The Writing Of Female Illness In Charlotte Bront(?)s Shirley

Charlotte Bronte (1816-1855) was one of the greatest female writers in nineteenth-century English literature. Shirley is Bronte's second published novel which has received mixed views since its publication. As time goes, Shirley gains more and more critical attention because of its profound thoughts and artistic charm. Compared with Jane Eyre, Shirley lays more emphases on the wide social issues rather than on the narrow individual compassion. In so doing. Shirley is more realistic and less romantic than Jane Eyre. However, the realism in Shirley not only comes from its writing of social issues, but even more from its revelation of the wretched life for Victorian women represented by Caroline Helstone, Mrs. Pryor, and Shirley. Though the heroines in Shirley are tortured by some unspecified illnesses, there are few essays or books have analyzed them in detail. Even fewer answered the questions as to why Bronte strenuously portrayed morbid women and what are the reasons for such kind of writing. Some scholars have analyzed the female illnesses in Shirley from cultural and pathological perspectives, however, the conclusion is not comprehensive."Anxiety", as is frequently mentioned in psychoanalysis, is some kind of emotional state. Anxiety is closely related to mental illnesses. Considering that the heroines' illnesses are unspecified to some degree, it is feasible and reasonable to analyze them by applying anxiety theory to this thesis. The writing of female illness in Shirley could be understood well with the help of Earnest Hemingway's "iceberg theory." Female illness in Shirley is only the surface of Bronte's writing, while anxiety is the mystery which is hidden beneath the water. Since all of Bronte's works are concerned with female illness to varying degrees, so it is impossible for this thesis to analyze all of them. Considering the typical and representative nature of the female illness in Shirley, the writing of female illness in Shirley will be interpreted in this thesis, seeking to highlight the overlooked aspects in Shirley, adding another dimension to the reading, and making readers more aware of Bronte's writing techniques, concerns and objectives.