M. Paul Emanuel: Analysis
In 1842 Charlotte Brontë travelled to Brussels with her sister Emily to study French and other subjects in order to set up a school of their own once they returned to England. They worked as student-teachers at the Pensionnant Heger, run by Mme Claire Zoe Heger and her husband Constantin. She developed a deep attachment towards Constantin and she used him as inspiration to create the character of M. Paul Emanuel.
“A dark little man he certainly was; pungent and austere. Even to me he seemed a hard apparition, with his close-shorn, black head, his broad, sallow brow, his thin cheek, his wide and quivering nostril, his thorough glance and his hurried bearing. Irritable he was; one heard that, as he apostrophized with vehemence the awkward squad …show more content…
- “Little cat, sweet one, coquette!” sibilated the sudden boa-constrictor; “you seem sad, submissive, dreamy, but you are not those things; I will describe you: Savage! Your soul is on fire, lighting in your eyes!
- Yes; I have fire in my soul, and I have reason to! Retorted I, turning in just wrath; but Professor Emanuel had hissed his insult and was gone.” (352)
The professor wants to be respected by Lucy but later insults her when she receives the attentions of another man. Like Heathcliff does with Catherine, M. Paul argues with Lucy because her affection belongs to another man. In the previous quotation it can be seen how Lucy uses terms like “hiss” or “sibilate” to refer to M. Paul. She also uses the concept “boa-constrictor”. Again, a male character is animalized and considered a beast when he is not able to control his passions. The man is degraded to the state of a wild animal.
Once Lucy realizes that John Graham will never notice her and witnesses how he falls in love with Ginevra and Polly she starts noticing M. Paul and falls in love with him. Anyway, she is aware of his many flaws: “that absence of what I considered desirable self-control, which were amongst his faults” (345) He lacks restraint and that makes him less alluring to
“A dark little man he certainly was; pungent and austere. Even to me he seemed a hard apparition, with his close-shorn, black head, his broad, sallow brow, his thin cheek, his wide and quivering nostril, his thorough glance and his hurried bearing. Irritable he was; one heard that, as he apostrophized with vehemence the awkward squad …show more content…
- “Little cat, sweet one, coquette!” sibilated the sudden boa-constrictor; “you seem sad, submissive, dreamy, but you are not those things; I will describe you: Savage! Your soul is on fire, lighting in your eyes!
- Yes; I have fire in my soul, and I have reason to! Retorted I, turning in just wrath; but Professor Emanuel had hissed his insult and was gone.” (352)
The professor wants to be respected by Lucy but later insults her when she receives the attentions of another man. Like Heathcliff does with Catherine, M. Paul argues with Lucy because her affection belongs to another man. In the previous quotation it can be seen how Lucy uses terms like “hiss” or “sibilate” to refer to M. Paul. She also uses the concept “boa-constrictor”. Again, a male character is animalized and considered a beast when he is not able to control his passions. The man is degraded to the state of a wild animal.
Once Lucy realizes that John Graham will never notice her and witnesses how he falls in love with Ginevra and Polly she starts noticing M. Paul and falls in love with him. Anyway, she is aware of his many flaws: “that absence of what I considered desirable self-control, which were amongst his faults” (345) He lacks restraint and that makes him less alluring to