My best guess
Posted by Rachel on October 12, 1997 at 10:40:20:
In response to how in the world did charlotte bronte know?, written by greg on October 12, 1997 at 01:16:02
] something that has amazed readers of jane eyre over the generations, and fascinates me, is how bronte was able to describe one of the most passionate love affairs in fiction, when she apparently was so inexperienced herself.
]how did she come to describe her abuse at the hands of john reed so compellingly? seems to me one can't get those experiences from a book.
I think that sometimes you don't have to directly experience the thing, but if you knew someone who had, that can help to fill in the blanks. I myself have never experienced physical abuse, but my mother did when she young. She used to talk about it sometimes, and I have an idea of what it might have been like. I think that you can use the experience of others, but you really have to be a good writer to make them as convincing as if you had the experience yourself.
Or maybe I'm just way off.
Rachel
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