3-5 Secondary/Theoretical Works:
The Cambridge Companion to the Brontës (2002), Edited by Heather Glen
The Cambridge Companion to the Victorian Novel (2012), Edited by Deirdre David
The Brontë Myth (2001), Lucasta Miller
The Madwoman in the Attic (1979), Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar
Academic Journal:
Brontë Studies: The Journal of the Brontë Society
Key terms:
Victorian Culture/Society, Religion, Gender
The main questions I have decided to approach my reading list with have been: how can I deepen my understanding of the Brontë sisters? How can I gain a deeper cultural understanding of their lives and lifestyle? Considering my initial curiosity about ways that religion and gender is utilized in specifically Jane Eyre, are there patterns across novels that could indicate deeper meanings? The Brontës lived in the mid-nineteenth century. Are there ways that their novels questioned or supported cultural “norms” that we, as current readings, take for granted?
I briefly with Professor Sider Jost because I wanted to know if there were ways I could broaden my frame of reference for religion – although he didn’t have concrete answers for me, it was nice to let him know what I’m researching. I have plans to talk with Professor Seiler on this topic as well – I studied Jane Eyre with her last semester in her Novel and the Normal class, and she referred me to The Madwoman in the Attic, which I want to pursue with greater attention this semester. Although I am beginning my thought process on the Brontës with thoughts of religion, this is largely because I understand it to be the subject I am least familiar with. I hope that by asking these questions, and doing more research, I will be able to find framework to begin posing more in-depth questions about the nature of the Brontë works.