The Professor: Charlotte Bronte

Image Credit: The Brussels Bronte Group

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And now presenting a classic after a somewhat long gap. Charlotte Bronte’s first novel “The Professor” sports a very different slant from her more renowned works like Jane Eyre. Perhaps because it revolves around her own experiences. To sum it up, after working for a few months as a clerk under his tyrannical brother, William Crimsworth lands a job as an English teacher in Brussels. There, he meets Frances Henri, who teaches lace making to the students at the same school. She begins to attend Crimsworth’s classes to improve her own English and it’s not long before he is taken up by her strong yet diffident character.

Through this simple tale, Bronte introduces us to some colorful characters such as Monsieur Pelet, Mademoiselle Reuter and Hunsden. Bronte evidently delighted in sketching detailed personages as she devotes entire pages in describing a few of the students in Crimsworth’s class. Based on her own experiences in Brussels, where she studied as a student, Bronte perhaps models Frances Henri after her. A major part of the book is focused on Crimsworth and his experiences in Brussels. The last few pages are where Frances Henri truly takes shape. Bronte describes her as a sensible, balanced woman who is equally loving and caring. She is independent and is capable of earning an income for herself and yet takes care of her household. I don’t want to reveal the direction of Crimsworth’s romance with Henri so I will stop here.

What makes the book stand apart is Henri’s personality of a self-sufficient woman, which is quite an oxymoron for the times it was written in. But what weighs down the book is Bronte’s assumption that her readers will know enough French to decipher entire passages. Maybe she was right for her time since educated English were supposed to know French too apart from their native language. Reading it today, however, makes it a bit tedious due to this reason. I could understand many lines thanks to my meager French but the charm of as many lines were lost on me.

The French, however, does not dilute the strength of the book and Henri should not be missed. Read this for a glimpse into the mind of Bronte herself. For those with immeasurable patience here is an e-book version.


Verdict: It IS a classic!

Rating: 4/5