The Brontë Family, with special reference to Patrick Branwell Brontë. Vol. 2 of 2Leyland, Francis A.
History
The Brontë Family, with special reference to Patrick Branwell Brontë. Vol. 2 of 2
Leyland, Francis A.
Authors, English -- 19th century -- Biography; Brontë family; Brontë, Patrick Branwell, 1817-1848
We shall, however, look in vain for any true resemblance between the
characters of Arthur Huntingdon and Branwell Brontë, and, certainly,
in almost every respect, one is a direct contrast to the other. The
biographer of Emily Brontë says, indeed, that Branwell 'sat to Anne
sorrily enough for the portrait of Henry (_sic_) Huntingdon;' but I
would ask where that portraiture lies? Huntingdon, be it marked, is
not only a drunkard, but he is a libertine, a man who has even the
callous brutality to recount to his trusting wife, as she sits by him
on the sofa, endeavouring to amuse him, the 'stories of his former
amours, always turning upon the ruin of some confiding girl, or the
cozening of some unsuspecting husband; and when I express my horror
and indignation,' she says, 'he lays it to the charge of jealousy, and
laughs till the tears run down his cheeks.' But it was different with
Branwell, against whom it has never been charged that he sank to these
low depths of criminal debauchery, indulgence, and treachery; and even
those who have recounted the story of his passion for the wife of his
employer, are compelled to say that he remained pure, and shrank in
horror from the advances which they suppose she made. Huntingdon's
vicious disposition, too, is so sunk in selfishness, and there is in
him such a cold brutality,--as where on many an occasion he triumphs
over his powerless wife,--that he is placed in absolute contrast to
Branwell, with his confiding, considerate, open-hearted, and generous
nature.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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