DESCRIPTION OF SOCIAL ATTITUDES IN THE NOVEL “SHIRLEY” BY CHARLOTTE BRONTE

Abstract

This article is dedicated to Bronte’s most distinctive novel – “Shirley”. The novel stands out from the work of Charlotte Bronte especially due to its differences from her other novels – it differs significantly in the structure, narrative style, setting, characters and general tone. It is also the only novel explicitly touching upon the political issues of the times and is therefore often categorized as a social novel. At the same time, readers may still find some of the themes so typical for the work of Bronte.  Bronte’s primary aim was to portray lives of different individuals in context of social attitudes and social forces and how these social elements affect and control their lives in various ways. Social attitudes, political issues of the times are outlined in this article as well.