The Brontës and the

Abstract

This chapter considers the emotional and literary ties of the Brontës to their father’s homeland, Ireland, at a time when being Irish was a decided disadvantage. Patrick Brontë’s complicated relationship with Ireland can be seen in his poetry and his National Tale The Maid of Killarney, which advocates for the consolidation of the Union while highlighting Irish poverty and agrarian violence, including the famine of 1817 and Whiteboy agitation. Patrick’s works are also read in the light of contemporary improvement literature. Ireland in the juvenilia of the Brontë children is often the home of the supernatural and occult, but they also reflect real social and political changes, such as Catholic Emancipation. Irishness is particularly prominent in Charlotte’s early work, especially the Angrian tales. There are also Irish references or characters in each of her novels, and the chapter concludes that while Irishness is a recurring concern in Charlotte’s work and often associated with virtues, internalised negative stereotypes and a hostile market for Irish novels in the mid-to-late 1840s affects her representation of Irishness and her relationship with the literary legacy passed down to her by her father and other Irish writers.