Bronte sisters brother
Hem / Kultur, Media & Underhållning / Bronte sisters brother
His descent into addiction, particularly to alcohol and opium, is well-documented in letters and accounts from those who knew him. In a letter to his friend Joseph Leyland, Branwell writes, *"I have been very ill... His influence can be seen in characters like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre. Charlotte wrote to her publisher that the subject of the book was a "mistake" and "too little consonant with the character, tastes and ideas of the gentle, retiring inexperienced writer." This decision is considered the main reason Anne is less known than her sisters today.
Anne's health began to decline quickly, like her brother and sister's.
The idea was that the books were small enough for the toy soldiers to read.
Their stories became more complex as they grew up, influenced by the magazines and newspapers their father subscribed to.
Influences on Their Writing
Their fictional worlds were born from their vivid imaginations, fueled by reading and discussions.
Newspapers and Magazines
The magazines and newspapers Patrick Brontë read were a treasure trove of information for his children.
She was a poet and novelist. Crucially, he didn’t have the mental resources to counter rejection.
Daphne du Maurier, in her definitive biography, The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë, writes: ‘The seeds of Branwell’s destruction lay not just in his doomed love affair, but also his inability to distinguish truth from fiction and reality from fantasy.
But those mansions were only ever hopeful fantasies, and Branwell was to die unrecognised and unfulfilled, forever assigned the role of the dark and self-destructive brother, doomed to be eclipsed by the stellar achievements of his sisters.’
The symbolic heart of the fraught and ultimately toxic relationship between Branwell and Charlotte, Emily and Anne is Branwell’s painting of his three porcelain-skinned sisters.
While alcohol may have provided temporary solace or inspiration, its long-term effects on his health, relationships, and productivity were devastating.
Analyzing Branwell’s artwork and writings reveals a duality in alcohol’s influence. Their stories were very exciting and original. Patrick Brontë himself wrote in one of his works that women were not meant to study difficult subjects like Greek or math, but rather their strength was in "softness, tenderness and grace." However, this seemed to contradict his actions, as he encouraged his daughters' intellectual pursuits, even if he wasn't fully aware of all they did with their time.
The Brontë Sisters' Place in Literature
Because they lived quite isolated lives, the Brontë sisters formed a unique literary group.
She also gave them books and subscribed to magazines, which gave them plenty to discuss. His correspondence, particularly in the mid-1840s, is riddled with references to financial desperation, erratic behavior, and a preoccupation with alcohol.
They called these toy soldiers "the Young Men" and gave them names.
In 1827, their ideas turned into written stories about an imaginary African kingdom called Glass Town, which later became the Empire of Angria. He died in Haworth at age 31.
A closer examination of Branwell’s alcoholism reveals its societal and personal implications.
‘I know only,’ Branwell wrote in 1847, the year before he died, ‘that it is time for me to be something when I am nothing.’ There was, recorded Charlotte, an ‘emptiness’ to his ‘whole existence’.
By 1847 Branwell was living on borrowed time. While his cause of death was recorded as ‘chronic bronchitis-marasmus’, most now believe that he died from acute tuberculosis aggravated by alcoholism, drug use (specifically opium and laudanum) and alcohol withdrawal, aka delirium tremens.
In contrast, Branwell's days were often consumed by erratic behavior, fueled by excessive drinking. Emily Brontë reportedly referred to her brother as *"a burden,"* while Charlotte’s letters to friends describe his *"unreliable nature"* and *"frequent absences."*
To understand the severity of Branwell's condition, consider the historical context.
Wuthering Heights, however, is different. Charlotte then looked for a publisher. Medical records from the time suggest that his daily intake of alcohol likely exceeded 200 grams of ethanol, a dosage that modern health guidelines classify as dangerously high. It's like a Greek tragedy with powerful emotions, similar to the works of John Milton and William Shakespeare.
They were born in a village called Thornton and later lived in Haworth, Yorkshire. It was while she was with him in Manchester in 1846 that Charlotte began writing Jane Eyre.