Choice 评论
Thorm"ahlen (Lund Univ., Sweden) has written the first full-length study of the part that religion plays in the Bront"e novels. A professor of English literature, the author displays an extraordinary knowledge of the 19th-century Anglican Church and its doctrinal, ethical, and ecclesiastical issues and debates. Her purpose--and she succeeds admirably--is to "open up new and richer channels of perception to Bront"e readers unfamiliar with the religious dimensions in the novels." She examines the treatment of religion from four fundamental perspectives: denominational, doctrinal, ethical, and the roles and duties of clergymen. Every Bront"e reader is aware of the crucial significance of the interplay between human and divine love in the Bront"es' works. Thorm"ahlen returns to this theme repeatedly throughout her book because the Bront"es followed no path set down by others. Their novels reflected their personal faith, which was "unchecked by external prescriptions or considerations of propriety and uninhibited by any urge to attain absolute answers." Thoroughly annotated with a select bibliography, this is not a book for beginners; but it is absolutely required reading for those engaged in Bront"e studies at the upper-division undergraduate level and above. G. B. Cross; Eastern Michigan University