| Kommentar |
The sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë burst onto the literary scene almost simultaneously in 1847, as their novels Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey were published under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. To many Victorian readers, these novels seemed quite radical in their representations of women’s rights, sexual desire, and the institution of marriage; to many 21st-century readers, the Brontë sisters have become feminist icons whose works offer inspiring portraits of strong heroines and damning critiques of patriarchal injustices. Yet there are also many ways in which the novels can be seen to work with rather than against the conventions and prejudices of their time, as we will be sure to discuss as well. In this seminar, we will take a look at the context of the emergence of the sister’s literary creativity, as well as at their major works, which are among the most canonized novels in English, and provide an inexhaustible array of themes that are both universal and can tell us a lot about 19th-century Britain. |
| Literatur |
Students are expected to read Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights (please please read it before watching the most recent adaptation!), and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Any decent edition is okay, though the Norton Critical Editions of the first two are highly recommended. |
