Part I. 🦋

As far as the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ DRAWING is concerned —— I reached a decision about a fortnight ago —— to metaphorically stop ‘chasing the butterfly’; the pencil sketch is what it is —— I mean Charlotte couldn’t have made it anymore ‘obvious’ or unchangeable…

With my decision about the ‘Bonnet portrait’ drawing made —— something then happened quite out of the blue; a same, same but different ‘butterfly’ settled not on my shoulder —— or on my hand —— but straight in my lap —— on Friday, 18th. September 2020… On page 246 of my well-thumbed copy of ‘The art of the Brontës’ – there’s an instantly recognisable image of a watercolour painting attributed to Charlotte Brontë —— titled No 138 ‘Welsh Peasants’; recognisable as in —— I knew I’d seen the figure on the right of the painting countless times before!

The ‘Butterfly’ that landed in my lap – is a pencil drawing on ‘J Whatman’ watermarked paper —— Charlotte’s paper of choice no less!

Apart from the obvious —— the becloaked wearer’s broad-brimmed ‘Gipsy-straw’ —— the other detail that instantly struck a cord with me – was literally the cord tied around her long, columnar neck! To my way of reading Charlotte’s drawings —— the bow’s heart-shaped loops figuratively speaking are ‘wings’ —— and the loose ends ‘antennae’ —— whilst the rest of this exquisite ‘creature’ represents the flesh, heart and soul of a butterfly. And perhaps the ‘ballad’ held in the hand is not a ballad or a poem at all —— but represents an essay by the same name! A nod perhaps from Charlotte —— in acknowledgement of Emily’s remarkable insight and output.

Emily was initially resistant to Charlotte’s idea to go to print but thankfully Emily allowed herself to be persuaded by both her sisters…

    “One day, in the autumn of 1845, I accidentally lighted on an MS. volume of verse in my sister Emily’s handwriting. Of course, I was not surprised, knowing that she could and did write verse: I looked it over and something more than surprise seized me——a deep conviction that these were not common effusions, nor at all like the poetry woman generally write. I thought them condensed and terse, vigorous and genuine. To my ear they had also a peculiar music —— wild, melancholy, and elevating.”

After reading Emily’s poems – without Emily’s prior knowledge or permission!!! —— Charlotte determined that a joint book of verse written by Emily, and Anne and herself —— would be published for sale no matter what!

And so it was in 1846, that the three Brontë Sisters self-financed the publication of a volume of their poems. Alas, their first joint enterprise in the commercial world of the printed word —— ‘Poems’ by Currer Bell, Ellis Bell and Acton Bell —— sold only two copies; even their pseudonyms couldn’t help generate more sales! It was only after the publication of their first novels – that their literary talents began to pay dividends. In the spirit of the newest ‘Gipsy-Straw Portrait’ —— the Brontë Sisters proved themselves to be no run-of-the-mill 19th century ‘Ballad Sellers’ —— and it was Charlotte’s discovery of Emily’s extraordinary lyricism that was the catalyst.🦋

And so returning to the ‘new’ drawing, circa 1840’s —— this next passage from Charlotte Brontë’s third novel ‘Shirley’ rings more bells…

   “It chanced that Shirley, the moment before, had been gazing from a window down on the park; she had seen that stormy moonlight which ‘le Professeur Louis’ was perhaps at the same instant contemplating from her own oak-parlour lattice; she had seen the isolated trees of the domain – broad, strong, spreading oaks, and high-towering heroic beeches – wrestling with the gale. Her ear had caught the full roar of the forest lower down; the swift rushing of clouds, the moon, to the eye, hasting swifter still, had crossed her vision: she turned from sight and sound – touched, if not rapt, – wakened, if not inspired.

   She sang, as requested. There was much about love in the ballad: faithful love that refused to abandon its object; love that disaster could not shake; love that, in calamity, waxed fonder, in poverty clung closer. The words were set to a fine old air – in themselves they were simple and sweet: perhaps, when read, they wanted force; when well sung, they wanted nothing. Shirley sang them well: she breathed into the feeling, softness; she poured round the passion, force: her voice was fine that evening; its expression dramatic: she impressed all, and charmed one.

   On leaving the instrument, she went to the fire, and sat down on a seat – semi-stool, semi-cushion: the ladies were round her – none of them spoke. The Misses Sympson and the Misses Nunnely looked upon her, as quiet poultry might look on an egret, an ibis, or any other strange fowl. What made her sing so? They never sang so. Was it proper to sing with such expression, with such originality – so unlike a school-girl? Decidedly not: it was strange, it was unusual. What was strange must be wrong; what was unusual must be improper. Shirley was judged.” 

It’s broadly accepted that Charlotte’s main character ‘Shirley Keeldar’ is based on her sister; had Emily been born into healthier, wealthier circumstances…

When one looks closely at the watercolour in ‘The art of the Brontës’ and compares it to the drawing – one notices ‘the face’ is changed —— yet every detail apart from the heart-shaped butterfly bow —— has been meticulously reproduced again only in pencil…

And look at the slope of those noses!

I just don’t get what it is about Emily’s love of the Gipsy aesthetic – that those who reject the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ don’t get? have they actually read ‘Wuthering Heights’!!! Or ‘Shirley’ – or ‘Jane Eyre’ for that matter! The ‘powers that be’ that have systematically rejected the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ for more than a century —— certainly don’t seem very gifted at reading between the lines of Charlotte’s prose – and when it comes to the hidden messages in her art —— forget it!   

Both of Charlotte’s novels make mention of Emily’s signature hat… I think Charlotte was obsessed by Emily (and her hat!) – and because of that she produced several versions of the same portrait type – only this variation on the ‘Bonnet’ adds a heart-shaped twist that hopefully will help close the gap between those that believë in the ‘Bonnet’ and those that refuse too see all the significances in Charlotte’s prose and drawings —— that point to the fact that Emily’s hat of choice was nowt fancy —— but simply a large, wide-brimmed hat made of ‘common straw’!

I mean —— if it wasn’t for the so called experts —— conditioning us ‘all’ into believing that outdoorsy Emily rests easy with her décolletage permanently on display in the National Portrait Gallery —— the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ could be seen in a fairer light. No slight either on Branwell’s profile portrait of so called ‘Emily’ – it’s just that all the evidence points to the fact that the ‘Profile Portrait’ is Anne Brontë. Charlotte too painted her sister Anne in a low cut, off-the-shoulder dress – but I really can’t imagine Emily being comfortable in a dress that exposed her bare shoulders; Emily was surely a hat and cloak type person? But alas, still the so-called experts cling to their reputations —— insisting that the ‘Profile Portrait’ is ‘Emily’.     

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Part II: ‘Ring Them Bells’ 🔔 🔔 🔔

Charlotte Brontë: Novelist. Portraitist. Poet. Weaver.

Follow the link above to read about the relevance of a ‘Gipsy-Straw’ in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Shirley’…

As for a ‘Gipsy Straw’ in Jane Eyre’…

I’m fascinated by the similarities between the illustration above and the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ in the ‘Woman at Home’; it’s an illustration by C. E. Brock — of the moment Jane Eyre comes face to face with a mysterious Gipsy ‘woman’ – Mr Rochester in disguise!

I wonder whether C. E. Brock looked to the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ in the ‘Woman at Home’ for inspiration before illustrating Jane Eyre’s encounter with the strangely familiar ‘woman’ wearing “a broad-brimmed gipsy hat tied down with a striped handkerchief under the chin”? 

C. E. Brock was born in 1870 and received his first book commission in 1890; he went on to illustrate many classic novels.

The ‘Blue Version’ of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ (above) predates both the 1894 ‘Bonnet Portrait’ photogravure and C. E. Brock’s ‘Jane Eyre’ illustration by a clear half century; indeed it even predates ‘Jane Eyre’ the novel by ten years  —— yet all three feature the very style of hat described by Charlotte Brontë in ‘Jane Eyre’ and again in ‘Shirley’. It’s the mention of the word “striped” as opposed to ‘checkered’ that rings ‘Bonnet’ bells with me – but more about that in another post that’s still in my head at present —— or should I say under my hat! 

In light of the latest variant of the ‘Bonnet Portrait’ – I confidently predict in my crystal ball —— that the winds of change will shift from fair to full-blown wuthering, in a favourable direction of the ‘Bonnet’ —— whilst blowing the opposition right out of the water!!! 

It’s said the effect of a Butterfly flapping it’s wings in one hemisphere can cause a storm in the other – only this beautiful ‘Butterfly’ first flexed her wings many years ago; not in a tropical rainforest but in a quiet parsonage on the edge of the moor —— in a place called, Haworth.🦋