In 1824 Charlotte was sent to boarding school with three of her four sisters. The appalling conditions at the school had a long term affect on the two elder sisters and this is where Maria and Louisa died. After the death of Maria and Louisa Charlottes father brought all his children home. Charlotte made this school the model for Lowood institute in Jane Eyre. So although she had been through horrible times she was able to use them to her advantage.
After their mother and two eldest children had died, Charlotte was left with her sisters Emily and Anne and brother Branwell to the care of their father, and their strict, religious aunt, Elisabeth Branwell. The children created imaginary kingdoms, which were built around Branwell's toy soldiers, and which inspired them to write stories about the fantasylands of Angria and Gondal. Charlotte had a very big imagination at an early age and having a brother and sister that shared this imagination helped her to expand on it. All of Mr Brontes children were encouraged to read widely.The Bronte children were avid readers and they loved to make up stories and then share them with each other.
In later life Charlotte started a new school and after she had left the school she then returned to it a few years later as a teacher. She was able to practice her writing skills and learn how to teach them to others. In 1841 Charlotte became a pupil at the Maison d'education pour les jeunes, in Brussels. She was then able to use the people she met at this school to base her characters on in her books. Charlotte published her fist book in 1847 (Jane Eyre) and was able to go on publishing many more.
The things that seem to have influenced Charlotte as a child to help her become a writer seem to be that she was able to base situations, characters and feelings on ones that she had experienced. School played a big part in her life as she had been to a horrible school but also a school she liked so having had both experiences she was able to use this to her advantage and be able to write books about good times at school, bad times at school, teachers she knew at school etc… Being female, living in the Victorian age and not being terribly wealthy were particularly helpful to Charlotte because as she was not all that wealthy she didn’t have many toys or materialistic thing so her imagination is what she used to entertain herself. She couldn't watch T.V, so she read books, she couldn't go shopping with her friends so she would make up stories with her siblings. Charlottes childhood influenced her a lot and we are able to see what her childhood may have been like through characters, settings and feelings in her books.
