Shirley_(novel)

Shirley is an 1849 social novel by the English novelist Charlotte Brontë. It was Brontë\'s second published novel after Jane Eyre (originally published under Brontë\'s pseudonym Currer Bell). The novel is set in Yorkshire in the period 1811–1812, during the industrial depression resulting from the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. The novel is set against a backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in the Yorkshire textile industry.

The novel\'s popularity led to Shirley becoming a woman\'s name. In the novel, Shirley Keeldar, the title character was given the name that her father had intended to give a son. Before the publication of the novel, Shirley was an uncommon - but distinctly male - name and would have been an unusual name for a woman^{[citation needed]}. Today it is regarded as a distinctly female name and an uncommon male name.

Background

During the course of writing Shirley, three of Brontë\'s siblings died. Her brother Branwell died in September 1848, and shortly after that, her sister Emily fell ill and died in December. Brontë resumed writing, but then her only remaining sibling, her sister Anne, became ill and died in May 1849.Ed. Denise Evans and Mary L. Onorato. (2004). "Brontë, Shirley Charlotte: Introduction." Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism. (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.

It is believed that the character of Caroline Helstone was loosely based on Anne and it has been speculated that Brontë originally planned to kill off Caroline but changed her mind because of her family tragedies. Caroline Helstone\'s mother\'s maiden name is Agnes Grey, which is the name of the main character in Anne\'s first novel.Shirley, Chapter XXI: Mrs. Pryor mentions her name was "Miss Grey". In Chapter XXIV her first name is revealed.

Locations

The novel is set in a fictional part of Yorkshire. The main town of this fictional district is called Stillborough, and the area in which the novel takes place comprises the parishes of Briarfield and Nunneley.

The Keeldar family home in Shirley is called Fieldhead; Charlotte Brontë based Fieldhead on an Elizabethan Manor House called Oakwell Hall.

Plot

Shirley begins as Belgian-born mill operator Robert Moore awaits a shipment of machinery – which arrives in pieces, smashed by angry Luddite workers protesting against the loss of jobs to mechanisation.

Although he is determined to become successful in order to restore his family\'s honor and fortune, Robert\'s business difficulties continue, due to the Napoleonic Wars and the accompanying Orders in Council, which ban British merchants from trading in American markets. At the start of the novel, Robert is unmoved by the plight of his unemployed workers and is completely focussed on profit and money. Robert is attracted to his distant cousin Caroline Helstone, who returns his feelings. The daughter of an absent mother and an abusive father, Caroline has grown up with her uncle, a just but reserved clergyman. Despite their mutual attraction Robert rejects the idea of marrying Caroline in favour of proposing to the rich heiress and landowner Shirley Keeldar, who has newly arrived in the district.

After Robert\'s rejection, Caroline retreats to her loveless home and begins to waste away until Shirley restores her to health by reuniting Caroline with her long-lost mother, Mrs. Pryor. Shirley, meanwhile, is in love with Robert\'s brother Louis, a poor tutor, but her pride prevents her from expressing her feelings. Louis, in turn, is similarly restrained from declaring his love for her by pride and fear of being rejected by a woman whose means are considerably greater than his own.

Events on the industrial front escalate when Robert is shot by a member of the opposing faction. During his recovery, he learns what it is like to be at the mercy of another, to be treated as an object, to be totally dependent—the very status of his workers in relation to Robert himself. This role reversal, along with the end of the war and the revocation of the Orders in Council, both of which alleviate Robert\'s financial difficulties, bring about enormous changes in him. In the end, Robert is reunited with Caroline and is eager to provide work for all the poor and hungry who want it. The communication problems between Shirley and Louis are finally overcome, and the headstrong Shirley submits to Louis as her "master". The novel ends with a double wedding.

Style

Unlike Jane Eyre, which is written in the first person and narrated by the title character, Shirley is narrated by an omniscient but unnamed third-person narrator. For her third novel Villette, Brontë returned to first-person narration.

Themes

The major themes in Shirley are the explicit historical theme of industrial unrest in early nineteenth century Britain; and the implicit theme of the role of women in society.

Adaptations

The novel has only been filmed once to date, in 1922. The silent adaptation was done by A. V. Bramble, and Carlotta Breese starred as the title-character Shirley.

Critical reception

Coming soon after Jane Eyre, which was extremely successful, Shirley originally received a muted reception from critics.

Characters

The four central characters are studies in contrast: the brothers Robert and Louis Gèrard Moore, and their two loves Caroline Helstone and Shirley Keeldar.

• Robert Gèrard Moore - An industrialist whose textile mill is idle because of the war. Perceived as an outsider because he comes from Antwerp, even though he is a cousin of Caroline. During the novel, Robert Moore becomes the target of Luddite attacks because of his decision to install new machines in his mill.
• Louis Gèrard Moore - Robert\'s brother, working as a tutor for Shirley\'s uncle.
• Caroline Helstone - A timid and uncertain, but also wise and capable young woman, the niece of Reverend Helstone and best friend of Shirley.
• Shirley Keeldar - An orphaned heiress to a fortune. A headstrong, independent and determined young woman.

Other characters in the novel include:

• Rev Matthewston Helstone - Caroline\'s uncle. A fierce man, who is not cruel, but still shows little affection for his niece. Marriage makes him distrustful of women in general.
• Hortense Gèrard Moore - Robert and Louis\'s sister.
• Hiram Yorke - A local landowner.
• Joe Scott - Robert Moore\'s foreman at the mill.
• Mrs Pryor - Shirley\'s timid but wise governess, who moves to Fieldhead together with Shirley. She eventually turns out to be Caroline\'s long-lost mother.
• The three Curates of the three parishes - The brutish Irishman Peter Malone, the Cockney John Donne and the amiable Davy Sweeting.

References

External links

• Text of Shirley
• Summary of the plot and themes of Shirley (eNotes)

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