A Power of Vision

Few people receive an original handwritten letter by any Brontë as a gift. But this is what the engineer, entrepreneur, and book collector Jon Lindseth gave his wife, the late educational psychologist and innovator Virginia “Ginny” Lindseth. Ginny was a devoted reader of the Brontës, which was only fitting given that, like Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, Ginny was, at heart, a teacher. On the shelves of her home office were well-read (and reread) copies of the Brontës’ novels, as well as Elizabeth Gaskell’s biography “The Life of Charlotte Brontë.” All of Charlotte Brontë’s novels prominently featured educators—whether governesses, tutors, school teachers, or professors. Teaching was one of the few professions open to women during Brontë’s time, and all three of the Brontë sisters worked as teachers. They even attempted to form a private school at their home in Haworth, England, but their advertisement failed to attract any pupils. Setting this plan aside, the sisters soon turned to their first love, writing poetry and fiction, to earn a living.

Over three decades, in Ginny’s honor, Jon formed an impressive collection of Brontë books, manuscripts, and original artworks, which he has now donated to the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. His most recent gift includes an original manuscript leaf of one of Charlotte Brontë’s earliest surviving writings: the poem titled “I’ve been wandering in the greenwoods,” which Brontë wrote in 1829 at the age of 13 while she was also completing “A Book of Ryhmes” [sic], a miniature manuscript of poetry. The donation also contains two original artworks—a pencil portrait by Branwell Brontë and a wash drawing by Charlotte Brontë—as well as six complete autograph letters by Charlotte Brontë and a fragment of a seventh written by her. Additional items in this gift include a letter from Anna Jameson to Elizabeth Gaskell commenting on Charlotte Brontë’s death, an original memorial card bearing her name, and an autograph manuscript of Ted Hughes’s poem “Emily Brontë.”

Ginny Lindseth’s love for the Brontës’ novels persisted long after her retirement, when their writings would play perhaps an even more important role in her life. When she began to lose her vision to macular degeneration, her grown children began to read aloud to her each day—sometimes in person, sometimes over the telephone or by Zoom or FaceTime. When they asked her what book she wanted to hear first, she was decisive in her choice: “Jane Eyre.” Here again Ginny Lindseth’s life dovetailed with that of her favorite author. Brontë began to write “Jane Eyre” while her father was recovering from a cataract surgery and while he was confined to a darkened room, unable to read or see for weeks. The novel’s hero, Rochester, also loses his sight, eventually regaining some of it by the end of the book.

There are traces of the Brontës throughout the Lindseths’ home. An engraved portrait of Charlotte Brontë hangs on the wall in Ginny Lindseth’s dressing room. A purse featuring the famous “pillar portrait” of the three sisters sits on a high shelf. A pillow, also reproducing the same haunting oil portrait of the sisters, rests in her chair. Ginny Lindseth never regained her eyesight, but her vision persists, particularly in the educational programs she created. It also persists through this remarkable collection, which she inspired.

Perhaps this is Ginny Lindseth’s last lesson to us as an educator: literature, at its best, continues to shape lives and helps push us beyond the classroom to “reach the busy world.” We still have much to learn about the power of these great books and their effects on the human heart. We also have much to learn from the vision of great educators like Ginny Lindseth.