The Professor in Public Domain Readers

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The Professor

Charlotte Bront毛

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Apr 06, 2018 Alisha rated it liked it

It's a good thing Charlotte Bronte got to publish Jane Eyre first.
She meant this to be her first novel, but it was rejected by publishers and only printed posthumously. It's a valuable work, as it shows her developing skill, and it certainly has some intriguing storytelling, but it also has noticeable flaws.
In this story, William Crimsworth has to make his way in the world due to a lack of harmony between him and various family members who might otherwise have helped him. He starts out in trade, It's a good thing Charlotte Bronte got to publish Jane Eyre first.
She meant this to be her first novel, but it was rejected by publishers and only printed posthumously. It's a valuable work, as it shows her developing skill, and it certainly has some intriguing storytelling, but it also has noticeable flaws.
In this story, William Crimsworth has to make his way in the world due to a lack of harmony between him and various family members who might otherwise have helped him. He starts out in trade, working for his brother, who makes it very clear that he has no family feeling and no compassion at all. When this situation becomes untenable, Crimsworth ends up in Belgium and finds a position as an English professor at a boys' school.
The school next door is for girls, and eventually Crimsworth is hired to teach some classes for them as well. Not having been around very many females in his life, he is initally a little overcome, but he masters himself and finds pride in being a stern, no-nonsense teacher.
He is initially captivated by the directress of the school, a Mademoiselle Reuters. Later he is drawn to a young, quiet sewing instructor named Frances Henri.

The characters are very interesting and the story well told for the first half (or perhaps more) of the book. I found Charlotte Bronte's storytelling quite compelling; there is a power in it, but it also seems unexpectedly revealing of her personality. Once one has read a few Charlotte Bronte novels (of course, there are only about four in total!) one gets an idea of what she must have been like.

For one thing, I would argue that her main characters never really begin with any immaturity or uncertainty that they must age out of. They are all very self-aware, complacent about their own abilities, fairly proud, and decided in their opinions. Did Charlotte Bronte view herself as having a similar mental or moral superiority to her contemporaries? I suspect she did.

I enjoyed this book right up until the denouement finished, when (view spoiler). After that, the rest of the novel is one really long summing-up. Bronte takes us through the next ten years of his life, doing a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, and the plot is gone. I don't mind a flashing forward in time that takes up a page or two at the end. But I really think that plot should still be happening up until that point.

Also, (view spoiler)

All things considered, I'm much more on board with Charlotte Bronte's novels that are told from a female perspective. One wonders what she herself thought of The Professor. ...more

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Aug 13, 2020 Library Queen rated it it was ok

Shelves: library, classically-good

The beginning of this actually felt more like a Dickens book than Bronte, which was unusual. But unfortunately it got boring the more I read of it, and the romance was really not there at all. If you're a die hard Bronte fan, read this, but if not, you can safely skip it. ...more

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