Jane Eyre (Harper Collins) - Charlotte Bronte [250]
10. Even though Charlotte outlived all of her siblings, she only lived to be thirty-eight years old. She married in 1854 and was pregnant with her first child when she tragically died in 1855. The cause of her death is disputed; her death certificate says tuberculosis, but many historians point to malnourishment and dehydration during her pregnancy.
Sources:
www.online-literature.com/brontec/
http://www.haworth-village.org.uk/brontes/charlotte/charlotte.asp
http://www.thebrusselsbrontegroup.org/heger.html
The Brontës: Three Muses and Their Men, VHS, Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1999
Ingredients for a Gothic Romance
So you want to write a dark romance? Do you love ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and undying love? Here are the ingredients that every gothic romance should have:
A dark, gloomy setting. Does your heroine have a penchant for exploring forbidden hallways in mysterious, haunting buildings, like Jane? Does the mansion she lives in have scary, dark rooms, creaky doors, and strange staircases? Don’t forget that the sun rarely shines in a gothic setting.
A brooding, inscrutable man. Does your heroine fall in love with someone she just shouldn’t end up with? Does the leading man have mysterious worries etched deep in his beautiful face? Don’t forget to make your leading man complex; he should do things that are hard to understand!
A willful, irresistible heroine. Does your heroine have an undefeatable spirit, in spite of the hardships she faces? Does every man around fall in love with your leading lady? Does she behave strangely and just generally do whatever she wants, disregarding propriety (or common sense)? Remember that she should probably be beautiful but unusual!
An element of the mystical. Perhaps your heroine sees what might be ghosts behind locked doors. Perhaps your leading man is actually a vampire. Whatever you choose, make sure you juggle the mystical and the real effectively; your story should still be believable, and your readers should be able to relate to your characters’ lives!
An undying love. The love between your two leads should be passionate, dark, and stormy. Extra points if you use the setting to reflect the mood of the lovers throughout the story.
A rich sense of the history of gothic romance. Popular gothic works today, such as Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, Lauren Kate’s Fallen, and Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s Beautiful Creatures, are very much informed by works of the past such as Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and even Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho. The more great examples you read, the better you’ll be able to structure your own story!
Plenty of ornate details, ominous symbols, and over-the-top events. Finally, don’t forget to pepper your story with other fun elements that are commonly associated with gothic novels and gothic romance such as disappearances, omens, prophecies, foundling children, dark figures, sudden deaths, roses, dreams, strange happenings, and emotion triumphing over logic.
QUIZ: What would you do in the name of love?
Find out how you measure up against Jane Eyre!
1. Your boyfriend wants to go see the newest action flick this Thursday, but you usually have dinner with your girlfriends on Thursday nights. You . . .
a. ditch your friends. You have dinner together every Thursday. They won’t miss you this once.
b. tell your boyfriend you’ll go on Friday because Thursday nights are sacred.
c. invite your guy along for dinner, and tell him if there’s a late showing of the movie you’d be up for it.
2. Your crush’s birthday is coming up. You’ve liked him for a year, but as far as you know, he sees you as just a fun friend. On his birthday, you . . .
a. make sure to pass by his locker in between classes, and give him a big smile and a “happy birthday!”
b. make him a playlist of some of your favorite new songs, and wink at him as you unzip his backpack to give it to him.
c. camp out on his front lawn to serenade him as he leaves for school. You’ve spent the past month