imagine the tragedy for Charlotte, your brother, your younger sisters all gone in a ghastly manner. It must have felt like death was hounding her, And then her own health declining and no way out. I find Haworth a very difficult place to visit, feels like there's just no hope left.