Charlotte Bronte & Jane Eyre

There has been a recent discovery of an essay that Charlotte Bronte wrote in 1842. It was written while she and her sister Emily were studying in Brussels under the tutelage of Professor Heger. It was at this time that both sisters abandoned their plan to be teachers and decided to become writers. When they returned to England, both of them published their first novels within a couple of years.

We know that Charlotte fell in love with Heger during this time as her passionate letters written to him currently reside in the British library. The question that has always been, was the relationship between Jane and Rochester influenced by this love? She found in Heger her intellectual equal much in the same way Jane finds in Rochester.

When it was discovered that Bronte had been inspired by Heger, it caused controversy as many believed the sisters had never been influenced by anyone else. But this was an important part of her life which clearly opened up new possibilities and experiences for her. In many ways, Jane Eyre could be seen as the story of Charlotte’s life up to that point. From a desperate childhood and the misery of school life to the opportunity of a fulfilling career and an all consuming relationship. Except of course Charlotte never got the chance to complete this relationship. There is some wish fulfillment in the ending of Jane Eyre. Did Charlotte create this to compensate for what she never experienced?

Nick Shelton