Myths of power: A Marxist study of the Brontës

This book sets out to interpret the fiction of the Bronte sisters in the light of a Marxist analysis of the historical conditions in which it was produced. Its aim is not merely to relate literary facts to historical facts, but, by close critical examination of the novels, to find in them a significant structure of ideas and values which relates to the Brontes ambiguous situation within the class-system of their society. Its intention then, is to forge close relations between the novels, nineteenth-century ideology, and historical forces, in order to illuminate the novels themselves in a radically new perspective. Among the themes it discussses are the role of the governess, the importance of sexual domination and the significance of the formal qualities of the novels.