John Pfordresher, "The Secret History Of Jane Eyre"

When Jane Eyre was published in 1847, it was subtitled An Autobiography and presented as a work edited by Currer Bell. It’s long been accepted that Charlotte Brontë used a male pseudonym in order to avoid misogynist bias against her novel. As Pfordresher, a professor of English at Georgetown University, shows, her identity was only one of many things Brontë wanted to hide. In this close reading of both Jane’s and her creator’s experiences, Pfordresher finds striking parallels that illuminate Brontë’s inspirations and motivations; he shows us new ways to understand the novel and adds to what we know of Charlotte’s relationships with her father and brother, her experiences as a governess, and her passion for a married man.

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Produced by Tom Warren