EMILY BRONTË: DEVOIRS DE BRUXELLES

A new publication, solely devoted to the devoirs Emily wrote during her time in Brussels, is being released this month in France.

DEVOIRS DE BRUXELLES

Emily Brontë

Commentaries by Augustin Trapenard

Date : 10/09/2008

Publisher: Editions Mille et Une NuitsCollection : La Petite Collection

ISBN: 9782755500677

Format (105 x 150)

Pages : 64
Price : €2,50 (available at Amazon.fr)

Résumé.
Ces neuf textes écrits sous la tutelle du professeur belge Constantin Héger ont été rédigés en français par E. Brontë lors d'un séjour dans un pensionnat de Bruxelles en 1842. Avec leurs fautes et leurs maladresses, ils mettent en lumière l'enseignement de la langue, de la rhétorique et de la littérature aux jeunes filles de bonne famille dans l'Europe du XIXe siècle.

En 1842, Emily Brontë (1818-1848) quitte l'Angleterre avec sa soeur Charlotte pour parfaire son éducation dans un pensionnat de jeunes filles à Bruxelles. Durant neuf mois, elle reçoit l'enseignement d'un professeur charismatique, Constantin Héger, qui lui apprend à écrire le français.Neuf des devoirs d'Emily ont été retrouvés. Truffés de fautes et de maladresses, ce sont les rédactions d'une étudiante de vingt-trois ans, qui résite tant bien que mal à l'autorité et à la rigueur de la langue française.Inédits en France, ces textes suggèrent déjà tout le talent de l'auteur des Hauts de Hurle-Vent, son unique roman.

Les premières lignes
Emily J. Brontë

Mai 15th 1842

Le chat.

Je puis dire avec sincérité, que j'aime les chats ; aussi je sais rendre des très bonnes raisons, pourquoi ceux qui les haïssent, ont tort.Un chat est un animal qui a plus des sentiments humains que presque tout autre être. Nous ne pouvons soutenir une comparaison avec le chien, il est infiniment trop bon : (mais) mais le chat, encore qu'il diffère en quelques points physiques, est extrêmement semblable à nous en dispositionIl peut être des gens, en vérité, qui diraient que cette ressemblance ne lui approche qu'aux hommes les plus méchants ; qu'elle est bornée à son excès d'hypocrisie, de cruauté, et d'ingratitude ; vices détestables dans notre race et également odieux en celle des chats.Sans disputer les limites que ces individus mettent à notre affinité, je réponds, que si l'hypocrisie, de cruauté et l'ingratitude sont exclusivement la propriété des méchants, cette classe renferme tout le monde ; notre éducation développe une de ces qualités en grande perfection, les autres fleurissent sans soins, et loin de les condamner, nous regardons tous les trois, avec beaucoup de complaisance. Un chat, pour son intérêt propre cache quelquefois sa misanthropie sous une apparence de douceur très aimable ; au lieu d'ar­racher ce qu'il désire de la main de son maître il s'approche d'un air caressant, frotte sa jolie petite tête contre lui, et avance une patte dont la touche est douce comme le (che) duvet. Lorsqu'il est venu à bout, il reprend son caractère de Timon, et cette finesse est nommée l'hypocrisie en lui, en nous mêmes, nous lui donnons un autre nom, c'est la politesse et celui qui ne l'employait pas pour déguiser ses vrais sentiments serait bientôt chassé de société.

Bekende Buitenlanders in Brussel: de zusjes Brontë

While I surfed on the internet, which I don’t do that often and therefore notice things rather late, I stumbled across a small radio fragment from Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal. Roel Jacobs, who was one of our speakers during our conference last April, is talking about the Brontës in Brussels, who feature in a program about foreigners in Brussels: “Bekende Buitenlanders in Brussel: de zusjes Brontë”. One can listen to this fragment and read more about it by clicking on this link: http://www.rvi.be/rvi_master/specials/rvi_specials_bbb_brontes/index.shtml

Scroll down the page till you read Roel Jacobs over het verblijf van de Brontë-zusjes in Brussels and click on it; a new window will open and you need to click on “naar de radiospeler” and the radiofragment will start after it has been connected to the medialink.
It takes only 4 minutes or so, and I’m afraid it’s only in Dutch.

A step back in time in Broadstairs

The Dickens Museum in Broadstairs

Sheila Fordham acquired some background for the books on our 19th century reading group list by sampling a historical town tour with a difference in the Kentish seaside resort of Broadstairs so loved by Dickens. The tour brings to life the Napoleonic and Victorian periods in particular.

(Books on our list for 2008-09 include David Copperfield, Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights)

While on holiday in Kent at the quaint resort of Broadstairs this summer my stepmother, daughter and I were lucky enough to get a place on the popular St Peter´s Village Tour. I have tried several times before and never been successful. It was well worth the wait. I can recommend the walks to all those who enjoy history. The tour starts and ends at the village church, as is only fitting as the church was such an important part of life, and of course includes a break for tea and biscuits half-way round in true English village fashion.

The tour, which has won several tourist awards in Kent, consists of a guide who takes you round the village (St Peter´s is the next village to Broadstairs, only a few minutes' walk away but with its own unique personality) telling you interesting stories about the history of St Peter´s, while meanwhile various characters dressed in period costume appear from behind a wall or walk up to you along the road and tell you their own particular story. It is such a simple idea but really brings history to life. Some of the characters looked as if they had stepped out of one of Dickens´ novels themselves. One of them was a soldier from around the time of the Napoleonic Wars, who was checking on us to make sure there were no French spies in the party. He asked whether anyone spoke French - and as nobody else said anything, before I could stop myself I had shouted out "Oui, un peu". From that moment on I was a marked woman - he was keeping an eye on me in case I was a spy. It was strange to think that at that time the threat of an invasion by Napoleon and his army was taken very seriously.

You caught the flavour also of how much smuggling of tobacco and alcohol was going on along the coast in those days. It was a long way from London and the revenue men were not always there to check what was going on. There were many tunnels and cellars used to transport and keep smuggled goods which are probably still in existence today. Shipwrecks were good opportunities for ordinary people to get something of value and it was hinted that some wrecks were planned.

Society did try to help its less fortunate members, for example in the Workhouse, but conditions were very harsh, as they did not want to encourage people to go there unless absolutely necessary. One poor character had stolen some wine and was the worse for wear and when taken to task by the benefactors of the Workhouse, pointed at me and said that I had given her the bottle. It was very funny - I was really in the swing of things by then and would have liked to join the party of players myself.

It was a lovely warm Kentish summer afternoon, flowers were in bloom around the village, and the red sloping tiled roofs of the old houses and the old flint walls around the gardens all added to the sights and smells of the afternoon. Our guide unlocked an arched door in one of the walls into the garden beyond. It was like stepping into another world. It was so quiet and peaceful there. In the garden we were shown a row of cottages, one of which had been a school set up for poor children.

All the people who gave their time to the village tour are volunteers and are not professional actors. It is amazing because many of them had the most wonderful speaking voices and acting ability.

I can thoroughly recommend the Village Tour and would love to go on the Churchyard Tour and the War Graves Tour. I am sure there are further stories and characters to be brought to life.

http://www.villagetour.co.uk/

Sheila Fordham

Members of the Brussels group meet Italian member Maddalena De Leo in Amsterdam

Sherry Vosburgh writes:

Italian Bronte Society member and leading light of the Italian Section Maddalena De Leo had the brainwave of meeting Dutch and Belgian group members during her Amsterdam holiday. We all met up at her hotel on July 8 to hear her paper on the Brontës and the Sea - an entertaining and fascinating talk. She took the opportunity to give members copies of her novel for teenagers about Charlotte Brontë, Un@mica del Passato, and also presented the Brussels group with a hand-painted Neapolitan plate to commemorate the event. We then toasted the occasion with champagne also brought from Italy, after which some of us rounded off the day with a delicious Indonesian dinner.

Also present at the meeting were Veronica Metz and other members of the Dutch Celtic Band "Anois" who are setting some of Emily Brontë's poems to music.

I had decided to stay for 3 days and accompanied Maddalena and her delightful family and companions on 2 tours of the Netherlands and we met for dinner several times. Despite the torrential rain we had a good time visiting Amsterdam's many museums. Thank you, Maddalena and Helen, for organising the little jaunt.

Helen MacEwan adds:

It was most interesting to meet Maddalena and learn more about the Italian section, which has of course been around a lot longer than our group - for about 10 years. Many of its leading lights are translators of the Brontës' works into Italian as well as academics and writers: Maddalena herself of Charlotte Brontë's Juvenilia, Franca Gollini of Muriel Spark's biography of Emily Brontë and Silvio Raffo of Brontë poems. Some of the members have of course written original works on the Brontës. Maddalena is a teacher and her novel for teenagers about Charlotte Brontë's ghost contacting a modern teenager contains much information on the Brontës.

Over the years the section has organised events in cities all over Italy. Nowadays they are often held in Milan where a large audience is guaranteed, and sometimes speakers from the UK are invited.

In the photos, the whole group; Sherry Vosburgh, Maddalena De Leo and Helen MacEwan; Maddalena with members of Anois.

Pilgrimage to Haworth - My initiation

Main St, Haworth

This year eight members from Belgium and the Netherlands attended the Brontë Society AGM weekend in Haworth, Yorkshire (the Society's main annual event) on 7-8 June. This account of a first visit to Haworth was written by Sherry Vosburgh, who joined our group just a few weeks ago and made a last-minute decision to go to the June weekend. Most of the accommodation in the village had been booked months in advance but she managed to find a room, albeit right at the bottom of the steep hill up to the Brontë Museum and the venue for the events. However, she survived the experience and seems to have enjoyed it! Would any of you like to join us in Haworth for the 2009 AGM weekend (6-7 June)?

Helen somehow talked me into it - leaving from Kings Cross for a Northern adventure for five glorious days. I felt a bit of a fraud as I had only read three of the Brontës' books, and wondered if I'd be accepted into the august circle of the Brontë Society en masse.

I arrived without incident at my palatial B&B to a warm welcome. The "full monty" breakfast the next day stoked up the fires for my first visit to the Parsonage - waltzing in free as a fully paid-up member. I found the experience very moving, imagining the family living there and Emily dying on the sofa in the drawing room protesting that she was not ill... The exhibitions were fascinating - especially Charlotte's tiny dress and gloves for Emily's funeral... The letters and Gondal books were in minuscule fairy hand, impossible to read but transcribed for visitors. There was also an exhibition of fine modern photographs of the moors by Fay Godwin which put the house in context and made one realize how isolated Haworth was before the tea shoppes, pubs, curio shops and second-hand bookshops moved into Main Street.

The climb up Main Street to the Parsonage had been described to me as steep, but I hadn't realized I'd need my heavy walking shoes every day for the cobbled street that never seemed to end. Between Brontë Society events it proved too time-consuming to go back down to the B&B and up again, so I ended up drinking endless pints of bitter and tea (complete with typical Yorkshire cakes and buns) and meeting others who were engaged in exactly the same activity. I met slightly eccentric people like myself all over the village, all very friendly and united in their common interest in the Brontë family - from as far afield as the United States chapter, the Netherlands and, of course, Belgium. The Brontë crowd had a certain look about them - urbane but rather wild-eyed - which made it easy to strike up conversations with complete strangers.

The first event organized by the Society was a performance by a young professional theatre company called "Through the Window" of the earliest dramatic version of "Jane Eyre". The play had originally been performed at the theatre that became the Old Vic and had been adapted by Catherine McDonald from Patsy Stoneman's newly published edited version. Patsy was there to give an introduction and plans to come to Brussels this year. The play, skilfully filleted and using only a handful of actors, was very well received and was preceded by a cheese and wine party so that people could start getting to know each other.

The next day brought a lecture on the originality of Wuthering Heights from Professor Heather J. Glen, from Cambridge University - fascinating - followed by a service in the local church to thank the family of James Roberts, who donated the Parsonage to the Society in 1928. We all sang lustily and the church was full of Brontë Society and local people. The female rector's daughter sang the final Blessing beautifully. The AGM followed, at which plans were described for improving the modern exhibition space and to refloat the coffers. A few members seemed curious to know why there had been so many resignations from Council lately, but lips were sealed on their personal reasons for resigning. A dynamic-sounding Council was elected and the eloquent acting director of the museum shed light on its day-to-day running. The meeting had to close in time for the literary panel that followed (all events took place in the nearby Baptist Hall) in which the influence of Wuthering Heights was discussed by Toby Litt, Helen Dunmore, Sally Beauman and Stevie Davies, with Patsy Stoneman in the chair. All the writers spoke passionately about their admiration for Emily Brontë and produced a lively and fascinating discussion.

The next day, Sunday, kicked off with two walks, one long and the other shorter. Feeling cowardly, I plumped for the shorter one, which turned out to be expertly led by Hedley Hickling, the outgoing Membership Secretary, who is a geologist and really knew his stuff. We wandered in a leisurely fashion over Penistone Hill and saw in the distance Top Withins, which may have been the model for Wuthering Heights. The views over the moors were breathtaking. In the afternoon a special treat awaited us - a performance of "The Well-Dressed Governess" by the History Wardrobe in a costume-in-context presentation of handmade replica and original costume items. The lady who presented the show has made all her own costumes and gave details of the kind of dresses considered suitable for governesses at the time (who had to blend into the background and favoured blue and grey) and told us how the undergarments were worn, demonstrating enough within the bounds of decency.

On the last day there was a full-day excursion to the "Shirley" country, which I had to miss as it was fully booked. There were also two talks, one by Beryl Bainbridge on her novel- writing technique and what she owed to the Brontës and one in the old schoolroom, used by the Brontës to teach Sunday School, where a historical slide-show of Old Haworth was given by a local historian.

I spent several happy hours browsing the two second-hand bookshops as well as the wide selection of old and new books on sale at the meeting venue over the weekend. I was most impressed with the wide selection of Brontëana at the Parsonage itself but had to limit my purchases to avoid carting them up hill and down dale throughout the day. That damned hill!

I was introduced to lots of people, all charming, and by the end of the weekend I felt I was leaving a group of comrades and new friends. Doubtless we will all meet again next year at the next June AGM weekend. I can't wait for more of that lovely pub grub in good company, interspersed with cultural activities and wonderful views. A lovely break from Brussels. And much recommended.

Sherry Vosburgh