Charlotte Bronte's difficult life circumstances strongly influenced her writing. She was born in 1816 and lost her mother at age 5. She and her sisters were then sent to a harsh boarding school where two of her sisters died due to the poor conditions. After being left to raise the children on his own, her father provided a religious upbringing but was not warmly received. Charlotte and her siblings enjoyed writing as an escape. Her books notably parallel her own life experiences, such as the protagonist in Jane Eyre resembling Charlotte and being based on one of her acquaintances. Rather than letting her sad upbringing hold her back, Charlotte used it as inspiration for her acclaimed literary works.

1. Charlotte
Bronte:
How her Circumstances Affected Her
Writing
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2. “When fate hands you a
lemon, make lemonade”
-Dale Carnegie
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3. History of Charlotte Bronte
• Born in 1816 at
Thornton, Bradford
Yorkshire
• Third child of six
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4. Her grief begins at a
very early age
• At the age of five her mother dies.
• She is sent with her sisters to a boarding school
where the conditions are barely livable.
• Her two older sisters die due to the poor conditions
at school.
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5. Charlotte’s father, a clergyman,
is left to raise six children on
his own
• Although a religious man, there aren’t many nice
things said about him in the history books.
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6. Charlotte and her siblings enjoy
writing as a favorite pastime
They wrote stories and created
their own imaginary worlds
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7. THe similarities in Charlotte’s
life and her books are too close
to ignore
• Her books include Jane Eyre, Villette, The
Professor and many others
• Many have even called Jane Eyre an autobiography
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8. Some of the similarities...
Mr. Rochester 2011 Jane Eyre major motion picture
• The protagonist of Jane Eyre is
both calm, intelligent and
homely. Charlotte is described
the same way in most of her
biographies
• Mr. Rochester is said to be based
on Thackeray, a friend of
Charlotte’s.
8 William Thackeray

9. And some more similarities...
• The school Jane was sent to had extremely harsh living
conditions. Charlotte’s school was similar.
• Every male character in the book is unappealing. They
threaten her equality and dignity. Charlotte lived in a time
where women were anything but equals.
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10. Charlotte created the homely
heroine
• Others of her time were
writing of heroines that were
handsome and amicable.
• Charlottes heroines are calm
and independent.
• While others wrote of
idealism, Charlotte strove for
realism.
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11. It is impossible to
separate the life of
Charlotte Bronte
from her books.
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12. Many would have said
Charlotte was doomed
from the very beginning
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13. But instead of using her
sad circumstances as an
excuse...
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14. She turned her
stumbling block into
the very pedestal of her
literary achievements.
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