Victorians! discussion

Please discuss the Preface and chapters I-VII.

My edition does not include the Preface, so I will include it here, in case others don't have it:

This little book was written before either "Jane Eyre" or "Shirley," and yet no indulgence can be solicited for it on the plea of a first attempt. A first attempt it certainly was not, as the pen which wrote it had been previously worn a good deal in a practice of some years. I had not indeed published anything before I commenced "The Professor," but in many a crude effort, destroyed almost as soon as composed, I had got over any such taste as I might once have had for ornamented and redundant composition, and come to prefer what was plain and homely. At the same time I had adopted a set of principles on the subject of incident, &c., such as would be generally approved in theory, but the result of which, when carried out into practice, often procures for an author more surprise than pleasure.

I said to myself that my hero should work his way through life as I had seen real living men work theirs—that he should never get a shilling he had not earned—that no sudden turns should lift him in a moment to wealth and high station; that whatever small competency he might gain, should be won by the sweat of his brow; that, before he could find so much as an arbour to sit down in, he should master at least half the ascent of "the Hill of Difficulty;" that he should not even marry a beautiful girl or a lady of rank. As Adam's son he should share Adam's doom, and drain throughout life a mixed and moderate cup of enjoyment.

In the sequel, however, I find that publishers in general scarcely approved of this system, but would have liked something more imaginative and poetical—something more consonant with a highly wrought fancy, with a taste for pathos, with sentiments more tender, elevated, unworldly. Indeed, until an author has tried to dispose of a manuscript of this kind, he can never know what stores of romance and sensibility lie hidden in breasts he would not have suspected of casketing such treasures. Men in business are usually thought to prefer the real; on trial the idea will be often found fallacious: a passionate preference for the wild, wonderful, and thrilling—the strange, startling, and harrowing—agitates divers souls that show a calm and sober surface.

Such being the case, the reader will comprehend that to have reached him in the form of a printed book, this brief narrative must have gone through some struggles—which indeed it has. And after all, its worst struggle and strongest ordeal is yet to come but it takes comfort—subdues fear—leans on the staff of a moderate expectation—and mutters under its breath, while lifting its eye to that of the public,

"He that is low need fear no fall."

CURRER BELL.

The foregoing preface was written by my wife with a view to the publication of "The Professor," shortly after the appearance of "Shirley." Being dissuaded from her intention, the authoress made some use of the materials in a subsequent work—"Villette." As, however, these two stories are in most respects unlike, it has been represented to me that I ought not to withhold "The Professor" from the public. I have therefore consented to its publication.

A. B. NICHOLLS
Haworth Parsonage,
September 22nd, 1856.

I love Bronte's description of a hero. Not someone given everything, but someone who has toiled. It's appealing.

Can anyone explain why books in this period don't include location names? Like _ shire.

Right, so William Crimsworth decides against going against his personal beliefs & inheriting a great deal of money; instead he chooses to work his way through life. He approaches a much older brother for work. But his brother is miserly, slovenly, mean and intellectually inferior to William.
What I have enjoyed the most so far is William's strong principles and impressive behavior. He handles his brother's emotional distance and outbursts with patience and self- possession.
His strength of character and force of will reminds me of Jane Eyre.

William maintaining his own moral code and principles during the exchange with his brother was admirable, especially when the whip came out! I loved the line at the close of the chapter "I had not forced circumstances; circumstances had freed me".

The question I have always had about this book was: "Was Crimsworth credible as a "male" narrator? was he convincing? did Charlotte Brontë succeed in capturing the male psyche?"

I read it with a group of female friends and we never had a male's point of view :)

Interesting thought. I wonder if how it was published would have influenced perceptions. If it was published under the male nom de plume of Currer Bell, was the voice thought of as more male? And if published as Charlotte, were people less convinced. Maybe I'm just grasping at straws though.
Hopefully, there will be a male opinion in this group.

Great Lisa, you took my queries to a deeper level. Indeed you're right! I mean the "nom de plume" must have a great influence as it changes people's perceptions. I hope too that we'd have a male opinion in this group :)

Does it seem odd to anyone that Edward's hatred of William because of his education is so deep seeded? Surely there must be more to it. What strikes me as well is the fact that William seems to have no friends only Charles who he is writing to at the beginning of the story. Having been to Eton, one would think that William would have had more friends. The men's characters are all so stiff and formal. There is no comraderie and I hope Bronte makes these characters more than the one sided way they seem to be now. I am also curious as to why Hunsden comes to William's aid.

I wondered around the hatred being due to jealousy but couldn't figure out why, and at the isolation of William himself. Hopefully, we will learn more later.

I agree with Lisa that William's strong morals are parallel to those of Jane Eyre. Chahrazad also brings up a good point about the credibility of the male narrator- I was taken aback by his discomfort with any conversation including the "mentioning love". I find it unlikely that a man in this period would be so unsettled by the discussion of romance that others feel compelled to avoid completely the subject, unless he possessed very conservative religious ideals, which I don't think even characterized Charlotte, or Jane, to that degree. So how credible is a male character who considers certain topics "abhorred" and unwelcomed in conversation? There's room for disagreement.

Denise wrote: "I agree with Lisa that William's strong morals are parallel to those of Jane Eyre. Chahrazad also brings up a good point about the credibility of the male narrator- I was taken aback by his discomf..."

Denise I can think of two possible solutions:
1) Bronte was unclear how a man would express such a sentiment OR
2) William is not accustomed to dealing with the fairer sex. He was at an all boys school, had no sisters (or female relatives that he liked!) and no close female acquaintances. Maybe he is incredibly shy and unsure about romance.
Hopefully, this will make sense in time.

I still eye the "male-narrator-function" with distrust. I am leaning toward the first option Lisa mentioned. Somehow it looks more of a defect.

I like William's strong character though. He shows moral footing and self-esteem.

Charlotte Brontë again brings up the question of beauty.
She is determined that her heroes are not beautiful or handsome. Yet, beauty is relative. I was wondering what is exactly beautiful so that she goes against? just wanted to share :)

Lisa, I've always wondered about the dashes myself! I just did some googling and found a few theories:

1) It was done to protect the author against libel suits.

2) It started with novels like Defoe's, which were considered "racy" but purported to be based on true accounts -- so it would be kind of like changing the victim's name in a modern news story to "protect the innocent."

3) My favorite explanation: "If a real place, why not name it? If a fictional one, why not give it a fake name? The best answer I have for this little convention is that it signals the line between fact and fiction. To give the name of a real place pulls the narrative toward fact, imposing restraints that the author might not want... Conversely, creating fictional places pushes the story away from reality." (
http://thereadingape.blogspot.com/201... )

I'm really loving this story so far -- its first-person perspective, its focus on the reality of the need to earn a living. I think that modern readers may be able to relate to this better than to the many Victorian novels in which nobody seems to DO much of anything.

Also, Edward Crimsworth and his counting-house reminded me of Ebenezer Scrooge. I wonder if one character influenced the other, or if both are just based on a type.

Erin wrote: "I'm really loving this story so far -- its first-person perspective, its focus on the reality of the need to earn a living. I think that modern readers may be able to relate to this better than to ..."

I also thought of some Dickens novels!

Marialyce wrote: "Does it seem odd to anyone that Edward's hatred of William because of his education is so deep seeded? Surely there must be more to it. What strikes me as well is the fact that William seems to hav..."

Why, I thought not: there are some brothers like this - mine for one!!! I don't find hatred on futile ground so incredible after real life ...

Chahrazad wrote: "The question I have always had about this book was: "Was Crimsworth credible as a "male" narrator? was he convincing? did Charlotte Brontë succeed in capturing the male psyche?"

I read it with a ..."

I always wonder about novels written in first person where the telling character has a different sex respect the one of the author. I don't feel ... "comfortable". I've recently read The House on the Strand and had the same sansation of uneasiness. There it also took me some pages before understanding that the narrating voice was a male instead of a female!!!!

After finishing off another book and other distractions, I have finally managed to read the first section!

I am enjoying the novel so far. I like the comparison between William and Jane Eyre, in their calm and persevering natures. Of course, Jane had to learn this, and to tame her wild nature. In William's case, we haven't really seen what he was like as a child; perhaps it comes more naturally to him. I also find a sense of self-congratulation his part - kind of "I'll show him that he can't ruffle me and that I'm better than he thinks."

Edward is quite an extreme character. What I found puzzling is that he had been writing to William several times a year, even though he had been criticizing him for accepting the patronage of their wealthy uncles. To me, this seemed to indicate that he felt some connection to his brother, and yet when William came to him, he wanted nothing to do with acknowledging their relationship. I wonder why he did write to him - why go to the effort of maintaining a connection that he had no interest in?

Hunsdon was a puzzle to me, too. He seemed to take an interest in William, and had somehow found out things about him, went out of his way to speak to him, and yet ended up insulting and disparaging him. I couldn't quite make out his attitude towards William. Of course I approved of his apparent hatred of Edward, and the way he treated his brother! And, in the end, after having cost William his job, he did give him some useful advice and helped him with a letter of introduction. I wonder if we will see him again. I was a bit irritated that William refused to thank him.

William seems to me to respond out of pride, but where his brother is highly emotional, William is more evenly tempered and calculating. He is able to maintain his cool under pressure.

When his uncles offer him a living, he refuses because they insult his roots, not because he feels strongly about earning his way through life.

When I had declined my uncles...[t]hey reminded me that I had no fortune, and no expectation of any, and after considerable pause, Lord Tynedale demanded sternly, 'Whether I had thoughts of following my father's steps and engaging in trade?' Now I had no thought of the sort...but such was the scorn expressed in Lord Tynedale's countenance as he pronounced the word trade...that I was instantly decided.