Record Number: 28770

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Reading Experience:

Evidence:

[Charlotte Bronte to Sydney Dobell, 3 February 1854:]

'"Balder" arrived safely. I looked at him, before cutting his leaves, with singular pleasure [...] I have read him. He impresses me thus: He teems with power; I found in him a wild wealth of life [...]

'There is power in that character of "Balder," and to me a certain horror. Did you mean it to embody, along with force, any of the special defects of the artistic character? It seems to me that those defects were never thrown out in stronger lines. I did not and could not think you meant to offer him as your cherished ideal of the true great poet; I regard him as a vividly coloured picture of inflated self-esteem, almost frantic aspiration; of a nature that has made a Moloch of intellect — offered up, in pagan fires, the natural affections — sacrificed the heart to the brain. Do we not all know that true greatness is simple, self-oblivious, prone to unambitious, unselfish attachments? I am certain you feel this truth in your heart of hearts.'

Century:

1850-1899

Date:

Between 1 Jan 1853 and 3 Feb 1854

Country:

England

Time

n/a

Place:

city: Haworth
county: Yorkshire

Type of Experience
(Reader):
 

silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

Type of Experience
(Listener):
 

solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown

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Reader / Listener / Reading Group:

Reader:

Charlotte Bronte

Age:

Adult (18-100+)

Gender:

Female

Date of Birth:

21 Apr 1816

Socio-Economic Group:

Professional / academic / merchant / farmer

Occupation:

Writer

Religion:

n/a

Country of Origin:

England

Country of Experience:

England

Listeners present if any:
e.g family, servants, friends

n/a

Additional Comments:

n/a

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Text Being Read:

Author:

Sydney Dobell

Title:

Balder

Genre:

Fiction, Poetry

Form of Text:

Print: Book

Publication Details

1853

Provenance

unknown

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Source Information:

Record ID:

28770

Source:

Print

Author:

n/a

Editor:

Thomas James Wise and John Alexander Symington

Title:

The Brontes: Their Lives, Friendships and Correspondence

Place of Publication:

Oxford

Date of Publication:

1980

Vol:

2:4

Page:

102-103

Additional Comments:

n/a

Citation:

Thomas James Wise and John Alexander Symington (ed.), The Brontes: Their Lives, Friendships and Correspondence, (Oxford, 1980), 2:4, p. 102-103, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=28770, accessed: 20 April 2024

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Additional Comments:

None