"In Our Time" - Jacob Mason

Pros

This podcast is very informative.

The speakers are well informed and knowledgeable.

They discuss Jane Eyre throughly, often times discussing the book building off what they have discussed.

Cons

The speakers talk fast once in awhile and sometimes are not easily heard.

They jump from one topic to the next, which can make the discussion seem disjointed.

What I Found Interesting

What stood out to me throughout this whole podcast was Charlotte Bronte's father, Patrick Bronte. Although he is only mentioned briefly in the very beginning, Patrick Bronte sounds astonishingly familiar. Patrick was an Irish-English priest who lived in England most of his adult life. 

Patrick was born in Ireland, the son of a poor farmer. Throughout his life, he climbed the social ladder, adding rungs by educating himself. At the astounding age of sixteen, Patrick founded and ran a school. After earning academic honors at Cambridge University, Patrick became a clergyman. 

On the surface, Mr. Bronte looks like a normal man. However, not all things appear as they are. According to Elizabeth Gaskell, who wrote a biography of Charlotte Bronte, her father was an odd man. Mr. Bronte was never fond of children. He often went on rants, burning his children's boots, shredding dresses, and shooting his gun at the kitchen door. To top it all off, Mr. Bronte would question his daughters about moral issues while wearing masks. Masks, he claimed, helped them to speak less resistantly.

Mr. Bronte was married to Charlotte's mother, Maria Branwell, who almost seemed to worship him. She was hopelessly devoted to her husband.

Patrick Bronte

Mr. Patrick Bronte and Mr. St. John Rivers are so similar, it's almost uncanny. 

Similarities

• Clergymen
• Started schools
• Smart, Educated
• Devoted to their occupations
• Magnetic (People are drawn to them)
• Believe their way is the only way

Differences

• Patrick climbed up the social ladder from the bottom; St. John started off with a decent amount of money.
• St. John is kinder
• Patrick married and had children

Clearly, both Patrick and St. John are quite similar. However, St. John is not the only character in Jane Eyre who possesses characteristics of Patrick. Patrick often lit things on fire in his mad rages, just as Bertha Mason lit Mr. Rochester's room on fire and eventually burned down Thornfield. To top it off, Charlotte Bronte created Jane, a character who is quite similar to Maria Branwell. Jane finds herself attracted to St. John, eventually getting to the point where she did only what St. John told her to. She was under his complete control. Quite similarly, Maria lived life under the iron fist of her husband.

Overall, Patrick Bronte is a man who clearly had an enormous effect on the shaping of the characters in Jane Eyre. Everywhere the eye turns, there is a hint of Patrick Bronte in his daughter's work of literature. It is extremely evident that Mr. Bronte was a monstrous figure in Charlotte's life, whether that was for better or worse. Patrick Bronte was odd and peculiar. At the end of the day, we may have him to thank for Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte did not come up with her characters out of thin air; she grabbed characteristics from her father and produced a few of her main characters, using what was right in front of her.