Charlotte Brontë, Embodiment and the Material World (Palgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century Writing and Culture)

Comprising nine original essays by specialists in material culture, book history, literary criticism and curatorial and archival studies, this co-edited volume addresses a wide range of Brontë’s writing—from vignettes composed during her teenage years (“The Tea Party” and “The Secret”) to completed novels (__The__ __Professor__, __Jane Eyre__, __Shirley__ and __Villette__) and unfinished works (“Ashworth” and “Emma”). In bringing to life the surprising array of embodied experiences that shaped Brontë’s creative practice (from writing to book-making, painting, and drawing), __Charlotte Brontë, Embodiment and the Material World__ forges new connections between historical, material, and textual approaches to the author’s work. Praise for Charlotte Brontë, Embodiment and the Material World 6 Contents 7 Notes on Contributors 9 List of Figures 12 Chapter 1: Introduction 14 References 33 Part I: Brontë’s Bodies 37 Chapter 2: Burying Bertha: Race and the Ungraveable Body in Jane Eyre 38 Option One: Churchyard 44 Option Two: Rochester Vault 46 Option Three: Exposure to the Elements 48 Option Four: Burial at Crossroads 51 Option Five: Incineration 52 Option Six: Return Home 52 Option Seven: Undead 53 Option Eight: Burial Alive 53 Option Nine: Nonexistence 56 References 59 Chapter 3: Gendering the Comic Body: Physical Humour in Shirley 60 Gendering the Comic Body 64 Comedy, Carnival, and the Structure of Shirley 70 Satire, Slap-stick, and the Realist Tradition 76 References 82 Chapter 4: “Mediocrity in the sensations”: Charlotte Brontë and the Yorkshire Marriage 86 Critical Theory of the Body 88 Mediocrity in the Sensations 91 The Unexpected Marriage 93 The Material Marriage 95 The Yorkshire Marriage 96 The Mysteries of Choice 99 References 104 Part II: Narrative Objects 106 Chapter 5: “Grossly Material”: Catholic Things and the Jesuit Order in Villette 107 The Jesuits in Belgium 110 The Sacred Heart 112 Rubens and the Jesuits 115 Jesuit Ways of Seeing 118 “Grossly Material” and Conversion 121 Conclusion 123 References 127 Chapter 6: Charlotte Brontë: From a Yorkshire Girl to a Regency Writer and Dandy 132 References 154 Part III: The Power of Things 156 Chapter 7: Brontë Under Glass: Scholarship and Sentimentality in the Museum Context 157 References 177 Chapter 8: Charlotte Brontë’s Moccasins: The Wild West Brought Home 179 References 207 Part IV: Printed Matter 212 Chapter 9: Charlotte Brontë’s “Chinese Fac-similes”: A Comparative Approach to Interpreting the Materials of Authorial Labour and Artistic Process 213 References 236 Chapter 10: “I have read the Lady’s Magazine”: The Materialities of Charlotte Brontë’s Medievalism 239 References 255 Index 258 This is a wonderful collection which explores issues of materiality and embodiment across a fascinating range of areas. Drawing on the expertise of museum professionals and historians of the book as well as that of literary critics, it offers new insights into Brontë's modes of composition and the forms of physicality in her fiction. It also answers questions you never thought to ask: how did those moccasins end up in West Yorkshire?' -Sally Shuttleworth, Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford, UK, and author of Charlotte Brontë and Victorian Psychology. Comprising nine original essays by specialists in material culture, book history, literary criticism, and curatorial and archival studies, this co-edited volume addresses a wide range of Brontë's writing-from vignettes composed during her teenage years ("The Tea Party" and "The Secret") to completed novels (The Professor, Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette) and unfinished works ("Ashworth" and "Emma"). In bringing to life the surprising array of embodied experiences that shaped Brontë's creative practice (from writing to book-making, painting, and drawing), Charlotte Brontë, Embodiment and the Material World forges new connections between historical, material, and textual approaches to the author's work Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Introduction (Justine Pizzo, Eleanor Houghton)....Pages 1-23 Front Matter ....Pages 25-25 Burying Bertha: Race and the Ungraveable Body in Jane Eyre (Cornelia Pearsall)....Pages 27-48 Gendering the Comic Body: Physical Humour in Shirley (Justine Pizzo)....Pages 49-74 “Mediocrity in the sensations”: Charlotte Brontë and the Yorkshire Marriage (Valerie Sanders)....Pages 75-94 Front Matter ....Pages 95-95 “Grossly Material”: Catholic Things and the Jesuit Order in Villette (Julie Donovan)....Pages 97-121 Charlotte Brontë: From a Yorkshire Girl to a Regency Writer and Dandy (Judith E. Pike)....Pages 123-146 Front Matter ....Pages 147-147 Brontë Under Glass: Scholarship and Sentimentality in the Museum Context (Christine Nelson)....Pages 149-170 Charlotte Brontë’s Moccasins: The Wild West Brought Home (Eleanor Houghton)....Pages 171-203 Front Matter ....Pages 205-205 Charlotte Brontë’s “Chinese Fac-similes”: A Comparative Approach to Interpreting the Materials of Authorial Labour and Artistic Process (Barbara Heritage)....Pages 207-232 “I have read the Lady’s Magazine”: The Materialities of Charlotte Brontë’s Medievalism (Clare Broome Saunders)....Pages 233-251 Back Matter ....Pages 253-258 "Comprising nine original essays by specialists in material culture, book history, literary criticism, and curatorial and archival studies, this co-edited volume addresses a wode range of Brontë's writing - from vignettes composed during her teenage years ('The Tea Party' and 'The Secret') to completed novels (The Professor, Jane Eyre, Shirley, and Villette) and unfinished works ('Ashworth' and 'Emma'). In bringing to life the surprising array of embodied experiences that shaped Brontë's creative practice (from writing to book-making, painting, and drawing), Charlotte Brontë, Embodiment and the Material World forges new connections between historical, material, and textual approaches to the athor's work"--Back cover