Shirley (Penguin Classics) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

I loved this book, though admittedly it reads a bit like a rough draft with several stories which are not very well integrated. In the introduction, Bronte claims Shirley is anything but a romance, and indeed the first few chapters are so dry (focusing on the very minor and not very interesting characters of the vicars and other religious personnel) that one needs patience to continue reading.

Indeed this is understandable given that Charlotte's beloved sisters Anne and Emily and her beloved but wayward brother Branwell all died the year she wrote the first half of the novel, and she was shutting down emotionally and withdrawing from the world. Later when she wrote the last half, she was past the deepest stage of grief.

Bronte also doesn't introduce her heroine Shirley until 1/3 of the way through the novel, establishes considerable interest in the character of Robert Moore, and then has him disappear most of the second half of the novel, and introduces another major character, Robert's brother in the last portion of the book.

Finally, one sometimes has to strain to believe that individuals at this time really spoke as these characters spoke - especially the men when they on rare occasion pour out their hearts to other men in lengthy poetic prose. But often the prose of Bronte's dialogue is quite delicious and makes one wish that writers today had such a flair for such eloquent, emotionally expressive language.

The strong point of the novel: Charlotte Bronte excels in letting us into the mind and hearts of her two heroines, Caroline and Shirley, as well as in painting portraits of several of other characters, especially Robert Moore. Her rich attunement to the subtleties of the inner life of feeling (especially falling in love and the roller coast ride of affectionate rapport alternating with anguish-inducing withdrawal) and the innuendos of relationships between women and women, and men and women, is notable. Her portrayals of her primary characters are so compelling that her readers begin to deeply care about them and their happiness. The relationship between Robert and Caroline is particularly engaging, and likely to lead the reader to yearn, along with Caroline, for Robert to stand firm in his affections and not retreat into his very real and troublesome business and financial concerns.

The political subplot is also enlightening - a basically good man, Robert Moore, being drawn almost to bankruptcy while needing to industrialize his mill in order to remain in business, and as a result laying off workers and inciting a luddite rebellion against him. (Readers who are intrigued by this theme, might also enjoy Gaskell's North and South - and especially the BBC North and South film available on dvd). Bronte doesn't integrate the political plot very well with the novel, but socio-economic factors considerably influence Robert's motives and relationships more and more as the story progresses. They also lend historical interest to the novel, and a bit of substance beyond the local color of minor individuals, the relationships between the main characters, and the very heartfelt inner life of Caroline.

Although most other readers find the book slow reading, I in contrast could barely put it down.......but did skip over the "boring" parts resulting from too many minor characters (especially of a religious nature) being given too much space in the novel. But the stories of Caroline, Robert and Shirley are so engaging that the reader may indeed find the novel truly delightful, and the conclusion likewise highly satisfying.

To a reader who had no knowledge of Charlotte Brontë, other than as the author of Jane Eyre, the beginning of this book would present a challenge. Such a reader would be surprised at the depth of the story and its seeming disregard of all romantic notions. Instead of introducing us to some pretty, sweet heroine, we are faced with the dangers of mob violence and the harshness of the main hero, the miller, Robert Moore. Politics also makes an entrance in the first few chapters, and the reader will find that the political and religious differences between the characters play an important role in the story.

This is not to say that Shirley is not a romantic story. There are passages of such longing and despair, and even of the hope of love, that actually made me weep. The romance in this story is not petty or superficial. For those who feel that the object of their love is out of reach or is uncaring, there is utter heartbreak and the danger of wasting away. None of this feels contrived, however. Both the women and the men suffer almost equally, which feels more true to life.

Another focus of this book is the oppression of women. There are many characters, both male and female, that object to the idea of women taking an active role in the public world. Women were confined to the home, and they were thought not to possess the mental capacity for business or politics. The two heroines, Caroline Helstone, the niece of a misogynistic rector, and Shirley Keeldar, the independent owner of substantial property, both, in their own separate ways, rebel against the restrictions that society has put on them. Caroline, rather than waste away in her uncle's rectory, quietly strives for some purpose in life, and determines to become a governess. Shirley, due to her more elevated place in society, forces the men around her, including Caroline's uncle and her tenant, Robert Moore, to take her seriously as a participant in the defense of her property, which includes the besieged mill run by Moore. She also rejects several suitable offers of marriage, declaring her intent to marry only for love.

This book definitely does not focus on any one character. Shirley herself isn't introduced until about halfway into the book, and Caroline, Robert, and other principal characters go missing for chapters at a time. The result is a deeply felt story about a certain place in a volatile time, with all of the uncertainty and danger that the characters faced. There is no lack of character development; indeed, one gets to understand all of them. I recommend this book to any fan of nineteenth century literature, or to any history buff who is interested in learning about the personal side of the economic crisis in England during the Napoleonic Wars.

This is an interesting novel but it is not a good purchase for the general reader. The Penguin version has a good introduction by Lucasta Miller with a number of interesting bits of information and notes on the novel and the Bronte sisters in general.

This novel was published in 1849 and it follows "Jane Eyre" in 1847. Readers will be very disappointed if they expect to find a similar book to "Jane Eyre" since the book is not a compelling read. The book is good, but it is very diffuse with too much talk and not enough action. It seems to wander for the first 200 pages or so and then it picks up a bit as it follows the lives of the two female characters Shirley Keeldar and Caroline Helstone - after they are introduced part way through the novel. Up to their introduction, the novel drifts as the author jumps from one character to the other: in the opening chapters it is centered on a few members of the clergy and a struggling mill owner. The novel could be called "Caroline" since she and Shirley are equally important to the story as it evolves later in the book.

Charlotte Bronte has attempted to create a historical novel that describes the life in northern England during the Napoleonic wars. Mostly she describes the lives of two women starting around page 200, but it evolves by the end into something similar to a Jane Austen novel. In addition to these two female characters, we have various clergy and merchants brought into the story to permit the author to inject political and social commentary. Bronte is a conservative feminist and we see those ideas in some of her characters and the story.

In the beginning on page 1, Bronte warns the reader that this is not a light and entertaining novel. She says: "Do not anticipate sentiment, poetry, and reverie." That is not quite accurate since the book does contain poetry and by the last chapter - 600 pages later - it seems to evolve into a conventional but slow paced novel; she dwell on the marriage of the two female characters in the last chapter.

Following on the success of "Jane Eyre," the author did not have any trouble getting her manuscript published. In retrospect it could have used a good edit. Shirley does not appear until page 189, and one wonders if she was selected after the fact. It starts off as a commentary on the social and political times, but is carried for the last 400 pages by the lives of the two female protagonists. Some critics think that Bronte was distracted by the death of her two sisters, Emily and Anne, during the writing and that is a partial explanation for the form of the novel and its lack of focus.

So, in summary, this is an interesting novel but not a great read. It is a book more for Bronte fans rather than someone looking for a good novel for entertainment.