Buried alive, grilled alive, walled alive; if “I thought quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem as an adult” was a popular riff in the 2010s, the same was true for Brontë heroines and immurement in the 19th century.
Ha ha I was actually exactly like this as a young person. How close can an asexual goth who was raised Free Methodist get to being a nun without actually falling over the edge? I did eventually become a rainbow flag Episcopalian but my wardrobe is still 100% severe black linen.
"Every Brontë heroine is 9/10ths a nun already, except for the fact that she passionately loves a man with all the fury and intensity that an old Chihuaua feels for a beat-up squeaky toy." This is the best read on Charlotte Brontë EVER. omg I'm dying
As a raised-Mormon teen (Mormonism being the American-con-artistry-on-acid form of Methodism specifically) who was rigorously obedient but nevertheless filled with a sneaking suspicion that women were people too, and also enormous bisexual longing, I also found Jane Eyre to be an absurdly relatable character.
My own religious leanings are now quite similar to yours. My wardrobe? All over the place, although I'm wearing goth black today including enormous black cross sashiko embroidered pants... so... hello from you from the Mirror Universe I guess.
Psychic friends! 🖤 I wish we could compare wardrobes, your pants sound absolutely life-giving.
I like your description of Mormonism, that feels very accurate. Yeah, whenever I heard Mormons tell people to "read the scriptures and wait for the burning sensation in your heart", it always struck me as a line designed by someone who had been exposed to the verbiage of Methodism during the Great Awakening, but didn't quite understand it. (Or just realized it was a pretty great way to trick people into a placebo effect.)
That reminds me--have you heard ofthe book "When God Talks Back" by anthropologist T. M. Luhrman? It's about how and why people can self-hypnotize into thinking they are hearing a divine voice. It covers charismatic Christianity and neo-paganism and dissociative identity, and is somehow both ruthless and deeply compassionate. It feels very in sync with Jane Eyer's strange combination of skepticism and supernatural experiences. I have a feeling you would enjoy reading it. :-)
I would definitely enjoy reading that! Sounds right up my alley.
The injunction to read scripture and then check if you feel warm inside is BOTH a misunderstanding (or just riffing off of) Methodism and a great way to trick people into the placebo effect. Joseph Smith Jr. (Mormonism founder) lived in a Burned-over District during the Second Great Awakening. He was heavily swept up in tent revivals and his family was restlessly trying out different denominations. Even according to his own words, JS Jr. felt Methodism to be "the most correct" of any of the options presented to him, and Methodism's fingerprints are ALL over Mormonism for that reason. (Of course, it's much more syncretic than just one influence, but in talking about other flashier influences like Masonry, other fringe Restorationist sects, American exceptionalism/Manifest Destiny, Egyptomania, Spiritualism, etc., the more mundane DNA sharing with Methodism often gets overlooked.)
That's very lovely of you to say! However, I think there's actually quite a bit of approachable scholarship out there already. I do enjoy reading about these topics from time to time, and I'm (to use a bit of millennial therapyspeak) "in a place" where I can do so, but I think that the amount of immersion in materials it would require me to write something that really contributes to the scholarship would be... emotionally taxing for me to say the least. I'll let others take the wheel there.
I AM writing something right now, but it's a dense dissertation on a science topic I do not recommend anyone who isn't deeply in the field read :)
I do hope to eventually write for pleasure (or profit... if such a thing is possible), but my dream projects are all more pop-sci than historical.
Everything you've written on Brontë, particularly on Charlotte, is the best thing on Brontë ever written. Thanks for collecting them into one place at the top of the article.
You did an amazing send-up with Abigail Shrier's book that now I'm convinced J.K. Rowling will any day now rail against women becoming nuns for the same reason she harps against asexual people.
Ha ha I was actually exactly like this as a young person. How close can an asexual goth who was raised Free Methodist get to being a nun without actually falling over the edge? I did eventually become a rainbow flag Episcopalian but my wardrobe is still 100% severe black linen.
"Every Brontë heroine is 9/10ths a nun already, except for the fact that she passionately loves a man with all the fury and intensity that an old Chihuaua feels for a beat-up squeaky toy." This is the best read on Charlotte Brontë EVER. omg I'm dying
As a raised-Mormon teen (Mormonism being the American-con-artistry-on-acid form of Methodism specifically) who was rigorously obedient but nevertheless filled with a sneaking suspicion that women were people too, and also enormous bisexual longing, I also found Jane Eyre to be an absurdly relatable character.
My own religious leanings are now quite similar to yours. My wardrobe? All over the place, although I'm wearing goth black today including enormous black cross sashiko embroidered pants... so... hello from you from the Mirror Universe I guess.
Psychic friends! 🖤 I wish we could compare wardrobes, your pants sound absolutely life-giving.
I like your description of Mormonism, that feels very accurate. Yeah, whenever I heard Mormons tell people to "read the scriptures and wait for the burning sensation in your heart", it always struck me as a line designed by someone who had been exposed to the verbiage of Methodism during the Great Awakening, but didn't quite understand it. (Or just realized it was a pretty great way to trick people into a placebo effect.)
That reminds me--have you heard ofthe book "When God Talks Back" by anthropologist T. M. Luhrman? It's about how and why people can self-hypnotize into thinking they are hearing a divine voice. It covers charismatic Christianity and neo-paganism and dissociative identity, and is somehow both ruthless and deeply compassionate. It feels very in sync with Jane Eyer's strange combination of skepticism and supernatural experiences. I have a feeling you would enjoy reading it. :-)
I would definitely enjoy reading that! Sounds right up my alley.
The injunction to read scripture and then check if you feel warm inside is BOTH a misunderstanding (or just riffing off of) Methodism and a great way to trick people into the placebo effect. Joseph Smith Jr. (Mormonism founder) lived in a Burned-over District during the Second Great Awakening. He was heavily swept up in tent revivals and his family was restlessly trying out different denominations. Even according to his own words, JS Jr. felt Methodism to be "the most correct" of any of the options presented to him, and Methodism's fingerprints are ALL over Mormonism for that reason. (Of course, it's much more syncretic than just one influence, but in talking about other flashier influences like Masonry, other fringe Restorationist sects, American exceptionalism/Manifest Destiny, Egyptomania, Spiritualism, etc., the more mundane DNA sharing with Methodism often gets overlooked.)
Have you ever thought about writing a book or article series about this? You have so much delicious historical context to share!
That's very lovely of you to say! However, I think there's actually quite a bit of approachable scholarship out there already. I do enjoy reading about these topics from time to time, and I'm (to use a bit of millennial therapyspeak) "in a place" where I can do so, but I think that the amount of immersion in materials it would require me to write something that really contributes to the scholarship would be... emotionally taxing for me to say the least. I'll let others take the wheel there.
I AM writing something right now, but it's a dense dissertation on a science topic I do not recommend anyone who isn't deeply in the field read :)
I do hope to eventually write for pleasure (or profit... if such a thing is possible), but my dream projects are all more pop-sci than historical.
These quick and dirty edits are sending me 🥹
Everything you've written on Brontë, particularly on Charlotte, is the best thing on Brontë ever written. Thanks for collecting them into one place at the top of the article.
You did an amazing send-up with Abigail Shrier's book that now I'm convinced J.K. Rowling will any day now rail against women becoming nuns for the same reason she harps against asexual people.