Shirley II

Shirley is not one of Charlotte's better novels. She researched the history of the Luddite riots in Yorkshire but social comment was not her forte. There is a touch of feminism, in that Shirley and Caroline both discuss careers for women.. but what Caroline really wants to do is to get married. She is depressed when Robert seems to be courting Shirley and Shirley in spite of her friendship with Caroline, seems willing to entertain Robert's addresses. However we learn that Shirley is in love with someone else, who only appears in the later part of the book. Louis, Robert's brother, is a tutor and Shirley loves him in spite of his low status. They get married, Robert's mill becomes successful again and he marries Caroline. The book is rather clumsy, with awkwardly comic portraits of the local curates, who are based on curates that Charlotte knew in Haworth. Shirley is said to be based on Emily Bronte.. but she is not really like her. However it was courageous of her to continue writing the book when she had suffered the awful losses of her two sisters and her brother.