And three lines before this Montagu has described the views of the Lune,
"and the prospect from the churchyard, taking in Casterton Hall."[13]
This is the very background of the early chapters of _Jane Eyre_.
Indeed, Casterton Hall was the original of Brocklehurst Hall in _Jane
Eyre_, and here resided the Rev. W. Carus-Wilson, the original of Mr.
Brocklehurst, "the black marble clergyman" of the school at Lowood;
while Kirkby-Lonsdale was the original of Lowton of _Jane Eyre_. These
facts compel us to perceive that Charlotte Brontë would naturally be led
by Montagu's words, to recall she too as regards her education had been
associated with the locality mentioned. These references seem to have
made Currer Bell relate in _Jane Eyre_ her experiences in that district.
Neither Miss Brontë nor Mrs. Gaskell, her biographer, gave any
information as to the origin of the "Currer" and "Bell" of Currer Bell,
but it is known the "Bell" was not chosen from the name of the Rev. A.
Bell Nicholls whom she afterwards married.[14]
A further personal contribution by Montagu, one he based on gossip
rather than on tradition, was the story of a foundling who, he says, was
discovered by a shepherd on a rocky elevation. This I find Charlotte
Brontë evolved into "a cuckoo story." The circumstance that this male
child was found on the craggy summit of a hill may have dictated to her
the name of the foundling Heathcliffe of _Wuthering Heights_.
I moreover find that, influenced by Montagu's quaint descriptions of the
wild and remote neighbourhood, Charlotte Brontë made Malham and the
valley of Malham the background of her story, _Wuthering Heights_. With
Malham, Montagu associated the names of Linton and Airton (Hareton); the
Fairy Cave, the Crags, glens, mists; a grey old church in the valley,
the "Kirk" by Malham, Kirkby Malham Church, which Charlotte Brontë calls
in _Wuthering Heights_ Gimmerton Kirk; a rapid stream and a Methodist
chapel. And he draws attention to Malham, being at the foot of a range
of steep mountains--"the Heights," and having an annual sheep fair, when
over one hundred thousand sheep are shown at one time, the which
observation was, we now discover, responsible for Charlotte Brontë's
choice of "Gimmerton" and "Gimmerden," from "gimmer," a female sheep,
and meaning respectively the village of sheep and the valley of sheep, a
characteristic of hers being that she often chose her names on what she
termed the _lucus a non lucendo_ principle.[15]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account