Shirley

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1849

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-10

Chapters 11-18

Chapters 19-25

Chapters 26-30

Chapters 31-37

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 11-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 11 Summary: “Fieldheads”

Caroline does not give up on her efforts to forget Robert, yet she is still sad. She wants to leave her town of Briarfield and thinks about finding her mother or becoming a governess. She often walks to Hollow’s Mill to see Robert’s shadow in the window. On the way to the mill is an empty mansion called Fieldhead. One day when sitting nearby, Caroline sees Robert and Yorke pass by. At home, she tells her uncle of her intentions of becoming a governess but he dismisses her as foolish, as well as all women.

One day, Helstone informs Caroline that they are going to see a Miss Shirley Keeldar, who has recently come into the inheritance of Fieldhead. At Fieldhead, they are greeted by an older woman named Mrs. Pryor. Caroline thinks she is dressed oddly, but nevertheless likes her. Helstone, however, pretends not to hear the woman whenever she speaks. Shirley appears and introduces Mrs. Pryor as her former governess, and announces that she thinks she will be good friends with Caroline. Shirley is considered a boy’s name, and the narrator explains that Shirley was called this because her parents wanted a boy. She has been talking with her tenant, Robert, and asks the Helstones’ opinions of him as she thinks she will enter into a partnership with him.

Chapter 12 Summary: “Shirley and Caroline”

Shirley frequently invites Caroline over and comes to Helstone’s rectory more than the homes of any other young ladies in town. The two unconventional women take a lot of walks across the countryside and become fast friends despite their differences in class. They talk about Helstone and how Caroline does not want to be around him. They also talk about marriage and how it would be wise for them not to marry unless they find men who truly love and respect them.

Mrs. Pryor is also determined to be friends with Caroline and often goes to see her. Caroline enjoys her company as well. Mrs. Pryor offers her services when it comes to Caroline’s education. Mrs. Pryor sees two portraits of Caroline’s father and uncle when leaving the rectory and tells Caroline she did not think her father looks like he would care for her if he were still living. Caroline and Shirley have the same tastes in poetry and discuss it together, and Shirley often slyly alludes to Caroline’s feelings for Robert.

Chapter 13 Summary: “Further Communications on Business”

One night Caroline sees Robert and Shirley walking together and thinks Robert must be in love with her. Caroline doubly gave up on her hopes of marrying him once she met the beautiful Shirley. Unheard by Caroline, Shirley and Robert talk about business and how Robert’s business prospects have recently improved thanks to her loaning him money. Caroline comes to Fieldhead the following day and Mrs. Pryor is worried about how tired she is. Caroline speaks with her about becoming a governess but Mrs. Pryor and Shirley both advise against it. Shirley suggests they go on a trip over the summer and Caroline agrees. Robert arrives and greets Caroline coolly. He and Caroline speak but Caroline cannot discern his feelings. She believes Robert and Shirley are beginning to have feelings for one another. Robert offers to walk her partially to the rectory, which Caroline attempts to decline, and Robert asks her if she is feeling well. Caroline confesses she often walks by the mill, and Robert says he has thought he has seen her inside but it is only an illusion. Robert wishes to stay longer once they reach the rectory, but Helstone comes out once they arrive and Robert is forced to hide while Caroline goes inside. Caroline thinks of him before bed but knows he will marry Shirley.

Chapter 14 Summary: “Shirley Seeks to be Saved by Works”

Caroline knows she will be forgotten once Robert and Shirley marry and does not know what she will do with herself. Shirley visits Caroline as Caroline has not visited her like she promised. Shirley believes that Robert is getting in the way of their friendship and Caroline believes that Shirley is getting between her and Robert. The two women make up and, at Fieldhead the next day, Shirley announces her intention to be more actively charitable in the community and asks Caroline for her help. They enlist the help of Miss Ainley who involves the nearby rectors and the group forms a plan to help the poor of their parishes.

Chapter 15 Summary: “Mr. Donne’s Exodus”

While Caroline is at Fieldhead, Shirley invites the curates Donne and Malone over to amuse them, to Caroline’s consternation. Both men attempt to woo Shirley before Sweeting and Hall also arrive and are received much more warmly. Donne tries to persuade Shirley to donate to a school he is forming, but is offended by the sum she does give and begins to rail against both the rich and poor of Yorkshire. Shirley is furious and opens her garden gates, commanding him to leave instantly.

Chapter 16 Summary: “Whitsuntide”

Shirley’s charitable fund does well and the unemployed workers of the town are assisted but are still angry with the mill owners. The nearby parishes prepare for their local celebration of Whitsuntide. Caroline brings Shirley to the event, and they are happy to see everyone is dressed well and looking less destitute. Before the parade, Shirley forgives Donne and slights Malone.

Chapter 17 Summary: “The School Feast”

The town marches in parade and runs into another procession coming right at them. The other procession, a group of religious dissenters, is scared away by their parade’s noise before the parade then turns back for a feast. The Moores both come to the feast and Shirley works hard to keep a seat beside herself for Robert. When Caroline sees them talking animatedly, Caroline goes outside to look for Hortense but is soon left alone. Shirley finds her and the two watch as Robert and Helstone shake hands, leaving Shirley thinking the men are planning something about business without her. Robert forgets to tell them goodbye before leaving, so Shirley makes Caroline find him to say goodbye.

Chapter 18 Summary: “Which the Genteel Reader is Recommended to Skip, Low Persons Being Here Introduced”

While everyone else is at church, Caroline and Shirley see six soldiers on horseback whom they had seen from a distance during the parade. William Farren comes out of the church with one of his children and they talk about the curates who are speaking inside. He talks about how the curates are too proud to offer anyone charity and unemployed workers like him are too proud to take charity. Shirley tries to convince William of Robert’s goodness, but he is not moved. Joe Scott also arrives and believes the women should go into church rather than discuss business. He and Shirley fight about what women should and should not discuss and both sides use the bible to back themselves up.

Chapters 11-18 Analysis

The novel’s titular character is finally introduced in Chapter 11 and is used to both contrast and parallel Caroline as well as to explore A Woman’s Place. The quiet, somber, and heartbroken Caroline at first seems to differ greatly from the exuberant and commanding Shirley. Brontë marks Shirley as distinctly masculine, giving her a name that had only belonged to men before the novel was published and having her frequently refer to herself as “he” and “Captain Keeldar.” Brontë draws attention to the traditionally feminine and masculine aspects of both women, but also shows how Shirley, with her wealth and standing, has more freedoms than that of an average woman at the time. While Caroline could only obtain money of her own by working, something she is prohibited from doing, Shirley’s money is all her own as long as she remains unmarried. Due to this, Shirley has more choices than the sheltered Caroline and is able to do many of the things she wishes on a whim. While Caroline makes clothing for Miss Ainley’s charity work, Shirley starts a charity of her own at a moment’s notice. The narrator notes that Caroline “would wish nature had made her a boy instead of a girl, that she might ask Robert to let her be his clerk, and sit with him in the counting-house” (76), something Shirley does shortly after arriving in Yorkshire. Moreover, Shirley is much more likely to get the one thing Caroline wants above all else—Robert—and Caroline greatly fears that he will marry Shirley for her wealth. Although, as a wealthy and landed woman, Shirley has far more opportunities than Caroline, Brontë continually comes back to the point that neither have many choices over the lives they will lead because they are women. This is something Caroline and Shirley bond over, both women wanting to do something with their lives other than marry, and their convictions only become stronger as the novel progresses.

The theme of Romantic Love Versus Friendship comes into play in these chapters, especially in chapter fourteen when Shirley and Caroline both think the other is angry at them. When the two women spend time with Robert, both of them are unable to tell who the third wheel is. Caroline believes she is getting in the way of Shirley and Robert’s romance while Shirley believes Robert is getting in the way of their friendship yet is also convinced Caroline loves him. Caroline also fears that she will be forgotten by both if Shirley and Robert marry, leaving her even lonelier than before she met either. Among this company, as well as the rest of the town, characters find it hard to distinguish between romance and friendship this early in the novel. Much like earlier, when Robert thought he could easily get over his feelings for Caroline and be just her friend, he questions whether he loves Shirley when rumors about the two of them start spreading. It is revealed later in the novel that neither Shirley nor Robert loves the other and only respects them and thinks of them as a good friend. Yet complicated emotions and partnerships come about before then, leaving characters questioning whether they are only friends, business partners, cousins, or something more.

A scene in this section reveals the divide between North and South in England in order to highlight the theme of the Benefits and Deficits of Progress. The northern counties of England were stereotyped as rustic and uneducated by certain Southerners, while those from southern counties were seen as haughty and self-centered by certain Northerners. These stereotypes were especially prominent during the Industrial Revolution, when factory towns were frequently established but the proceeds of progress often flowed out into the more traditional southern regions, to gentry who simultaneously benefited from progress and looked down on its effects in the north. Mr. Donne, a southerner, berates both the rich and poor of Yorkshire, saying they are all “corse and uncultivated” (277). Not only does Shirley throw him out of her house for these remarks, but Brontë, also a Yorkshire native, makes fun of Donne’s southern pronunciations and how he thought they made him seem intelligent. Many of Brontë’s works are set in Yorkshire and northern counties of England, and by pointing out the prejudices often directed at their residents, she reveals the bigotry of certain characters while adding authenticity to her settings.