The Professor

The Professor was based on Bronte's experiences in Brussels as a pupil and teacher at Constantin H ger's school for girls. In the novel William Crimsworth, an Englishman, becomes a teacher in Brussels and falls in love with a fellow teacher. Crimsworth is based on H ger, to whom Bront was devoted. In her novel Villette (1853), she used plot material from The Professor and expanded the character of Crimsworth into that of Paul Emanuel.