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| Arthur in old age |
A friend of mine said this blog as been quite and they kindly asked for a book update. I assured them; silence means I'm at work and it is going well. This is one of the most fulfilling times during this project
It's fascinating that things often do not turn out as we expect. I expected to put together my scenes and thus form the book in a straight forward manner ...yet even as I do so, more material is coming in to be included. I also expected to dread this time of pulling the many scenes into one coherent piece, but I love it.
What has also been interesting lately is that as I isolate myself in order to have more time for the book , Emily has come to the fore more. While this is Arthur and Charlotte's story , I had some scenes with Emily of course. But as I have somewhat duplicate her chosen life of , at least mental, solitude, in order to steep myself into a creative endeavor, her emotional voice resonates more and a few more scenes with her were created.
It's said Emily Jane Brontë is a mystery....but it's no mystery to me why she wanted to be left mostly alone, even by her nearest and dearest. It was in order to dwell as undisturbed as possible within her own world....to not feel the yank of " the chain" , as she described the sensation of being wholly in her body and sensible only to the outer world we all inhabit.
Household chores, moor walks, music and certainly writing , do not intrude upon that world like every day human discourse does. The types of attention these two conscious states call for are very different . ..and remember; Emily was expected to follow Victorian social modes while interacting ...not use our far more casual ways. I can see her fostering a cantankerous reputation with a purpose....besides likely being cantankerous! We cannot imagine Emily would find us bores to avoid too...well, likely she would have. lol.
Whatever mental distress is in the news, Emily seems gets saddled with it. I seem to recall over the years she has been described as being" Bi-polar", " Bulimic," having "Asperger," "Autism," "Turrets Syndrome " etc. I may be forgetting one or two. Anything; but she was a mystic, a woman of genius, who wanted to be left alone! If you want to know this young woman on her terms, read her novel and her poems. Much is right before us.
THE OLD STOIC.
Riches I hold in light esteem,
And Love I laugh to scorn;
And Lust of Fame was but a dream,
That vanished with the morn.
And if I pray, the only prayer
That moves my lips for me
Is '' Leave the heart that now I bear,
And give me liberty!"
Yes, as my swift days near their goal,
'Tis all that I implore:
In life and death a changeless soul
With courage to endure.
EJB
When I think of the great material we have to know the Brontës ; their books, I'm a little overawed. The Brontë mind is open to all who read their books. For example, when was the last time you read " Wildfell Hall "? Good Lord, its like being invited to the Parsonage sitting room itself. ..particularly the early parts when village life goes under the Brontë magnifying glass. I have found it very helpful to periodically look again and again where one has looked before. Far more often than not, one sees something "new" .
And Charlotte's letters! How many have read only the passages that are quoted in biographies ? If one cannot afford the Oxford three volume edition of CB's letters, Clement K. Shorter's book of Charlotte's letters is available, free, online..
Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle, by Clement K. Shorter
While there are omissions and mistakes in a publication over a hundred years old, you will still find Charlotte's voice there, in her own words.
Video Round Up
I recently upload some videos on my You Tube channelMr Nicholls in Banagher 1904
This is a video I made using photos I had taken on our trip to Banagher, and two of the three photos we have of him in old age. It also features my painting of The Rev Nicholls. About the picture of ABN and the little girl, she was Helen Sharrard, the Rector's daughter, she coincided Arthur her extra "grandfather ."
The Brontes. Where You Are
This next one was made when I heard a great Josh Groban song," To where you are" and it seemed perfect for the Arthur's story. It's a tribute to his ever lasting love for and the Richmond portrait of , his wife, Charlotte.The prints of this portrait, which everyone has seen many times, bares little resemblance to the original.The original is stunning. Charlotte is not frowning at all as she appears to be doing in the prints...and I have a 2016 photo I took of it at the end. I can see why Arthur loved it.
Here are a group of Romanov videos
One of the interesting thing about being an enthusiast for both The Brontës and Romanovs is the vast difference of valuable images between them. With the Brontës, it's very limited.
I have to reused a good number of them already posted in my video " The Brontës. To the Marriage of True Minds"
Then there is the tens of thousands photos of the Romanovs! Every month there seems to be more " new " ones posted. The family all had cameras and they loved recording everything. The only photo we have of a Bronte, is Papa. I wish Branwell had taken up the then fledgling art of photography instead of painting. Then we would have Brontës photos. He got even Emily to pose for him !
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The Romanovs. What was and will never be again.
The Romanovs. Their faces
The Romanovs children. Remember the beauty
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I was surprised to see recently this blog listed as a" Brontë blog" on the web. I'm flattered, but here I thought I was toiling away in obscurity ...but no! Also my pics files have appeared elsewhere, from now on they will have a watermark. I have long said one should not leave their insights in the comments of other blogs...now it seems I should muzzle discoveries and working methods on this blog as well. I'm sitting on a lot and will continue to do so, and keep it for the book . Last December was 6 years I have been working on my Brontë novel. I have to say I'm enjoying the work as never before. I use to bemoan how long it is taking, now I just enjoy the ride.
Back to work! See you next time!
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| Tatiana and Alix 1905 |
