The Brontës and Religion

by Marianne Thormählen

Overview

This is the first full-length study of religion in the fiction of the Brontës. Drawing on extensive knowledge of the Anglican church in the nineteenth century, Marianne Thormählen shows how the Brontës' familiarity with the contemporary debates on doctrinal, ethical and ecclesiastical issues informs their novels. Divided into four parts, the book examines denominations, doctrines, ethics and clerics in the Brontës' work. Lucid and vigorously written, it will open up new perspectives for Brontë specialists and enthusiasts alike on a fundamental aspect of the novels greatly neglected in recent decades.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521604574
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/20/2004
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)
Lexile:	1480L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Denominations: 1. A Christian home in early nineteenth-century England: Evangelicalism, Dissent and the Brontë family; 2. Charlotte Brontë and the church of Rome; 3. An undenominational temper; Part II. Doctrines: 4. The Brontës in the theological landscape of their time; 5. God and his creation; 6. Faith and redemption; 7. This life and next; Part III. Ethics: 8. Forgiveness and revenge; 9. The enigma of St John Rivers; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Thormählen has written the first full-length study of the part that religion plays in the Brontë novels. A professor of English literature, the author displays an extraordinary knowledge of the 19th-century Anglican Church and its doctrinal, ethical and ecclesiastical issues and debates...Thoroughly annotated with a select bibliography,...it is absolutely required reading for those engaged in Brontë studies." G.B. Cross, Choice

"In addition to fine scholarship, the book is distinguished for an introduction that situates the topic of religion within the broader arena of today's critical attitudes...my reaction is gratitude. Gratitude for the time, energy, and care that have gone into this book. And also for the provision of such a convincing, gracious beginning to what will most likely be an increasingly informed understanding of the work of the Brontës. It is a book to Brontë scholarship, and to all who wish to restore religious and spiritual issues to the recognition that they deserve. I wish I had written it!" Micael M. Clarke, Religion & Literature

"The Brintes and Religion is especially useful as a guide to the theological and ecclesiastical world in which the novels were written and which they reflect, critique, and explore." Modern Philology

From the Publisher

A well-informed study based on scrupulous readings and meticulous judgement...For [Thormahelen's] insights, as for the detailed discussion of denominations, doctrines, and ethics, we can be grateful.
—Times Literary Supplement

Esther H. Schor