The Industrial Brontë Sisters: Advocates for Women in a Turbulent Age

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the question “How do the Brontë sisters take advantage of the rapid change of their time unleashed by the Industrial Revolution in order to illustrate the inequalities women faced in the Victorian Age?” It considers historical context, including an increase in paid work for women, that precedes the publication of the Brontë novels. The main source for the dissertation is the literature of the Brontë sisters, Charlotte’s four novels, Emily’s one, and Anne’s two, seeking to explore the Brontës’ call for female empowerment as symptomatic of the age, and one that is realized in the latter half of the Victorian Age and beyond. The main areas of focus for this dissertation are the ways in which the Brontës addressed women’s inequality in marriage, education, social class, and work.

First Advisor

Dean de la Motte

Date of Award

1-1-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

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