6. What is Charlotte’s father’s first response to the idea of her writing a book? Why? How is this indicative of the era and the biases that Charlotte was struggling against?
7. After the publication of Jane Eyre, Charlotte has money for the first time in her life. What is her reaction? What effect does her success have on others?
8. The Brontë sisters wrote under the male pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Why? How is the choice of these names significant?
9. Have you ever written poetry, kept a diary, or used writing in some other way to express your emotions? What result did this have? Can you imagine sharing this work with the public as Charlotte did?
10. Noted Victorian-era critic George Henry Lewes claimed that Jane Eyre was “soul speaking to soul”—did you find this to be true? Did Charlotte’s life connect with your own in any particular way?
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Becoming Jane Eyre Page 18
