And if I can gain the public ear at all, I would rather whisper a few wholesome truths therein than much soft nonsense.
~ Preface to the second edition of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Friday, February 10, 2006
Question: How much did Charlotte Bronte like Helen Burns?
"So I believe CB does admire Helen. But - because CB “kills her off” before adulthood - does this suggest that she sees Helen as too perfect for this imperfect world?" Yes! Perhaps so..but then, Helen's values are so engraved in Jane's mind that they never die (neither with Jane or the readers), so Helen does become immortal in a way.
"Is Helen more an idealistic angel who cannot possibly cross into the harsh realities of adulthood? I think CB is suggesting this. Although Helen's values seep into Jane, her physical body perishes. So I guess it depends on what we think is more important: the physical or the abstract. CB does seem to say that a life like Helen is not suited for Jane, as the latter desires for more than mere acceptance. Also looked in another light, I think CB says that innocence is preserved best in children (or the young) as opposed to adults. So killing Helen off at a young age is preserving her innocence.
Helen's dying resembles CB's own sister Maria's death. CB did love and value Maria and for this reason, she must indeed have supported Helen. So making Helen die is not only a way of preserving Helen, but also a way of having Jane find her own character (like CB's) shaped by those influencial around her.
"Is she more symbol than flesh-and-blood?" Does CB believe that such Helens cannot truly survive in this world?" Yes, I think Helen is in fact the former. She is a symbol of what CB both wants Jane to be and not to be. She wants Jane to retain some of Helen's principles but also be able to choose wisely while giving into (spiritual?) passions of the flesh.
1 comment:
"So I believe CB does admire Helen. But - because CB “kills her off” before adulthood - does this suggest that she sees Helen as too perfect for this imperfect world?"
Yes! Perhaps so..but then, Helen's values are so engraved in Jane's mind that they never die (neither with Jane or the readers), so Helen does become immortal in a way.
"Is Helen more an idealistic angel who cannot possibly cross into the harsh realities of adulthood?
I think CB is suggesting this. Although Helen's values seep into Jane, her physical body perishes. So I guess it depends on what we think is more important: the physical or the abstract.
CB does seem to say that a life like Helen is not suited for Jane, as the latter desires for more than mere acceptance.
Also looked in another light, I think CB says that innocence is preserved best in children (or the young) as opposed to adults. So killing Helen off at a young age is preserving her innocence.
Helen's dying resembles CB's own sister Maria's death. CB did love and value Maria and for this reason, she must indeed have supported Helen.
So making Helen die is not only a way of preserving Helen, but also a way of having Jane find her own character (like CB's) shaped by those influencial around her.
"Is she more symbol than flesh-and-blood?" Does CB believe that such Helens cannot truly survive in this world?"
Yes, I think Helen is in fact the former. She is a symbol of what CB both wants Jane to be and not to be. She wants Jane to retain some of Helen's principles but also be able to choose wisely while giving into (spiritual?) passions of the flesh.
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