Shirley-the Significance of its Existence

Charlotte Bronte\u27s Shirley has not enjoyed a high reputation since its publication because of the incoherence of its plot and the impossibility of identifying the hero(ine), When we read through her works from her juvenilia (written c. 1826-1839) to the last it becomes clear that these defects must be a natural consequence for Charlotte Bronte, a 19th century author who gave serious consideration to women\u27s independence and tried to get away from the bondage of patriarchy, The world of Charlotte Bronte\u27s juvenilia is a typically patriarchal one where men dominate and women obey, Plots are generated by having her heroines trifled with by men, The world of The Professor (written c. 1844-1846) is also patriarchal in that it models itself on Exodus of the Old Testament. Its heroine does not seek independence but relies on the hero: she finds satisfaction in marrying him. The fact that The Professor like her most juvenilia is written in the first person and narrated by a man suggests that Bronte, though she is a female, looks at or wishes to look at the world from a man\u27s point of view. At this stage, she is confined within the realm of patriarchy. The situation seems to have changed in Jane Eyre published in 1847. Its heroine struggles with adversity, which she overcomes, and finally is victorious by marrying Rochester. It should be noted that the story is written in the first person and told by a woman, not by a man. Precisely speaking, however, Jane Eyre is not a feminist work, for it makes use of the baptism motif and therefore seems to be closely related to the New Testament where Father governs. In short, it is a story of a heroine who marries a man, has his baby (a boy, not a girl) and lives under his protection. She never differs from ordinary women living in the patriarchal world. In 1849 Shirley was published and four years later in 1853 Villette was published. The latter can be said to be The Professor refashioned. But its heroine lives a life quite different from that of the heroine of The Professor. She never gets marrried: her fiance disappears in the deep. She achieves success as a manager of a school. This novel insists that a woman can live by herself. Then, what about Shirley which was written and published before Villette? One of the most attractive characters in the novel is Shirley. Manly as she is, Shirley changes into a submissive woman. In other words, the author\u27s attempt to let her escape from patriarchy is not fully accomplished. As for the narrative method, the story is written in the third person, which is quite exceptional in Bronte\u27s works. In addition to this, readers are told little about the identity of the narrator(s); what sex is the story-teller?; is there a single narrator or are there more than one? These ambiguities seem to tell us that while she was writing Shirley the author could not determine yet her attitude toward patriarchy and feminism. Shirley, sandwiched between the different types of Jane Eyre (patriarchal) and Villette (bidding farewell to patriarchy), shows Bronte vacillating between patriarchy and feminism. The incoherence and confusions in Shirley seem to reflect the uncertain inner mind of Charlotte Bronte who cannot manage escaping patriarchy just yet. In other words, Shirley is a capsule of the wavering Charlotte Bronte, and the significance of Shirley seems to lie in showing the fact to us