Meaning and Structure in C. Brontė

Literary criticism: analysis of the motifs in C. Brontė's four novels

Meaning and Structures in Charlotte Bronte is written in narrative style, making it highly readable. The work points out Bronte's use of symbolism to achieve structure; and from this, meaning in her novels becomes clear.
Common threads flow through her novels; and one can see how the novels evolved from her first and unsuccessful attempt to her two masterpieces, Jane Eyre and Villette.

The work on Charlotte Brontė was written over two decades. At times, the study would progress for many months and then be set aside several years. Much material is covered in the essays. The work, for example, explains the meaning of Jane Eyre's three painting and shows this recurrent theme in the novel and its variation in her other novels. So too is light shed on the question of Lucy Snowe who is often called confused and confusing.

But one viewpoint does not answer all problems. Some matters are not taken up, here, such as why Brontė devised characters with a curious antipodal public and private nature, and the use of language, which is sometimes problematic.

Sections of the work might be described as a retelling of the story. There is more to it than that; but this was the most efficient means to keep track of the ever-shifting ground in novels of complex characters and structures.

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