In January 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which laid out the tenets of what today we call ‘equality’ or ‘liberal’ feminist theory. She further promoted a new model of the nation grounded on a family politics produced by egalitarian marriages. Image: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman title page from the first American edition, 1792 (Library of Congress).  This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

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Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

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Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

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by David Rettenmaier

Death of Mary Wollstonecraft on 10 September 1797. Mary Shelley, Wollstonecraft’s second daughter, was born on August 30th, after which complications from childbirth set in. Wollstonecraft developed a fever, and died on September 10th. She was buried at St. Pancras Churchyard. Image: William Blake's frontispiece to the 1791 edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's Original Stories from Real Life. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

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by David Rettenmaier

On January 1798, publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The publication of this first biography of Wollstonecraft causes a scandal and Godwin publishes a second “corrected” edition of the Memoirs in the summer of the same year.

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Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

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Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

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by David Rettenmaier

Jane arrives at Thornfield months before she actually meets Mr. Rochester as indicated in Chapter 12 when the narrator states, "October, November, December passed away" prior to Jane's unfortunate first encounter with Mr. Rochester (Bronte 131). This is significant because it allows the narrator and therefore the reader to contrast the atmosphere of Thornfield Hall and Jane's moods when Mr. Rochester is present compared to the months prior when he was away from his estate. This is also important foreshadowing because it supports Ms. Fairfax's claims that Rochester is very rarely in his home, which readers later learn is due to the melancholy he feels being in the same place as his captive first wife. 

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003.

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by madison rahner

On July 1824, publication of The Improvisatrice and Other Poems. Published anonymously, this best-selling volume launches the career of Letitia Elizabeth Landon or “L.E.L.” Image: Engraving of Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L.E.L.) from an original painting by Maclise. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

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Angela Esterhammer, “1824: Improvisation, Speculation, and Identity-Construction”

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by David Rettenmaier

Christina Rossetti was born on 5 December 1830 at 38 Charlotte Street (now 105 Hallam Street) in Marylbone, London to Gabriele Rossetti and Frances Polidori.

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by Dino Franco Felluga

Felicia Dorothea Browne (Mrs. Hemans) was an English poet, born in Liverpool. Her poem "I Dream of All Things Free" was published in The Slave's Friend. She married Mr. Hemans and had five sons. 

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by Anmol Patel

In January 1851, the Rossetti family moved to 38 Arlington Street, where for a short time Frances Rossetti (the mother of Dante Gabriel and Christina Rossetti) ran a day school. Christina Rossetti served as an assistant during this time. 

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by Dino Franco Felluga

In Spring 1853, Frances Rossetti and her daughter, Christina Rossetti, went to Frome, Somerset to start a school, followed by Gabriele Rossetti (Christina's father); however, the school was not successful and the family soon moved back to London.

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by Dino Franco Felluga

Episode 95 of The Autobiography of Jane Eyre ends with the notable line of Jane Eyre altered. She ends with, "Dear viewer, I made a home" instead of, "Reader, I married him” (Endings). The focus on the last episode separates from the love story followed to the end in the original novel, and instead brings attention to Jane's own growth, self-worth, and goals: a change that models Jane as a feminist icon focused on herself. Through reading comments, I realized the original Rochester left the cast. I do wonder if this changed the web series ending, or if they always intended to take an arguably more modern, feminist approach to the Jane Eyre love story, where Jane gets back to Rochester, even after the revealed deceit. With this change in the line, the web series gave more agency to Jane. The series made her own personal accomplishments and goals the focus, rather than her title as lover, wife, partner, or mother being the focal point. 

For further reading and analysis on the ways Jane Eyre addresses readers directly and indirectly, consider reading “‘Reader, I Married Him’: 19th Century Reading Practices, Reading, and Readers in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre” by Corinna Norrick. This article discusses how “Jane’s reader addresses have become a classic feature of the novel Jane Eyre – the most prominent example, of course, is her confession: “Reader, I married him” (Brontë 411). In fact, this line is so prominent that in a manuscript of the novel displayed in the British Library, the notebook is turned to the page with this address (Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library; as of June 2010). There with, she completes the series of reader addresses that have played a continuing and significant role throughout the whole novel. In dealing with the novel Jane Eyre, we are confronted with an implied reader. By choosing to address her reader directly, the autobiographer acknowledges the reader’s presence and position within the levels of reading pertaining to Jane Eyre. However, the reader addresses go beyond a simple recognition of the fact that someone is reading the novel – they also serve to draw the reader into the novel, to invite the reader to partake in the emotions felt by the narrator, to form a seemingly realistic bond between the autobiographer and her audience” (Norrick 69).

Bibliography: “Endings – Ep: 95” YouTube, uploaded by Jane Eyre, 21 June 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FclkWG….

Norrick, Corinna. “‘Reader, I Married Him’: 19th Century Reading Practices, Reading, and Readers in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.” International Journal of the Book, vol. 8, no. 1, 2011, pp. 67–75. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mzh&AN=2013309760&site=ehost-live.

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by Brittany Atkinson