Shirley

Although this book did not receive the same the same acclaim as did Charlotte Bronte's masterpiece Jane Eyre, I thought it to be a very compelling novel. It is written around the theme of the modernization of the textile mills in Yorkshire at mid 19th century. It deals with the gulf between "haves" and "have-nots" and the single minded materialism of most of the mill owners and managers. Woven into this, and probably the main message of the book, is the plight of the women of the day, especially the "old maids" and those who entered into loveless marriages in order to escape the "old maid" role or because their social class and/or wealth or lack of it demanded marriage with a man of equal or superior status. Miss Bronte, as in Jane Eyre, does an excellent job of character development. Perhaps the reason that her readers and critics did not rate this novel as high as her other one is that it contains long soliloquies or journal entries by some of the characters where their intimate thoughts are revealed in a somewhat poetic manner that can become rather boring. However, this makes up a minor part of the book. I found myself skimming these sections. Miss Bronte starts this book by a first chapter in which she paints a graphic and unfavorable picture of three curates. These curates are minor characters in the book, but they come into play quite a few times in the story. Miss Bronte draws her information from her life experience as a clergyman's daughter, and I am led to believe that it is this unpopular picture of the curates that gave her novel Shirley a less popular rating in its day. Some of these curates are judged to have been modeled on real-life curates who served her father from time to time. This chapter was objected to by the publisher's reader who had had the discernment to see the value of Jane Eyer. By the time Shirley was submitted, Miss Bronte's fame as a novelist had been established, and so Shirley was accepted for publication in spite of its detractions. It is interesting to note that in that day, the name, Shirley, was considered to be a masculine name.The main characters of the story are two young women, one a "have" and the other a middle class "have-not." I also understand that this is the first time that the plight of the single woman is dealt with in Victorian literature, and that that in itself was a daring and controversial subject. The modern reader, especially a woman, can not help but rejoice in how far we as women have progressed socially since that time, but the theme of unemployment, the rich getting richer and the laborers receiving an unequal share of the profits, etc. sounds like today's news. Even with its problems, this novel is head and shoulders above many others of its day.

The reason for the four stars is that I think it is not as good as Charlotte Bronte's best, the incomparable Jane Eyre. But it is, compared with most novels of today, very good indeed. The character of Shirley is wonderful. It is clear that Caroline is the protagonist, and that she is based on Charlotte herself and is therefore given the lion's share of attention. I consider this one of the book's few faults. The character of Robert Moore is beautifully drawn and I disagree with the editors that Louis is not. Although the device of the diary is a bit clumsy, the dialogue between Louis and Shirley is enthralling. Highly recommended.

If you like Charlotte Bronte, are interested in the Luddite era, don't fear the spelling of 'pusillanimous' deleted recently by the change in SAT tests, and don't thank a writer for ruining self esteem by using words you have to look up, you'll discover some roots of womens' independence. I gave it a 3 because it's more intellectual and less romantically compelling than Jane Eyre. Bronte disses clergymen, and reveals the see-saw in two women friends' who fall for two very different brothers, one an entrepreneur, the other a teacher. There's a disquisition on' old maids, that state relegated to the despised. It covers the territory at the beginning of techno manufacturing when factory workers were put out of work, and made war on the entrepreneurs killing some on the way to techno progress. It is intellectually and sociologically iluminating, but also a serious summary of attitudes toward love between men and women. Don't expect the hard core revelation of hypocrisy by Jane Austen, but don't don't look for hard core romanticism either. Charlotte was a passionate provincial intellectual from a religious background. She saw through the inequities of women's lives, got married, unlike Emily and Anne, and lived slightly longer before dying. This book was written after she'd become famous as well as married. Intellect had taken place over romance. For nuances in life, not fire.

Amazing

This review is not about the novel but the ebook version. Something is wrong with this kindle version, letters in some words are separated by spaces making it hard to read. Not worth, illegible.

How can one not enjoy these books.

I bought this edition because it has an excellent introductory essay by Andrew Hook, free of the irrelevant overlay of present day political views so often found in more recently published editions. "Shirley" is another fascinating work in Charlotte Bronte's oeuvre. It is a historical novel set in Yorkshire in Napoleonic times. As with other fictional accounts from all periods - when they are well done - "Shirley" provides a real sense of the times. Here, it is the combined effects of the Napoleonic wars and the industrial revolution on individuals and small communities and the actions they took to defend their positions. Charlotte Bronte is at pains through her characterisation to be evenhanded and to show each group's point of view, whether it is the workers whose livelihoods were being destroyed by new machinery, or the mill owners with stock piling up that they could not move because the war's effect on trade etc etc. Against this historical background CB weaves a love story where, in keeping with her other novels, "Jane Eyre" & "Villette", the path of love does not run smooth. As a writer she manages well the technical problem identified by Flaubert when he was writing "Education Sentimentale", namely that his background (the 1848 revolutions) would swallow up his foreground since real life heros were usually more interesting than fictional characters. Recommend "Shirley" for anyone interested in history and / or the remarkable Brontes.

"Shirley" ist für die Zeit, in dem der Roman geschrieben wurde (Ende der 1840er Jahre) eine sehr moderne Geschichte. Charlotte Bronte setzt sich mit wirtschaftlichen, industriellen Themen und insbesondere mit der Frauenfrage auseinander. Mit Shirley schafft sie eine hinreißend unabhängige und gegen die Konventionen streitende junge Frau. Zwar wird ihr noch der Name "Captain Shirley" verliehen, d.h., sie muss in ihrer Unabhängigkeit eine quasi-männliche Rolle annehmen, aber auf der anderen Seite ist sie auch sehr weiblich z.B. in ihrem Aussehen und in der Art, wie sie die Männer verzaubert. Natürlich ohne sich selbst verzaubern zu lassen. Ihr gegenüber und mit ihr verbündet hat Charlotte die junge Caroline gestellt, die es von ihrem Wesen her nicht schafft, die gesellschaftlichen Konventionen wie ihre Freundin zu übersteigen. Statt auszubrechen, droht sie, an der aufgezwungenen Gefühllosigkeit zu ersticken.Dass Charlotte Bronte hier ihre beiden Schwestern verarbeitet hat, ist umso interessanter. Shirley hat Züge von Emily, die ebenso aus den Konventionen ausgebrochen ist. Caroline hat Züge von Anne verliehen bekommen, die Stille, Religiöse der Familie. Beide Schwestern sind während des Schreibens des Romans mit Anfang 30 gestorben und auch wenn Charlotte es abgelehnt hat, in der Öffentlichkeit, d.h. im Roman, darüber zu weinen, sieht man der Geschichte und vor allem dem innerlichen Kampf der Figuren die Tatsache an, dass Charlotte gerade eine sehr schwere Zeit durchgemacht hat.Ich habe "Shirley" sehr genossen. Zwar sind die ersten 50 Seiten sehr schwer zu lesen, für Charlotte so untypisch, dass ich in Erwägung gezogen habe aufzugeben. Doch alles, was folgt, entlohnt für diesen schwierigen Beginn sehr. Der Roman ist sehr ehrlich. Die Figuren sind hervorragend und komplex gezeichnet. Die Geschichte wird der Wirklichkeit angemessen gerecht. Hier wird kein Märchen erzählt, wenn auch geträumt werden darf. Letztlich finde ich "Shirley" besser als "Jane Eyre", aber nicht so gut wie "Villette".