On September 24, 1848, at the age of 31, Branwell reached the last moment of his life.
He struggled to get up from his hospital bed and stood to welcome death. "As long as you are alive, you have willpower, you can do whatever you want." At the last minute, he did it anyway.
The wind blew through his light brown hair, and the woman's letter in his pocket fell to the ground.
The once talented and vigorous, once wanton and reckless, decay and depravity, in the end all turned into tranquility, leaving only endless pain and sorrow for relatives.
Less than 3 months after Brandwell's death, due to grief, his sister, the talented female writer Emily Brontë, who wrote Wuthering Heights, passed away; A year later, her sister Anne Brontë died of illness, and seven years later, the last of the three Brontë sisters, Charlotte Brontë, died of illness, taking away her unborn baby.
The Bronte family, annihilation.
Talent is revealed, family pride
In 1817, Brandville was born. When he was four years old, his mother died of illness, his father was busy with work, and the six children read books and made up stories together, which became each other's best companions.
Branwell was so much pampered that the resources of the family were tilted in his favor, not only because he was the only boy in the family, but also because he showed extraordinary talent at an early age and was even considered the most talented child in the family.
He could write poetry, prose, and drew well, and was handsome, full of heavenly court, bright-eyed, polite, straightforward and friendly.
No matter how Brandwell looks at it, the future is bright.
Unlike several sisters, who were sent to boarding school one after another, Branwell was taken by his father to teach him when he was supposed to enter school. His father was the son of a poor peasant, but he was admitted to Cambridge University by his own efforts, and he couldn't look at the too bad school, for fear of delaying his son, and the too good school could not afford the tuition, so his father decided to go into battle himself.
Under the careful guidance of his father, Brandwell was precocious and intelligent, and he loved to talk and express himself. His father was happy to take him with him when he went out, let him show, perform, and receive praise from everyone. Soon, everyone in the village knew that the Brontë family had a smart and eloquent child, and that the village meeting and even the lonely foreigners who came to the hotel asked Brandwell to be the representative to socialize.
His family is proud of Brandwell, believing that one day he will glorify his ancestors, and Brandwell himself thinks so, and he is full of expectations for the future.
Talent can mask many deficiencies, and just as many parents do not care about their children's academic performance, the father knows nothing about Brandwell's inner thoughts and does not care about his other aspects of indulgence.
Several older sisters grew up suffering in boarding school, worked as tutors early to earn money to support the family, and lived an almost ascetic life, while Branwell's life was free and nourishing. The elements of his temperament that are passionate and exaggerated, after a lack of discipline and restraint, gradually become vanity and conceit, which will destroy him one day in the future.
Dreams shattered
In the summer of 1835, 18-year-old Branwell came to a crossroads in life, that is, what to eat on in the future.
After discussion, the family decided to cut back on food and clothing, and sent him to the Royal College of Art to study painting.
Brandwell is looking forward to this, and he has grown up in a small place since he was a child, and he wants to see the outside world too much. He fumbled with maps of London, so familiar with them that he could even point out a shortcut between two places to old Londoners, as if he had lived there.
But the biggest problem is money. Her father was a pastor, her income was stretched, her two eldest sisters had died, Emily and Anne were still studying, only Charlotte found a job as a teacher, in addition to supporting herself, she also had to pay Anne's accommodation and tuition, and could not save money at all.
Although the work of a teacher is not easy, "but the responsibility (poverty) is like a strict hostess who cannot resist", and soon Emily graduated and also became a teacher, "the heavy labor that began at 6 a.m. lasted until 11 p.m., with only one and a half hours of activity in between." "Like slavery. When her sister Anne grew up, she also did a job that she didn't like, "Private tutors don't exist and are not considered living and sane people." ”
Even though they were busy and difficult, the three sisters were still willing because they put all their expectations on Branwell, hoping that he could carry his dream and become a great painter.
In early 1836, Branwell left for London, and half a month later he returned home gloomy. Brandwell claimed to have been robbed, but in reality, it was just his lie.
When Branwell arrived in London, the bustle of the big city overwhelmed him with excitement and made him understand how insignificant everything was before. Especially when he saw the paintings in the gallery, he knew what it was like to paint in the world, and if he relied on painting, he might not be able to get ahead in his entire life.
The germinated ideal, like the young shoots of early spring, instantly withered in the bitter cold.
After a few days of drinking and squandering all the money, the enthusiastic Branwell returned to his hometown, turned to literature and put his dream of painting on hold.
But how can the road of literature be taken casually? Over the next four years, Branwell wrote historical essays, poems, and translated many lyric poems, but these were far from enough to make him famous, and in 1838 Branwell returned to painting. He rented a studio in town to paint portraits of local celebrities, but eventually the studio closed.
Ideals burst like bubbles one by one.
In 1840, at the age of 23, Brandwell had to get a job first. Although his sisters considered it a "debauchery, wandering, adventure, romance, ranger knightly position", being a "Leeds-Manchester railway clerk" certainly made him unhappy.
Brandwell was clearly paddling, not only was he late and early and careless, he also wrote poems, painted, and doodled on his account books, and was fired after being found to have 11 pounds less in the accounts he handled.
Meanwhile, with all three girls struggling to survive, Charlotte and Emily head to Brussels to work and study in hopes of adding a little earning credentials to their teaching resumes.
In 1844, when her father suffered from cataracts, Charlotte returned home to take care of her father, and on a whim, she decided to open a "Brontë sisters school", but no one was recruited, in large part because of Brandwell's bad reputation.
It all started with the Brandwell scandal.
In 1843, Brandwell began working as a governess, and soon after, he was dismissed, and the man rebuked him for his depravity and ordered him to immediately and forever sever all contact with every member of the family, or expose his actions.
Faced with questions from his family, Brandwell admitted that it was because he was in love with his hostess, but some people thought that Brandwell had some kind of ulterior relationship with his male students.
What the truth is, no one knows. But the shattering of ideals and the emotional blow made Branwell completely degenerate.
Hopeless
If before that, even if Brandwell had done nothing, he was still the "pride and hope" of his family, and his family supported him without complaint, then later, the family who loved him deeply and believed in him gradually found out sadly that he had become an "incorrigible man".
Without a job, Branwell wandered around drunkenly all day, and came home to stir up the chickens and dogs.
"I began to worry that he had reduced himself to the point where he could not afford any decent position in life. In addition, if he has money to use, it will only be used to hurt himself, and I am afraid that his self-control has almost collapsed. ”
Under the anesthesia of alcohol and drugs, Branwell temporarily forgot his frustration, in order to get money, he unscrupulously, pretended to pay off the debt, defrauded the money and went to the tavern to change drinks, and when the whole family went to church, he lied that he was seriously ill, and then sneaked out and defrauded the pharmacist to get medicine. He kept borrowing money, spending it all, and leaving the mess to his family.
Occasionally, he would swear to change his past, but more often, he was still discouraged, borrowed wine to pour out his worries, and even threatened to kill his old father when he went crazy.
For countless nights, the sisters pricked up their ears all night to hear if gunshots were fired, until early in the morning, they saw Brandwell staggering out and drunkenly shouting: "Poor old man had a terrible night with me, and he did his best—poor old man!" But I'm all over. ”
"We took pains with Brandwell. He didn't want anything, he would just borrow wine to pour out his worries or unconsciousness. No one in this home can be at peace. He wrote to me this morning expressing his remorse... But as long as he stays at home, I dare not ask for peace at home. ”
Gradually, the family began to lose all hope, and the aunt who raised him died and even removed his name from his will.
When will such a day be the beginning? But what else can they do but endure?
"I postponed writing because there was no good news for you. My hopes for Brandwell are actually fading away. Sometimes, I worry that he will never be healthy again. This recent blow to his future and emotions has left him breaking the jar. Only pennilessness can restrain him. It is true that a person should have hope until the last moment, and I try to do so, however, hope for him can sometimes seem so disappointing. ”
At a time when Brandwell was rapidly falling, the three sisters ushered in their first small career explosion with their own efforts. No matter how difficult life was, they always worked hard, and in 1845, the three of them published a book of poetry together, and the publication of the poetry book inspired the three sisters, and they began to write novels separately, which led to "The Teacher", "Wuthering Heights", "Agnes Gray"... Only then did "Jane Eyre" and "Shelley" come the legend of the three Brontë sisters, who are famous in the literary circle.
Brandwell, whom they regarded as a genius, sank into alcohol and depravity. In 1848, Branwell died of pneumonia.
epilogue
Compared to his three older sisters, Branwell had more talent and material conditions, but achieved nothing. The reason is that when others are tempered by wind and rain, he hides in the greenhouse.
Too much protection, too much praise, made him conceited and fragile, he lacked self-knowledge, he lacked confidence, and he knew nothing about difficulties. "Do as you like" is actually just his abandonment in the face of difficulties and challenges. Once you lack self-restraint and do whatever you want, it is easy to fall into destruction.
Many times, we need to have a clear understanding of ourselves and difficulties, and we also need to tell ourselves to persevere and persevere again when we are about to give up.
Perhaps, the next second, a rainbow will appear.
References: "Brontë Biography", "Brontë"