Abstract

In The Life of Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell not only traces the literary career of her subject but also depicts a triangle of women writers based in the north of England and dedicated to the amelioration of social problems. This triangle—including Harriet Martineau as well as Brontë and Gaskell—expresses bonds of attraction and affiliation, yet, as is inevitable in a triangular relationship, also reveals feelings of rivalry, discontent, and difference. At stake in Gaskell’s Life are issues of the woman writer’s cultural authority and literary status and the representation of Brontë as an exemplary woman writer.

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