Loading summary
Transcript58 lines
- [00:00]
Podcast Host or Advertiser
Getting dressed in the summer is somewhat a challenge for me. I find it's much easier to feel put together in the layers that fall and winter afford, but it can be difficult to find outfits that I both feel good in and look good in as it heats up outside. Finding high quality pieces with particular fabrics Linen has personally become my favorite. I think is the way to go to building a summer wardrobe that I feel good about and that's why I keep coming back to Quince. They focus on these high quality essentials like breathable linen, soft organic cotton, washable silk, but all without the luxury markup. Their 100% European linen pants, dresses and tops start at just $32. And let me tell you, I have about three pairs of their linen pants in different colors and styles. They are wide leg, really comfortable, they have this patch pocket style style that I really like as well as a drawstring and they're so lightweight and breathable. But they still look really put together, which I find is is a tough balance with summer clothes. Plus, it's not just clothing. Quince has really become a destination for elevated essentials across home, kitchen, bedding and beyond, so it's easy to bring a more premium feel to everyday life. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quince.com historyextra for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com historyextra for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.com historyextra.
- [01:35]
Advertiser or Commercial Voice
Right now get up to 15% off select storage solutions put heavy duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. The solid impact resistant design prevents cracking and the clear base and sides make items easy to find even when the totes are stacked. Find select shelving and tote storage up to 15% at the home Depot. To organize every room in your home from your garage to your attic, visit homedepot.com how doers get more done so
- [02:06]
Lauren Good
good, so good, so good.
- [02:08]
Advertiser or Announcer
New summer arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores. Now get ready to save big with up to 60% off brands like Rag and Bone, Levi's, Adidas and Free people. Join the Nordy Club to unlock exclusive discounts. Shop new arrivals first and more. Plus buy online and pick up at your favorite Rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Your call has been forwarded to voicemail.
- [02:36]
Lauren Good
Hi, this is Zoe Deutsch and Nick Robinson.
- [02:39]
Advertiser or Commercial Voice
Our brand New movie Voicemails for Isabel is all about those little moments that feel like the universe is looking out, feeling homesick. Then your sister calls, hearing that perfect song exactly when you need it.
- [02:51]
Lauren Good
Please stay.
- [02:54]
Advertiser or Commercial Voice
Sometimes life rigs things in our favor, like learning about your new favorite rom com Voicemails for Isabel, now playing only on Netflix.
- [03:08]
Lauren Good
We might picture 19th century novelist and poet Charlotte Bronte's life as an isolated one, separated from much of the world and its fashions as she wiled away the hours in her father's parsonage. The truth is very different, however, and in this episode of the History Extra podcast, Eleanor Horton tells Lauren Good about how the clothes reveal new sides to her personality.
- [03:35]
Eleanor Horton
Hello Eleanor. Thank you so much for joining me. Today we're talking about your new book, Charlotte Bronte's Life Through Clothes, which provides such an intimate insight into Charlotte's character beyond her life as a writer. What was it that made you decide to explore Charlotte's life through her wardrobe?
- [03:54]
Lauren Good
Well, I studied English at Oxford, which I adored, and was particularly interested in the 19th century. And then I went to go and work as a milliner, which is a bit of a strange choice after Oxford. But after that I went back to academia to study 18th century studies. And as part of that, I had an amazing dress historian for a teacher. And she really inspired me to see clothing in this new way. And so when I came to do my doctoral studies, I decided to try and find a subject that brought these two sides of me together, that brought my passion for English literature and for history and also my interest in clothing. And so I looked around for someone who had a body of clothing that might allow me to do that. And I could not believe that after much searching, I should add, I came across Charlotte Bronte's clothing collection, which had never been studied before. And I could not believe that there would be someone so famous who would have all these clothes that no one had ever really looked at. So that's what started me on what turned out to be a nine year journey, So a long journey because there is so much to study, so much to get through. But it has taken me on such an exciting road, really, which I'm now very happy to be able to share with everyone in the form of a book.
- [05:05]
Eleanor Horton
How much do we actually have that survives from Charlotte's wardrobe?
- [05:09]
Lauren Good
So about 150 garments. And beyond that, there's jewelry and other things as well, but yeah, and that's composed of a lot of very large garments like gowns, but also bonnets, shawls, Parasols, a corset, corset covers, stockings, a huge amount. So 150 garments about. But what's so amazing about that is normally clothing belonging to middle class people just doesn't survive. So to have so much linked to one person and not just to one period of their life, but over the course of their life is just really unusual and such an amazing find.
- [05:42]
Eleanor Horton
It's just an amazing collection and so beautifully illustrated by you in your book. Before we delve into the clothes that Charlotte did wear throughout her life. Your description of her struggling with insecurity about her appearance really touched me when I was reading it and I feel provides important context surrounding her fashion choices. How did this anxiety show up throughout her life?
- [06:07]
Lauren Good
Oh, it showed up throughout her life. You're absolutely right. Very much central to this book really, and to my findings. So Charlotte, I think early on in her life was quite unaware of her appearance. But as she became older, she started to become aware. When she sort of was put into the world, thrust into the world, as it were, she started to become more and more aware of the fact that she was not beautiful. And not only was she not beautiful, it's a very difficult thing for us to talk about. But actually she was described as ugly, very ugly, plain. And she really was. We don't find it very comfortable to talk about that. But the reality, she really was not someone who would be considered classically beautiful in any way. And she became very aware of that, especially at school and especially in her teenage years, and suffered bullying as a result of that. And that insecurity stayed with her throughout her life. She had a hatred of being seen being scrutinized. And clothing therefore plays a very important part in that because at times it's a camouflage and at other times it's a protection and a shield. But yeah, you're right. Right until her death, we see the impact that her appearance has upon her and it is strik and debilitating. It tips at times into, I think what we would call using modern language, body dysmorphia, where it goes even beyond what she felt about herself. It was so strong and really did shape the course of her life and other people noticed it. Her editor, years and years after her death, still talked about the impact that it had on her life. So yes, you're right to pick that out. It's a really important point.
- [07:38]
Eleanor Horton
It's such a human perspective of Charlotte. I've picked out a few pieces that I'd love to talk about from your book. Unfortunately, we can't Talk. Talk about them all. The first that I would love to discuss is Charlotte's paisley dress. Now, this was the first moment in your book for me where I thought, okay, this is a very different and more human. We've just talked about, perhaps, perspective on Charlotte.
- [08:01]
Lauren Good
Yeah, I think it is a really important dress. It's the one that she would have been wearing probably at the time she was writing Jane Eyre. So we do see that connection with her literary life, but also with her home life in Haworth. We think. We tend to think, and I'm sure we'll come back to this, but we do tend to think of Charlotte Bronte very much as Jane Eyre, very much as the person that she's created. And we think of her as wearing brown dresses and dark things. And actually, the paisley dress stands very much as a reminder of the fact that that isn't true. It really challenges that perspective and helps us to see that she was a woman who was actually quite engaged with fashion, certainly to a degree anyway. She wore a lot of print. There's a lady from Haworth who said she wore out. But PR that the girls wore output print to church and things like that. So, again, that very much challenges what we presume is going to be what she wore. And certainly when I started to look at her wardrobe, I came with the same preconceptions that probably most of us have. But the reality has really, you know, forced me to see a different way. And the paisley dress is very important for that. But she made it herself, and it's beautifully made. We see all sorts of very clever techniques. Piping, cartridge pleats. It's a beautiful fabric. It has fashionable sleeves. The shape of the sleeves and the skirts very much in keeping with the period. But we also see her own taste. So at a time when flounces and things like that started to be quite popular. Charlotte really espouses, though she doesn't wear them because she has her own way of dressing, her own way of being. And so you see that personality come through quite strongly. So, yeah, it's a very important piece.
- [09:37]
Eleanor Horton
And you say that it was inspired by patterns from Central Asia. I think we have a perception of Charlotte being. As well as her being like Jane, but being cooped up in a parsonage on the moors and isolated from the world and its fashions. But this shows that that wasn't the case.
- [09:54]
Lauren Good
No, absolutely. And I think one of the things that really struck me as I was studying her clothing and the clothing of the period really, is just how connected it was. To the world. It's so globalized. We start seeing a huge number of influences that come through from all sorts of different places. So the cloaks, there's two cloaks that also belong to the Bronte sisters. They have connections to Mexico and South America. She has a pair of Iroquois moccas that were sent to her. So we see connections with a much bigger, wider world that some of the clothing, some of the dyes have come from all over the world. So all the things that we see in her wardrobe are only made possible because the connections that exist within 19th century society, really. And we start to see a world that's very much more open and broad and big than we perhaps had seen before.
- [10:43]
Eleanor Horton
Before I move on. If those listening are interested in literature and fashion, I've also spoken to Hilary Davidson on the podcast where she takes me on a through Jane Austen's wardrobe, from the clothes she wore behind closed doors to her most treasured jewelry. You can find a link to that in the description of this episode. Now, back to Charlotte. Eleanor, A piece which feels quite different from the paisley dress that I'd love to discuss is Charlotte's corset. Your description of how it would have fitted Charlotte and the sheer smallness of its size, it made me feel quite uncomfortable.
- [11:20]
Lauren Good
Yes, it is. It's a very powerful piece. I think it's probably one of the most speaking pieces in the collection. It is not very appealing to look at, to be honest. When you first see it, it's greying. It's not very pretty at all. Unlike some corsets of the period, which were. It's quite an ugly piece. It's very utilitarian. It has a huge busk that goes down the front. It has bones. So it's quite strong in its ability to really contain her and constrain her. And that was a deliberate thing. But it's also a really important, historically important piece, actually, because when I studied it, I was able to see that it's been woven in one piece, which doesn't sound that amazing, but if we stop and think about it, most corsets of the period were made using pieces pieced together. So they formed the body using pieces of fabric that were stitched together to make that shape. But Charlotte's is woven all in one piece, which is really, really unusual. In fact, it's one of the earliest I've been able to find despite really extensive searching. So historically, it's very, very important. It was actually based on a piece that was made first in Belgium. And in fact, she Bought Belgium, which is amazing. I was able to actually pinpoint virtually to the street where she bought it from. And she bought it effectively off the peg, which was really unusual for the period. That's just not something that really happened. Mostly corsets were made by a Mantua maker, a dressmaker, and they were made to fit you. So she bought this off the peg, which was, as I said, very unusual. But she wore that at a time in her life when things were very, very difficult, very challenging for her. She was living in Brussels alone. Her sister had gone back by then, we think. So she was facing a very difficult time where she was in love with her marriage. Professor. Unrequited love, we think. Again, there's a lot of discussion around this whole issue, but it was a very difficult time for her. And that corset is punitive, I think, because it helped her to pull herself in at a difficult time in life. And when you look at it closely, you see how tightly it was worn, which is very unusual for the period. We tend to think of corsets as being something punitive because we don't wear them anymore. But actually, most women at that time did not wear their corsets, corsets very tight. They were there just to give some support. But Charlotte, there's evidence in the corset that she pulled it so tightly, which is quite hard to see, as you say. It's a difficult thing for us to understand. But I think there's an element of inner turmoil that we see manifested in that garment, which is why it's so speaking. So we can see pulling at the eyelets, there's rust formed underneath, where the busk presses is firmly against her waist where it's pulled so tight. So, yeah, it is a frightening piece in some ways. And something I think that is uncomfortable to look at and was certainly uncomfortable
- [14:06]
Eleanor Horton
to study, is it that the corseted waist, was it 18 and a half inches?
- [14:10]
Lauren Good
Yeah, that's right. It was very, very small. And I mean, Charlotte was tiny. She was very, very little lady. So she was about 4 foot 8 or 4 foot 9. In fact, Harriet Martineau, who I know you've spoken about recently, she actually said she was one of the smallest women she'd ever seen outside, which was quite a harsh way of describing her. But she was very, very little. So she was small to start with, but the corset is very small and certainly she tight laced. And later in life, there's a lot of references to the fact that she did continue to tight lace and that actually Some of her friends and people who knew her well worried that it had an impact on her health.
- [14:48]
Eleanor Horton
There's a lot of controversy surrounding how we talk about corsets today, I feel. And you said that this more extreme use wouldn't have really been common practice. You mentioned earlier that you, you likened her, what she was struggling with, to body dysmorphia. Do you think this piece gives us an insight into that?
- [15:09]
Lauren Good
I think it certainly gives us an insight into the turmoil that she was experiencing at the time. And I think that is very connected to her appearance. You know, she's someone who hates scrutiny. She's in a foreign land, she. She's alone, she's struggling with unrequited love. She's struggling with a lot of very deep emotions. And that scrutiny that she would have been under at that time, I think we can certainly see that she uses as a kind of armor a way of pulling herself tight, keeping herself in, perhaps keeping her emotions in. But in terms of the body dysmorphia, one always has to be really careful when you're looking at dress. You have to stick with the evidence. And so though I think that there's definite evidence that she struggled with her appearance at a very deep level throughout her life. You have to not bring the emotion into a garment. Sometimes you have great emotions when you're looking at something. But I try and stick very closely to the evidence. But there's certainly evidence of deep emotion, I think, in the very fact that she felt the need to tight lace, which, as you say, was not normal at the time.
- [16:10]
Eleanor Horton
There is a theme of restriction here, and you do mention that. Yeah, it would even have prevented her from sitting properly because it was so long. And this theme of restriction also comes up when we consider the effect Charlotte's fame had on her wardrobe. She seems to be so caught between the spoils of success in London and her obligations as a parson's daughter in Haworth. So much so that there's an extravagant dress that you mentioned in the book that has previously been dismissed as not even belonging to her. What does this gown look like?
- [16:44]
Lauren Good
Well, it. It's certainly not what we would expect Charlotte Bronte to wear, that's for sure. So it's made from striped silk, blue and cream. And along its front it's got long sort of bell shaped sleeves with little pieces of lace. And it is festooned. That is the only word I can say, really festooned with faux flowers in pink with green leaves, some feathers thrown in there as well. So it really is. It's quite a surprising dress at all, but it's certainly a very surprising dress for Charlotte. It was surprising even for me, and I saw it quite late in my studies, so I was still shocked by it, even though I already had come to terms with the fact that she, you know, she'd smashed so many preconceptions that I'd come with. So it is a very surprising gown. It has long sleeves, quite a high neck, and it is a strange dress because normally we would expect evening gowns, which this certainly is, with all the embellishments, it would certainly have been an evening gown to have had lowered shoulders, but. But this is quite a strange gown in that it has long sleeves and quite a high neck. So we see a level of discomfort and confusion, I think, in this dress. On the one hand, she's adhering to the codes and conventions of the day. It's embellished, it's bold. But we also see that tension, as you rightly point out, perhaps with a prudishness that sits alongside fashionability and a discomfort. And interestingly, there's a passage in Villette, one of Charlotte's books, that really mirrors this. And, in fact, there's a lot of references to the fact that Charlotte did draw heavily on her own personal experience. And there's a lovely scene in Villette where she's being dressed by her godmother because she hasn't got quite the right clothes, and she's sort of forced into this dress she doesn't feel very comfortable with or in. And I think you can really feel that same feeling in this dress when you look at it. And it was later said that some of those scenes come directly from real life, as I said. And I think it's quite likely that George Smith, her publisher's mother, who she lived in with when they obviously went to stay in London, dressed her for an event. And so this gown is perhaps a combination of Charlotte's own design and also someone who perhaps had a better understanding of what was expected in polite London society, which Charlotte really hadn't really had to understand or had anything to do with until she had fame. She'd lived, as you say, in Haworth, which was a much quieter environment, much more parochial. And so she's thrust into this new world. And this dress shows that complicated reaction, I think, is the best way of describing it, because it is a very complex stress. But fascinating. Fascinating to see that you can get all of that out of one garment.
- [19:28]
Podcast Host or Advertiser
Starting or growing your own business can be intimidating and lonely. At times your to do list may feel endless with new tasks and lists can easily begin to overrun your life life. So finding the right tool that not only helps you out but simplifies everything as a built in business partner can be a game changer for millions of businesses. That tool is Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e commerce in the US from household names like Gymshark, Rare Beauty and Heinz to brands just getting started. Shopify has hundreds of ready to use templates. Templates that can help you build a beautiful online store that matches your brand style and you can tackle all the important tasks in one place from inventory to payments to analytics and more. No need to save multiple websites or try to figure out what platform is hosting the tool that you need. And if people haven't heard about your brand, you can get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you with easy to run email and social media campaigns to reach customers wherever they're scrolling or strolling. Start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify and start hearing. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify.com realm go to shopify.com realm that's shopify.com realm study and
- [20:55]
Advertiser or Commercial Voice
play come together on a Windows 11 PC and for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the unreal college deal everything you need to study and play with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 Premium and a year of Xbox game. Pass ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn more@windows.com studentoffer while supplies last ends June 30 terms@ aka mscollegepc
- [21:24]
Advertiser or Announcer
who cares about your poops? Ollie does. That's why Ollie's science backed gut Health lineup helps support your family's regularity. From daily probiotics to fiber gummies your kiddos will love. Find it all on ollie.com that's o l l y.com these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
- [21:51]
Eleanor Horton
What other evidence do we have of Charlotte perhaps enjoying her fame just a little bit through her wardrobe?
- [21:57]
Lauren Good
So Charlotte certainly did enjoy some aspects of fame. There were a lot of aspects, as you say, that she really didn't enjoy. She did not enjoy the scrutin or being thrust into environments that she wasn't very used to, wasn't comfortable in. But one side of fame that she absolutely enjoyed was working or meeting literary figures. And I think one of the most important moments probably in her whole life was meeting William makepeace Thackeray. In June 1850, she met him at her publisher's house in London. And it was a private meeting, so really just the two of them and George Smith, her publisher. And it was a really important moment and. And such to that important moment, she obviously chose her clothing very carefully and she wore a blue and white dress. It's got leaves and tendrils on it, it's very vivid, bright blue. Even to this day, it's retained that real vivacity and it's a real favourite among visitors when they go to the Bronte Parsonage, because it really is a sight to behold. But I always thought it was a beautiful dress. But it was only when I worked in collaboration with some electrochemistry chemists that we were really able to see just how deep that meaning was for her and why she chose that dress, which she made with her family servant, Martha Brown. So she made it herself before she went. And when we started to look at it closely, using Raman spectroscopy, we were able to see that the gown was made actually from alpaca fibres and cotton. I'd originally thought, just by looking at it, that it was likely to be wool and cotton, but when we looked closely, it was formed from alpaca. And that was a really, really, really important find because it allowed me to prove that the fabric had been woven within a nine mile radius of Haworth, which is where she lived. So that was a really incredible find. So it meant that when she stood before Thackeray, the little 4 foot 8 lady in front of a 6 foot 4 William Mapie Thackeray, this literary giant, she was wearing a fabric that had literally been made nine miles from home. So she'd taken a piece of Yorkshire with her, which I just think is wonderful. In that moment that was so important to her, she'd taken a piece of home. And I found that very moving. It was, and I think a very deliberate choice. She was very proud of her Yorkshire heritage and cloth and the making of clothing and fabric was so central to life in that area in the West Riding of Yorkshire. And it was also a cutting edge fabric that also I was fascinated to find, because in order to get the dye to adhere to the alpaca and the cotton fibre fibres equally, it's very difficult. Even to this day, that's quite a hard thing to do. So they use cutting edge technology to make sure that that Pattern took to that fabric so beautifully and it is still so vibrant to this day. So it's made from Prussian blue, so, yeah, what an amazing find. And it really helped me to see just how carefully she did actually think about clothing.
- [24:44]
Eleanor Horton
It's such an intimate insight into her thoughts during that huge event in her life. I wouldn't consider alpaca being something that was used in dresses at that point in history.
- [24:55]
Lauren Good
No, it was a really interesting fibre and, in fact, it was really what helped to build Sir Titus Salt's empire. So Salt's Mill, which a lot of you have heard of because it still stands well near Bradford, is just an amazing, amazing, well, factory. It was an empire, really, that was built up and alpaca fibres sat absolutely at the heart of that. It was a really important fabric. It was a very rich, lustrous, beautiful fabric which allowed you to have. It looks like a very fine wool, but it's very soft and has a lovely fall to it. And it really did make that area a huge amount of money. So, yeah, it was one of the fabrics of the moment, really.
- [25:36]
Eleanor Horton
Now, Eleanor, we can't talk about Charlotte's wardrobe and not talk about Charlotte's wedding dress. This should feel like a romantic, exciting part of a woman's life. But it was a little Charlotte, wasn't it?
- [25:49]
Lauren Good
It was different for Charlotte because the person that she chose to marry, initially at least, she really chose it as a pragmatic marriage. I think there was an element in which fame, when she actually had it, wasn't as fulfilling as she perhaps had hoped it would be. There were lots of elements, as we've said, that she did like, but I think the constant scrutiny that under which she was placed, she found that very difficult. And so I think she started to realise that just to have to be in that world forever was a big thing. That wasn't meaning she was saying goodbye to writing. But I think as she had, by this time lost all her siblings and she could see her father was in poor health and she looked to the future, I think she started to think more deeply about her options. And when she agreed to marry her father's curate, whom she had known for a long time, it wasn't great love for her. He was deeply in love with her, but she was not, I don't think, at all deeply in love with him at the beginning. So it was quite a complicated mix of emotions when she married. And I think we see that in her clothing, but for other reasons too, because she ends up choosing a dress which is a Surprising choice. So it's worth remembering that at this time for a woman to get married at the age she did, it was considered she was quite an old bride really. So normally women would wear a dress that they could use. Again, something that actually is much more like what she chose as her going away outfit which was a very pretty but two piece gown. But actually she ended up choosing a muslin gown which was quite girlish really. And although in some ways it's quite plain, she then pairs it with this very, very. Effervescent is the only word I can use, bonnet, which is full of lace and flowers and feathers and beads. And it really is again a sight to behold. It was an interesting combination. And I think that is because on the one hand we have this romantic aspect to Charlotte and we see that from so early. You know, she writes these wonderful stories right from so, so young in which this sort of romantic heroines and beaut and all these things are very much part of her life. And I think when she gets the chance to be a bride, there's a big part of her that still wants a piece of that, even though there's the other side of her which is much more pragmatic. So we again see this tension in her choice of clothing, which I think is fascinating. So yes, it's a complex mix of emotions.
- [28:09]
Eleanor Horton
I think again, it's that tension coming up like we explored with her fame. And she seems to be pulled in a lot of different directions. You include a note in your book that is believed to have been written from Charlotte to Elizabeth Gaskell. And she says that she's been forced to wear white by her friends, but she's stuck with more economic choices. And she says in the note that if I must make a fool of myself, it shall be on an economical plan. I mean, she doesn't sound like a woman in the throes of love, I suppose.
- [28:39]
Lauren Good
No, she really wasn't. I mean, she did come to love Arthur Bell Nichols very deeply, I think. And we really see that change happening from her honeymoon onwards. I mean, she doesn't live very long really after that. But we certainly see that she does come to have very deep feelings for him. But. No, I think that's true. But I also think there's a measure in that letter that she's hiding her true feelings and her true romanticism because she almost feels guilty about that. And I think you're right. We constantly see attention in Charlotte. She's pulled in so many different directions all the time. And I think that's what her clothing has shown me more than anything else, really, is that very human. We tend to maybe see things in a more linear way, but when we start really looking deeply, we see that all of us are subject to those kind of tensions all the time. We might not necessarily be aware of them, but even if we're not conscious of them, that they're there and they're pulling us in different directions. And we certainly see that in Charlotte's choice of wedding outfit. And I think that girlishness, that pragmatism, mixed in with a desire not to waste money, and also the fact she's a clergyman's daughter, but also this kind of overriding desire to be a bride, which is probably quite deep in a lot of people. And, yeah, I think that's lovely in a way, that she did fulfill that, even though perhaps the marriage itself, in the first instance at least, was with this sort of deep romance at its heart.
- [30:00]
Eleanor Horton
How old was Charlotte at this point when she married Arthur?
- [30:03]
Lauren Good
37. Yeah. Yeah.
- [30:05]
Eleanor Horton
I suppose that would have felt quite old at that point.
- [30:08]
Lauren Good
Very much so. Very much so. And so it would have, as I said, been expected that she would have worn probably a darker, just very much more pragmatic outfit that she would have worn again, perhaps for Sunday best. But she does go all out and she has this gown made that is quite. Though it's made from book muslin and so, not silk or something really, really expensive. It's, you know, been made for this use. And there's no evidence she wore it again. She may have done, but probably not.
- [30:34]
Eleanor Horton
So.
- [30:35]
Lauren Good
Yes, and as I said, her effervescent bonnet was really. Is really quite something.
- [30:41]
Eleanor Horton
It's so striking. And I think, as well as the tension that we feel, there is this feeling with Charlotte that she doesn't feel like enough. She feels too old to enjoy the more girlish, as you said earlier, you know, wants of a bride and then she perhaps doesn't feel attractive enough to certain clothes. There just seems that feeling which is difficult to see in, you know, a woman we know today for being such an intellectual mind.
- [31:10]
Lauren Good
Yes, I think that very human aspect. We tend, as you rightly say, we tend to think of her as this sort of literary giant. And so to see her so stripped bare is at times quite difficult. And I felt quite responsible for that and certainly very protective of her as I studied her in that way, because, you know, in effect, I'm rifling through someone's Nicotron, and that's a very, very personal thing to do. And I think to expose that side of someone. I'm not sure it's not an easy thing to do, but it does expose something of her that is. Is so deep and so meaningful and so resonant, I think, which I think clothing allows us to do that. I mean, clothes are part of our DNA in a way. We wear them so closely with us, so they walk so closely with us. So in that sense, they're sort of firsthand witnesses, really, to our. And I think that's why we have such a, in some ways, visceral reaction to them. We can't really look at them, I don't think, and without having some kind of reaction. Even though, as I said, I've worked very hard to treat them as sources, primary sources, because that's what they are. They're evidence of her life.
- [32:15]
Eleanor Horton
They are such an intimate insight. And I think you do mention in the book as well, that the perspective we have on Charlotte is primarily from Elizabeth Gaskell. But this, although it's raw, this is an insight from Charlotte herself, really.
- [32:29]
Lauren Good
Yes, in a way, I suppose it is. Though I've been surprised to see how the different garments have different things to say. Very different things to say. And so, in that sense, they are real witnesses in that, you know, they don't have one monolithic testimony. It's that each one is very different. Because I think what you do see through her, through the study of clothing over the course of someone's life, is that evolution of taste, of character, of expectation, the codes and conventions of society changing. It's not one person that you see encapsulated in one object. It's changing. And we see, for example, as you've said, how fame had impact on her wardrobe. We see what her school time had on her wardrobe or on her relationship with dress. There are so many different things that we see because her life changes and therefore her clothing changes, and so their testimonies are different throughout the course of the. Of her life.
- [33:22]
Eleanor Horton
Now, I have to ask Elena, there's such an extensive wardrobe here that does survive. What is your favourite piece? If you can answer that from Charlotte's wardrobe.
- [33:33]
Lauren Good
Oh, that's such a hard question to answer. As I've said before, it's a little bit like picking a favourite child, because you do get so close to these things. I think for me, probably. Oh, that's so hard. I do think probably one of the pieces that I found most smooth, which is different probably, to my favourite piece, the piece I found most moving, is she has a little pair of black satin shoes. Which are lined with rabbit fur. And I think they were one of the very first pieces that I saw when I arrived at the parsonage a long time ago, nine years ago, more than that now, and held them on my hand and to see the imprint of her foot and the space that's still there, that indent is still present. I think it's hard not to be. Be moved by that. So I think that that has stayed with me. But I think probably my very favourite piece is probably her pink wrapper, which she wore on her honeymoon. It's actually quite an ugly garment. It's. It's Pepto Bismol pink. It's huge and it's. It's covered in flowers. It's very. It's not what we expect. But I think it's my favorite piece because it challenges preconceptions in such a bold way. And I think in that sense it encapsulates. Encapsulates what this journey has been for me, which is just a constant reshaping of my view. And she wore it on her honeymoon. And I think we see in that piece an awakening of love and of a Charlotte that's, I think, probably for one of the first times in her life, though there were obviously many times in which she was happy. I think that time in her honeymoon actually ended up being a very happy period of her life. So for me, that garment is representative of the beginning of a period of happiness for Charlotte, even though it was very short because she, of course, died very soon afterwards. So that's another poignant piece. But there are so many. I could talk about all of them for hours.
- [35:27]
Eleanor Horton
I'm sorry for putting you on the spot.
- [35:29]
Lauren Good
That's okay.
- [35:31]
Eleanor Horton
Finally, Eleanor, in the spirit of that reframing and questioning our perspective on Charlotte from her clothes, how do you think we should reframe our view of her?
- [35:41]
Lauren Good
I think the first thing we should do is reframe her as a woman separate from Jane Eyre, because I think we are so, and continue to be so impacted by her connection to the most famous character that she ever created, who is often dressed in brown. And Charlotte does have dark gowns in her wardrobe, but that was a period of her life, often when she was working as a governess or during a period of mourning. But her wardrobe proves to us that she was a much more three dimensional character than that. She was a woman who embraced color and pattern. And she was also a woman who was really forced to live under, as so many of us are, so many conflicting forces, so many elements that had huge bearing on her life. Her relationship with her appearance, her relationship with her faith, the codes and conventions of society, which were very harsh, even more harsh than they are today, the struggles that she had with loss. There are so many aspects to her life and so many forces that have huge bearing on her life. And I think we see those forces in a different way through her clothes. So I hope that maybe we approach Charlotte with maybe a deeper kindness, a greater awareness of the world that she's living in and her connection to that world. And then I hope that perhaps we approach her books differently too, because of that, because of that different Charlotte. You can't help but approach her books in a different way. Partly because the clothes force us to see those stories in a different way, but also because I think if we see Charlotte as a separate entity from some of the characters that she creates, creates, we're able to appreciate them in a different way, to see those parts of her that are the same, but also those parts of her that are different. And I think that allows us to read the books in a completely new way. It certainly did me that was Eleanor Horton speaking to Lauren Good. Eleanor is a writer, illustrator and historical costume consultant. Her latest book, Charlotte Bronte's Life Through Clothes, is out now. Your next chapter in healthcare starts at Carrington College's School of Nursing in Portland. Join us for our open house on
- [37:57]
Advertiser or Announcer
Tuesday, January 13th from 4 to 7pm
- [38:01]
Lauren Good
you'll tour our campus, see live demos, meet instructors and learn about our Associate Degree in Nursing program that prepares you to become a registered nurse. Take the first step toward your nursing career. Save your spot now at Carrington Edu Events. For information on program outcomes, visit Carrington.
- [38:18]
Advertiser or Announcer
Edu Sci
- [38:23]
Advertiser or Commercial Voice
Athletic Brewing Co. Crafts Award winning non alcoholic beers for those who want to be part of every round. With over 185 flavor awards, they're exceptional NA beers that fit your lifestyle and any social media occasion. Summer's full of good times and athletic fits right in. Go to athleticbrewing.com to have brews delivered to your door or find them at a bar, restaurant or store near you. Near Beer Athletic Brewing Co. Fit for all Times the right window treatments change everything. Your sleep, your privacy, the way every room looks and feels. @blinds.com, we've spent 30 years making it surprisingly simple to get exactly what your home needs. We've covered over 25 million windows and have 50,000 five star reviews to prove we deliver. Whether you DIY it or want a pro to handle everything from measure to install, we have you covered. Real design professionals, free samples, zero pressure right now. Get up to 50% off with minimum purchase. Plus get a free professional measure@blinds.com rules and restrictions apply.