Literary Women
I found this book to be fascinating. I have never read a biography of any of the Brontes, and only remember reading Jane Eyre in High School and this book is not really a biography. It is a literary criticism, if you will, of biographies, both 'real' and fictional, of mainly Charlotte and to a lesser extent Emily Bronte. But while it discusses the weaknesses and strengths of the various biographies it elicits a broader perspective. By discussing the various works, the author, knowingly or not, raises questions one should ask about any biographer. What was the relationship with the subject and the subjects family? Are there particular axes to grind because of perceived family slights? Does the biographer allow personal beliefs bias the interpretation of 'facts?' How much does the biographer rely on earlier works? What is the cultural context of the times during which the biographer is writing and what is its effect on interpretation of the material at hand?
The author shows that biography and literary criticism are products of the times in which they are written. During the mid-1800s women were supposed to behave and think in certain ways. Thus the use of male pseudonyms to get published and then strained justifications of works (and/or questioning of authorship) when the author of a work considered masculine was found to be female. It is a book that encourages one to think about biographies (and other non-fiction) works from a different viewpoint.
