CHAPTER X
1 (p. 158) “Mr. and Mrs.—”: Brontë was governess to the White family, Upperwood House, from March to December 1841. She was responsible for two children, aged six and eight. Of her charges Brontë observed: “The children are not such little devils incarnate as the Sidgwicks, but they are over-indulged, and at times hard to manage” (Charlotte Brontë to Ellen Nussey, March 21, 1841; in The Letters of Charlotte Brontë, vol. 1, p. 248).
CHAPTER XI
1 (p. 170) pensionnat of Madame Héger: Claire Zöe Heger (1804-1890), later fictionalized as Mme. Beck in Villette (1853), was the director of the school Brontë and her sister Emily attended in Brussels. Her husband, Constantin Heger (1809-1896), the model for Paul Emanuel in Villette, was a rhetoric professor at the Athénée Royale, an upper school for boys. In addition to teaching at his wife’s boarding school, he also conducted evening classes for factory workers.
2 (p. 171) and straight returned to his wild Yorkshire village: Actually, Patrick Brontë visited the battlefield at Waterloo and toured Brussels before returning home.
3 (p. 174) whose acquaintance I am glad to have made: Gaskell traveled to Brussels in May 1856 ”to have a look at“ the Hegers as part of her research for the biography (The Letters of Mrs. Gaskell, letter 271a). During this visit M. Heger shared letters Brontë sent him after her departure from Brussels; they revealed an obsessive attachment to her former teacher that was fueled by the intellectual and imaginative connection they had forged.
4 (pp. 174—175) “”Je ne connais pas personellement M. Héger... appreciée par ses élèves:” Gaskell includes this letter, written by an unidentified correspondent who did not know M. Heger personally, as testimony to his upright character. Gaskell was perhaps anxious to protect M. Heger’s reputation in the event that Brontë’s attachment to him was surmised by readers of the biography. The writer describes M. Heger as a “noble” man of “principle and conscience” who is “profoundly and openly religious,” and who “makes everyone who comes into contact with him love him.” The writer, who has seen Mme. Heger only once, describes her as a ”cold“ woman who is nevertheless beloved by her pupils.
5 (p. 179) “Mirabeau Orateur”:The quotation is from Étude sur Mirabeau (1834), by Victor Hugo (1802-1885). The Comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791), a great orator, was a political moderate active in the early stages of the French Revolution.
6 (pp. 180-182) “De temps en temps... de Moise et de Josue”: Brontë’s essay celebrates the religious zeal of Peter the Hermit (c. 1050-1115), a lowly monk who led the First Crusade in 1096. “From time to time there appear on the earth men who are destined to be the instruments of great moral or political changes,” she begins. Among these great men she ranks “conquerors” like Alexander the Great and Attila, “revolutionaries” like Cromwell and Robespierre, and ”religious enthusiasts“ like Muhammad and Peter the Hermit. The essay generally extols men whose passionate natures propel them to great action and accepts the fact that they tend to have no moderation “either in good or evil.” Brontë especially admires Peter the Hermit, whom she describes as a poor, physically small, and relatively unattractive man who was able to sway nations through his eloquence, enthusiasm, and faith. Brontë assigns to Peter the Hermit the “double role of prophet and warrior,” and reveals her Western bias by remarking that “Mahomet never moved to action the indolent nations of the East as Peter moved the vigorous people of the West.”
7 (p. 183) M. Héger took up a more advanced plan... synthetical teaching: M. Heger’s pedagogical method focused on analyzing rhetorical strategies among authors treating the same subject, with a view to discerning political and other buried agendas. This training aided Brontë in the novelist’s task of developing character complexity and framing a point of view.
8 (p. 184) desire to do the will of the Lord: The authors and the works referred to are Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704), the funeral oration for Henrietta Maria (1609-1669), widow of Charles I, in 1669; François Guizot (1787-1874), Histoire de la revolution d’Angleterre (6 vols., 1826-1856); and Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), On Heroes, Hero-worship, and the Heroic in History (1841).
9 (pp. 191-193) “Au Révérend Monsieur Brontë... de mes sentiments de haute consideration”: M. Heger’s condolence letter to Patrick Brontë includes a favorable report of his daughters’ progress at school and expresses the wish that they will soon return to finish their studies in order that they might become qualified teachers. At such time, M. Heger explains, he and his wife could offer one or both girls a post that would provide ”that sweet independence so difficult for a young person to find. This is not, understand well, Sir, this is not now a matter of personal interest for us, it is a matter of affection; you will pardon me if we talk to you of your children, if we concern ourselves with their future, as if they were part of our family.”
CHAPTER XII
1 (p. 199) “Sur La Nom de Napoleon”: The title should read, Sur La Mort de Napoleon. Brontë’s condemnation of Napoleon culminates in a paean to her childhood hero, the Duke of Wellington.
2 (pp. 199-202) “Napoléon naquit en Corse... Wellington a de droit à sa reconnoissance”: Brontë’s essay, which deplores Napoléon’s demagoguery, negates his achievements and focuses instead on his death in exile on the island of St. Helena. “Others have told and retold his exploits, as for me,” Brontë explains, “I stop to contemplate the desolation of his final hour.” Brontë asks: “Between his cradle and his grave what was there?” Her answer: “A sea of blood, a throne, then more blood, and chains.” Brontë judges Napoleon on both a political and a personal level. She condemns him for “tearing up entire nations” to build his empire, but his greatest sin in her estimation was that he was not bound by human affection: “He did not love; he considered his friends and associates merely as instruments upon which he played, while they were useful, and which he threw aside when they ceased to be so.” Brontë’s national pride is evidenced when she contrasts Napoléon’s ambition and love of flattery with the political selflessness and “modesty” of his vanquisher, the Duke of Wellington.
3 (p. 204) There were causes for stress and anxiety... particularly as regarded Branwell : The Brontës did not discover Branwell’s disgrace in the Robinson affair (see Introduction) until July 1845, a year and a half after the period under discussion here. Gaskell intentionally confuses the chronology of events in order to manufacture external reasons for Brontë’s depression.
4 (p. 206) she was uncompromising truth: Gaskell manufactures a cover story for Brontë here. Mme. Heger’s coldness was the result of Brontë’s growing attachment to M. Heger not of religious differences. Gaskell became aware of the true reason for the estrangement during her visit to Brussels, when Mme. Heger on finding she was Brontë’s friend, refused to see her. Brontë’s unease about exposing the Heger affair through Villette is evidenced by her decision to reserve the right of translation of the novel. Nevertheless, a pirated French edition appeared in 1855.
CHAPTER XIII
1 (p. 215) But a weight hung over her: The remainder of this paragraph and the following one were omitted in the third edition due to a threatened libel suit from Mrs. Robinson, by then Lady Scott. Gaskell’s lawyers also printed a retraction in the Times (May 30, 1857). All unsold copies of the first and second editions were pulled from the shelves.