——隱居避世的天才
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作者：
《簡·愛》曾經被多次改編成電影、電視劇和音樂劇等。今年，又一部同名電影即將上映，可見這部經典小說確實魅力非凡。
說起夏洛蒂·勃朗特，不得不提勃朗特姐妹的文學成就——三姐妹占據了英語文學名人榜單中的三個席位，恐怕連眾多男性作家都自歎 不如。
實在很難想象，三位住在約克郡荒涼漠澤、害羞靦腆、相貌平凡的女性竟有著如此驚人的爆發力——也許封閉的世界恰恰有助於她們發掘內在的 才華。
是什麼樣的環境和際遇造就了這部長盛不衰的小說？一起來看看夏洛蒂·勃朗特在約克郡度過的歲月——
Charlotte Bronte represented1 a fascinating mystery to the London literary world of 1847.
An unknown writer named Currer Bell had produced Jane Eyre， a popular and controversial2 novel. Two other novels were published the same year， Agnes Grey by Acton Bell and Wuthering Heights by Ellis Bell. Were the novels written by three different writers or only one？ And were they written by men or women？
Even the publishers of the novels didn’t know. So in 1848， Charlotte and her sister Anne， the author of Agnes Grey， traveled to London to introduce themselves to publisher George Smith and assure him that they were different people and both women.
Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was still a source of controversy， though. Its heroine3 was a strong woman who took responsibility4 for her own life. It contained scenes of wild passion and violent acts. Rochester’s plan to marry when he had a living wife shocked the people of that time.
It was certainly a strange production for someone like Charlotte Bronte， who led such a retiring5 life. And Charlotte acknowledged6 that Jane was not a version of herself. But Jane was a reflection of principles that Charlotte lived by.
Charlotte was a preacher7’s daughter to the core8. She was raised with strong faith and a firm sense of duty. Her father， Patrick Bronte， was a curate9 assigned10 to the Yorkshire parish11 of Haworth， a land of moors12 and isolated farms. The family lived in a modest13 stone house surrounded by the church and graveyard. Charlotte had two older sisters， Maria and Elizabeth， and three younger siblings14， Branwell， Emily， and Anne. Their mother died while the children were small； Maria and Elizabeth died in childhood after difficult years in a girl’s school. Maria would become the model for Helen Burns in Jane Eyre， and some of the dialogue even came from real life.
Their mother’s death left the four surviving children with their father and an aunt. Both adults were distant15， and the bleak16 northern weather left the children with little to do much of the year. They began to write poetry， stories， and plays.
When the three girls grew older， they were sent to school. Anne’s poor health and Emily’s homesickness soon brought them home. But Charlotte showed her stern17 sense of duty even as a child， and attended school at Cowan Bridge and Roe Head. Although nearsighted and extremely shy， she made life-long friends at Roe Head.
As Charlotte and her brother and sisters entered their teens， they faced the prospect18 of earning their livings. For women of her time and class， there were few options. One was becoming a governess19， and Charlotte took a position. Her employers were kind. But Charlotte had an aversion20 to strangers all her life that she could not overcome.