Emily Bronte Part IV

 Charlotte had taken jobs as a governess and knew how difficult it was, for a woman of her intelligence to live in someone else's home, to put up with spoiled children, and to be snubbed by the parents who were often rude to governesses and saw them as social inferiors to be exploited and overworked. Emily stayed home most of the time, not taking any jobs, outside, but she did earn her keep by helping with the housekeeping.

However the girls decided that if they were to be able to set up their own school, they needed more accomplishments which they could teach and they thought it would be a good idea to go and work and learn at a school abroad, where they could learn French.. and experience life in a foreign city. Charlotte had made friends at Miss Woolers with Mary Taylor, the daughter of a rich businessman, who was now attending a school in Brussels and she longed to have some similar experience.

So she asked her Aunt Branwell to lend them some money to go to a school there.  It was decided that Emily should go with Charlotte and that Anne might attend later.  Emily probably knew that she would not really enjoy living abroad and going away from her home.. but she agreed to it, to try and help Charlotte to avoid the misery of being a governess.  

Its not clear how practical was the scheme.  Charlotte said that Emily might not want to teach but she would run things and keep house.  The plan might have worked but the parsonage was not very big and Patrick was reclusive in his habits, and Branwell was not likely to be any help. So its possible that the school might not have done very well.  However, Aunt Branwell was willing to lend money and the girls went off to Brussels. 

Emily does not seem to have been happy in Brussels.  She took advantage of the opportunity to learn more, she worked hard and won some admiration from the husband of Madame Heger who owned the school for hard work and intelligence. In spite of her intelligence, she had been a terrible speller, and she probably benefitted from a more rigid teaching scheme.   She taught music to younger pupils, and wrote several essays in French which have survived.   However she did not seem to care for the city or the other pupils and was reluctant to go and meet other British people who lived in Brussels.  Charlotte went though she was shy but Emily clearly hated socialising and after a time refused to go.  She was abrupt and gruff with people and just wanted to use the time to study and improve her writing and other skills so she made no friends at the school or in the English community.  When Aunt Branwell became ill and died, the girls returned home.  Charlotte went back to Brussels for another term to work as a teacher but once she came home, Emily never left again.   She devoted herself to her writing and took over the housekeeping.. assisted by the aging Tabby and a couplee of young girls.. including one called Martha Brown.