Aunt Elizabeth Branwell is all too easily overlooked in the Brontë story, and yet she was pivotal to the incredible story of these incredible sisters. On a very human scale she stepped into the breach after her sister Maria’ untimely death and became almost a second mother to the young children in Haworth Parsonage; it was also Elizabeth’s legacy to Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë which gave them the financial freedom to pay for their first book to be published. In today’s post we will look at another vital role she played.
By 1841 the sisters had formed plans to open their own school, and former teacher and employer Margaret Wooler had offered Charlotte the opportunity to take over the Wooler school. Charlotte, however, had been struck by the romance of travel after hearing from friend Mary Taylor, then at school in Brussels. The plan was amended – Charlotte and Emily would now head overseas to learn new language skills, and then return to Haworth to set up their own school. One large problem, however, presented itself – how would they finance such an adventure? A letter sent from Charlotte Brontë to her aunt on this day in 1841 reveals the answer:
It is a diplomatic and carefully worded letter by Charlotte, calculated to appeal to Aunt Branwell’s generous nature. The appeal did not go in vain, and she did indeed pay for Charlotte and Emily to travel to Brussels and attend school there. Could any of them have known, when they embarked for Belgium in the following year, that it would be the last time the two sisters would see their benefactor?
Tragically Aunt Branwell died in October 1842 whilst Charlotte and Emily were in Brussels thanks to the money she had given them. She would never see the fruits of her generosity, but Charlotte’s time in Brussels surely led to The Professor, to Villette, even to Jane Eyre. Without Aunt Branwell I doubt there would be any Brontë books in existence today, and that’s certainly a lasting legacy to leave.
Talking of Branwell, in this week we also remember Branwell Brontë, who died on 24th September 1842. I hope you can join me again next Sunday for another new Brontë blog post.
And to continue the story – M Heger appears to have been instrumental in shaping Emily’s and, especially, Charlotte’s writing skills ….
Very much so!
Thank you for this most thoughtful and moving post. Poets, artists, and supremely gifted authors: Aunt Branwell was indeed a second mother to the four children and her gifts helped immortalize their own.
What a pity that Aunt Branwell left so little information about herself – she is a shadowy figure, and it would be wonderful if she had left us a diary or letters.
Very true – although I did try to clear the shadows somewhat in my book ‘Aunt Branwell And The Bronte Legacy.’