Brontes ‘queered’ for LGBT celebrations
Authors who adopted androgynous pen names for books given seal of approval by gay community
THE Bronte sisters have been included in LGBT Pride events because they wrote under androgynous pen names.
Feminists have reacted angrily to Emily, Charlotte and Anne’s inclusion in Pride month material discussing “the Brontes and gender identity” because of the ambiguity over their alter-egos.
Charlotte published her works under the name Currer, Emily under the moniker Ellis and Anne adopted Acton. All three went by the same surname, Bell.
At the time, it was common for female writers to adopt male pseudonyms when publishing their works in order to be taken seriously by the establishment – a practice still employed today by some authors.
Material posted online by the Bronte Parsonage Museum, in Haworth, the one-time Yorkshire home of the authors, states that “gender is explored” in their novels, some of which exhibit “gender queerness”.
The inclusion of the Brontes in LGBT material has been met with criticism by those who are concerned that gender ideology is being imposed on historical figures.
Joan Smith, the author of Misogynies, told The Telegraph: “What next, the Bronte brothers? The sisters didn’t use androgynous pseudonyms because they were non-binary or wanted to be men, it was because of the prejudice against female authors and the obstacles facing women who wanted to get published. Imposing modern nonsense about gender identity on 19th-century women writers is an insult to what they managed to achieve.”
Neither Charlotte, nor her younger sisters Emily or Anne were ever known to have had same-sex relationships, and the younger pair both died in their late 20s without having any recorded romances at all. Charlotte married the curate Arthur Bell Nicholls.
The Parsonage Museum has said that Charlotte created an entire persona for her alias, Currer, and that she was more “assertive” when using it in correspondence.
Her 1853 novel Villette is held up as an example of “gender queerness” in one post, which quotes an obscure academic paper.
Responding to an online backlash The museum said: “We remain committed to our Pride at the Parsonage campaign and stand beside all those we seek to include and celebrate.”
Lord Tennyson was named as an LGBT historical figure on a tour for schools on the Isle of Wight last year, despite a lack of evidence that the poet had any homosexual relationships.