Charlotte Bronte II

On leaving the Heger School, Charlotte was painfully unhappy. It seems as if Mme Heger pushed her into leaving Brussels. Heger probably realised it too, that his pupil, a plain yet intelligent young woman of whom he was fond, had developed an inappropriate love for him. He and Mme Heger felt that they had to tell her to leave, fearing embarrassment and scandal. Heger was at first sorry for her and believed that she would be better to go home and get over her feelings. Charlotte remained in love for some time. She begged permission of M Heger to write to him but he stipulated that these letters should be limited to "one every 6 months". Charlotte wrote some painfully loving but very proper letters. Heger didn’t respond. The story of her continuing love for him is sad to think about, she was so unhappy- desperately pleading for a little friendship from him. Charlotte gradually recovered and was occupied with family problems, such as Branwell’s drinking, and her father’s blindness. The girls continued for a while to believe they might be able to set up a school. Yet, no one was interested in sending their daughters to a remote place and the plan eventually languished. Charlotte began to think of other ideas for occupying herself and making some money. She persuaded her sisters to put their poetry together and try to get it published as a joint effort. When the book came out, in 1846, it only sold 2 copies. But Charlotte was a determined young woman and didn’t give up hope. She was always the leader of the 3 of them in trying new schemes. They had all written since they could hold a pen, but apart from Branwell, none of them seems to have seriously considered trying to make money or get published. Charlotte had written to the Poet Southey as a girl, asking whether he thought that she had talent, but he responded that literature was not the business of a woman's life. Emily never asked for advice like this, but she positively hated the idea of submitting her work to the gaze of the public. Anne seems to have been quietly willing to agree, once the notion of publication was suggested. She was shy but not completely or aggressively retiring like her sister. Charlotte was shy and also quite sharp tongued and critical of people. She disliked most of her employers, and was socially awkward but not to the extent that Emily was. She didn’t have many friends but did engage in social life, later, as a writer. She had two friends, Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor, whom she had known from school. At this stage, Patrick underwent an operation for cataract, which was very painful. It meant that he had to go to Manchester. Charlotte had to accompany him. While he was recovering, she started to write Jane Eyre, and then began to try and get it sold. Her sisters were engaged in writing and submitting their books - Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey. But their publisher, Newby, was a rogue, and didn’t treat them very fairly. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was read by George Smith, a young man just starting out in publishing. His reader thought it was so wonderful he urged that it should be published. It was a runaway success. Emily and Anne’s books which were published as a 3 volume, set, (the first 2 volumes was Wuthering Heights and the third one was the short work -Agnes Grey), didn’t do so well, although some discerning critics could see the talent, in Emily’s work. Finally, Charlotte’s pressuring of her sisters and her hard work was beginning to pay off.