The Brontës in the World of the Arts (The Nineteenth Century Series)

Although previous scholarship has acknowledged the importance of the visual arts to the Brontës, relatively little attention has been paid to the influence of music, theatre, and material culture on the siblings' lives and literature. This interdisciplinary collection presents new research on the Brontës' relationship to the wider world of the arts, including their relationship to the visual arts. The contributors examine the siblings' artistic ambitions, productions, and literary representations of creative work in both amateur and professional realms. Also considered are re-envisionings of the Brontës' works, with an emphasis on those created in the artistic media the siblings themselves knew or practiced. With essays by scholars who represent the fields of literary studies, music, art, theatre studies, and material culture, the volume brings together the strongest current research and suggests areas for future work on the Brontës and their cultural contexts. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Illustrations 8 General Editors' Preface 10 Notes on Contributors 12 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction 16 1 Educating "The Artist's Eye": Charlotte Brontë and the Pictorial Image 26 2 Out of the Picture?: Branwell Brontë and Jane Eyre 46 3 Anne Brontë's Aesthetics: Painting in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 60 4 "Some of Your Accomplishments Are Not Ordinaiy": The Limits of Artistry in Jane Eyre 82 5 The Hieroglyphics of Catherine: Emily Brontë and the Musical Matrix 96 6 Shirley's Window on a Musical Society in Transition 116 7 It "Might Gift Me with a World of Delight": Charlotte Brontë and the Pleasures of Acting 140 8 "In This Same Gown of Shadow": Functions of Fashion in Villette 164 9 An Uneasy Marriage: Edmund Dulac, Lucy Snowe, and the Illustration of Villette 184 10 Jane Eyre's Other: The Emergence of Bertha 212 11 Music of the Moors: The Voices of Emily Brontë and Cathy in Opera and Song 228 Bibliography 252 Index 266 This interdisciplinary collection presents new research on the Brontes' intense and varied relationship to the wider world of the arts. With essays by scholars who represent the fields of literary studies, music, art, theatre studies, and material culture, the volume brings together the strongest current research and suggests areas for future work on the Brontes and their cultural contexts. Edited By Sandra Hagan And Juliette Wells. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [237]-249) And Index.