The Brontë Sisters
Taught by Charlotte Bowen
Charlotte Bowen is a writer, polymath, and all around good egg who lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. She blogs about languages, history, and the joys of autodidactic learning at friendlypolymath.com.
The Brontë sisters -- Charlotte, Emily, and Anne -- are a fascinating study in contradictions: ardent feminists whose works nevertheless seem to embrace patriarchy, reclusive outsiders with a thorough knowledge of human nature, and devout Christians and royalists whose works nevertheless evince a skepticism about the established church and monarchy.
Over three sessions we'll resolve these contradictions and place the lives and works Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë within a broader historical and literary context. There's no need to have read their books ahead of time: if you're interested in history, feminism, sociology, or psychological portraits of interesting people, you're sure to find something to spark your imagination.