On this week in 1855 Haworth Parsonage was visited with joyous news after Dr William Macturk’s visit to a rather famous patient – Charlotte Brontë.
Charlotte was now styling herself Charlotte Brontë Nicholls after her marriage to Arthur Bell Nicholls in the summer of 1854. It was a very happy marriage, but at the start of 1855 Arthur was worried about an illness which seemed to have gripped his wife. She was frequently sick in the mornings, and although Arthur may well have assumed its cause he called in two physicians to put his mind at rest.
The first to examine Charlotte was Amos Ingham of Haworth. He was the village surgeon, which meant he was called upon to deal with medical maladies and necessities of all kinds. He was far from a specialist, however, and so on 30th January 1855 Dr Macturk of Bradford also arrived at the parsonage. Macturk was a celebrated physician, and was also renowned for founding both a church and a grammar school in the Manningham area of Bradford. We get the details of his visit in a letter Patrick Brontë sent to Charlotte’s fan and friend Sir James Kay-Shuttleworth on 3rd February 1855:
“Owing to my Dear Daughter’s indisposition, she has desired me to answer your kind letter, by return of post. For several days past, she has been confin’d to her bed, where she still lies, oppressed with nausea, sickness, irritation and a slow feverous feeling, and a complete want of appetite and digestion. Our Village Surgeon visits her daily, and we have had a visit from Dr Macturk of Bradford who both think her sickness is symptomatic – and after a few weeks they hope her health will again return.”
Some may speculate whether this could have been symptomatic of that great Brontë family curse tuberculosis, but we have further evidence that they meant it was symptomatic of pregnancy.
On 21st February, Charlotte wrote to best friend Ellen Nussey and asked: ‘Write and tell me about Mrs. Hewitt’s case, how long she was ill and in what way.’
Mary Hewitt was another close friend of Ellen, and, tellingly, Mary had suffered severe sickness during her pregancy in the previous year, before giving birth to a son in December 1854. It seems clear then that Charlotte’s friends knew that she was pregnant, as further shown by the baby bonnet knitted by Charlotte’s friend, and former teacher and employer, Margaret Wooler, one of the most moving exhibits of the Brontë Parsonage Museum.
The great writer Elizabeth Gaskell, friend and biographer of Charlotte Brontë, also clarified the situation, explaining:
‘She [Charlotte] yielded to Mr. Nicholls’ wish that a doctor should be sent for. He came, and assigned a natural cause for her miserable indisposition; a little patience, and all would go right… Martha [parsonage servant Martha Brown] tenderly waited on her mistress, and from time to time tried to cheer her with the thought of the baby that was coming.”
Let us leave this snapshot in this happy moment, not least because I personally am entering into a very special and happy month. More on that next week, when I hope you can join me for another new Brontë blog post.