Sources
Autobiographical sources – Helen Burns’s death from consumption recalls the deaths of Charlotte Brontë’s sisters Maria and Elizabeth, who died of tuberculosis in childhood as a result of the conditions at their school, the Clergy Daughters School (Lowood) at Cowan Bridge, near Tunstall in Lancashire; Mr. Brocklehurst is based on Rev. William Carus Wilson (1791-1859), the Evangelical minister who ran the school; John Reed’s decline into alcoholism and dissolution recalls the life of Charlotte’s brother Branwell, who became an opium and alcohol addict in the years preceding his death; like Charlotte, Jane becomes a governess. Besides, both Jane and Charlotte, are women who try to improve their social position by working as a teacher and not by marrying a man of fortune.
The Gothic manor of Thornfield is inspired by North Lees Hall, near Hathersage in the Peak District which Charlotte Brontë and her friend Ellen Nussey visited in the summer of 1845 (Ellen Nussey described the place in a letter dated 22 July 1845). It was the residence of the family and its first owner Agnes Ashurst was reputedly confined as a lunatic in a padded second floor room.
(The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857) by Elizabeth Gaskell)
Literary sources – Thornfield Hall, is a typical Gothic castle with secret rooms; Mr Rochester is like a Byronic hero with his mysterious past and contrasting personality; the madwoman in the Attic (Bertha) is seen as a vampire (She sucked the blood: she said she’d drain my heart, chapter 20).
Autobiographical sources – Helen Burns’s death from consumption recalls the deaths of Charlotte Brontë’s sisters Maria and Elizabeth, who died of tuberculosis in childhood as a result of the conditions at their school, the Clergy Daughters School (Lowood) at Cowan Bridge, near Tunstall in Lancashire; Mr. Brocklehurst is based on Rev. William Carus Wilson (1791-1859), the Evangelical minister who ran the school; John Reed’s decline into alcoholism and dissolution recalls the life of Charlotte’s brother Branwell, who became an opium and alcohol addict in the years preceding his death; like Charlotte, Jane becomes a governess. Besides, both Jane and Charlotte, are women who try to improve their social position by working as a teacher and not by marrying a man of fortune.
The Gothic manor of Thornfield is inspired by North Lees Hall, near Hathersage in the Peak District which Charlotte Brontë and her friend Ellen Nussey visited in the summer of 1845 (Ellen Nussey described the place in a letter dated 22 July 1845). It was the residence of the family and its first owner Agnes Ashurst was reputedly confined as a lunatic in a padded second floor room.
(The Life of Charlotte Brontë (1857) by Elizabeth Gaskell)
Literary sources – Thornfield Hall, is a typical Gothic castle with secret rooms; Mr Rochester is like a Byronic hero with his mysterious past and contrasting personality; the madwoman in the Attic (Bertha) is seen as a vampire (She sucked the blood: she said she’d drain my heart, chapter 20).
Fonti
Fonti Autobiografiche: Lowood, un duro collegio, la morte di Helen Burns di tubercolosi come le sorelle di Charlotte, maria ed elisabetta che morì a causa delle cattive condizioni sanitarie nella loro scula nel Lancashire; Mr Brocklehurst, il reverendo William Carus Wilson, sacerdote della chiesa evangelica e direttore della scuola; la propensione di John Reed all’alcolismo e alla dissoluzione richiama la vita del fratello di Charlotte Branwell, che divenne un oppiomane e un alcolismo negli anni precedenti la sua morte; come Charlotte, Jane diventò una governante.
Inoltre il ruolo stesso della donna come protagonista della propria vita, una donna che si guadagna da vivere indipendentemente dall’uomo è un motivo che si ispira alla stessa autrice.
Il palazzo Gotico di Thornfield si ispira a North Less Hall, vicino a Hathersage nel Distretto Peak dove Charlotte e la sua amica Ellen Nussey andarono a visitare nell’estate del 1845 (Ellen Nussey descrisse il posto in una lettera datata 22 luglio 1845). Divenne la residenza della famiglia di Charlotte dove la prima proprietaria, pazza, fu reclusa in una camera al secondo piano , secondo il racconto della romanziera Elizabeth Gaskell.
Fonti letterarie – I luoghi , Thronfield Hall; Mr Rochester, un eroe byroniano, Berta che viene vista come un vampiro che succhia il sangue (Cap. 20)