Tag Archives: Charlotte Bronte

Mustering Courage To Become Jane Eyre

By Robin Bates | Published: July 17, 2016

I’m convinced that “Jane Eyre” helped give my great-grandmother the courage to leave her home and launch herself into the world as a governess.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged governesses, Jane Eyre, Lizzy Scott, memoirs, restless women | Comments closed

Lily, Achilles, Bertha & Ishmael on Vacation

By Robin Bates | Published: May 18, 2016

Lily Bart, Bertha Mason, Achilles, Ishmael and Queequeg all go on vacation. Where do they go?

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Herman Melville, Homer, House of Mirth, Iliad, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, vacations, Wharton (Edith) | Comments closed

Child Heroines Who Die for Our Sins

By Robin Bates | Published: November 2, 2015

The child heroine who dies, a common trope in the 19th century, continues to fascinate us, appearing in “Bridge to Tarabithia” and “The Fault Is in Our Stars.” One of my students has this as a senior project topic.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Annabel Lee", Bridge to Tarabithia, Charles Dickens, Children, death and dying, Edgar Allan Poe, Feminism, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jane Eyre, Katherine Paterson, Little Women, Louisa Mae Alcott, Old Curiosity Shop, Uncle Tom's Cabin | Comments closed

Jane Eyre: 1st Discipline, Then Love

By Robin Bates | Published: September 26, 2015

To find love, Jane must first undergo a stern, self-denying discipline. Then she must let go of the discipline and follow her heart. She turns to a challenging passage from the Book of Mark to set off on that journey.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Jane Eyre | Comments closed

Herbert & Bronte on Spiritual Restlessness

By Robin Bates | Published: August 16, 2015

St. Augustine, George Herbert, and Charlotte Bronte all write about spiritual restlessness.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Pulley", George Herbert, Jane Eyre, restlessness, spiritual search, St. Augustine | Comments closed

“Jane Eyre” Still Challenges Us

By Robin Bates | Published: April 6, 2015

“Jane Eyre” was radical when it came out and it continues to challenge us today with its assertive women.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Elizabeth Rigby, Feminism, George Henry Lewes, Jane Eyre, Villette | Comments closed

Social Media Invades the Classics

By Robin Bates | Published: November 14, 2014

Imagining literary characters using social media opens up new insights into a work.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Charles Dickens, Gone with the Wind, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Margaret Mitchell, social media, Texts from Jane Eyre | Comments closed

Sexual Misconduct in the Classics

By Robin Bates | Published: November 3, 2014

A sexual misconduct course required of all employees got me thinking of problematic situations in the books that I teach.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "The Lover: A Ballad", "Written in a Lady's Prayer Book", Aphra Behn, Bacchae, Euripides, Henry Fielding, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, John Wilmot, Lucille Clifton, Rape, Rover, Sense and Sensibility, sexual assault, sexual harassment, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Tom Jones | Comments closed

Austen, Moral Equivocation, and the NFL

By Robin Bates | Published: August 30, 2014

My love of the NFL runs me up against some real moral quandaries. Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte would understand.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Football, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Mansfield Park, moral equivocation, NFL, Peyton Manning, Sports, Wes Welker | Comments closed