Charlotte Brontë and the Politics of Cloth: The ‘vile rumbling mills’ of Yorkshire
Authors
Wynne, DeborahAffiliation
University of ChesterPublication Date
2017-12-18
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This essay examines Charlotte Brontë’s engagement with the textile industry from her earliest writings to her 1849 Condition of England novel Shirley in order to emphasise the role that Yorkshire and its staple industry played in her writing. Critics have discussed Brontë’s interest in textile production largely in relation to Shirley. However, her fascination with cloth manufacturing is evident in many of her Angrian tales and some of her unfinished novels. This essay argues that through her early representations of mills and mill owners Brontë formulated an understanding of political conflict and masculine power which helped to shape her mature writing. This culminates in Shirley with her critique of the taboo against educated women entering careers in trade and manufacturing.Citation
Wynne, D. (2018). Charlotte Brontë and the Politics of Cloth: The ‘vile rumbling mills’ of Yorkshire. Brontë Studies, 43(1), 89-99. https://doi.org/10.1080/14748932.2018.1389154Publisher
Taylor & FrancisJournal
Brontë StudiesAdditional Links
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14748932.2018.1389154Type
ArticleLanguage
enDescription
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Brontë Studies on 18/12/17, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14748932.2018.1389154ISSN
1474-8932EISSN
1745-8226ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1080/14748932.2018.1389154
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/