Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte the author of Jane Eyre was one of the most romantic writers of the 1800’s.

Partly biographical, Jane Eyre is about the struggles of a strong independent young woman and her need for love.  

It is a deeply romantic book that positively sizzles with passion. 

In fact, largely because of its many biographical elements, I like many others have often wondered about Charlotte Bronte’s own search for love.

But now her secret has been exposed.  Because Charlotte’s secret love letters have just been discovered.

And what an intriguing story it is too!

In about 1844 Charlotte stayed with a professor Constantin Heger and his wife in Brussels while she was studying languages. It must have been then that she became infatuated with him.

A Fobidden Love

She was just 28 at the time but as her beloved professor was a married man with children everything had to be kept very quiet.  

On returning home to England she carried on a correspondence with him – which in those days must have been a highly controversial thing to do. Because had anyone known about the affair her reputation would have been in tatters.

The correspondence in fact, was so secret that the professor on receiving the letters was careful to tear them up and throw them into the waste basket under his desk.

But as the story goes, his wife having become suspicious of the  clandestine love affair was on the lookout for some evidence.  She found the shreds of paper in the waste paper basket and carefully pieced them together.

The Love Letters

The love letters were mostly written in French and here are a few intriguing bits of what the professor’s wife found among the shreds:  

“If my master withdraws his friendship from me entirely, I shall be absolutely without hope.”

And again:

“I must say one word to you in English – I wish I would write to you more cheerful letters, for when I read this over, I find it to be somewhat gloomy – but forgive me my dear master – do not be irritated at my sadness – according to the words of the Bible: ‘Out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaketh’ and truly I find it difficult to be cheerful so long as I think I shall never see you more.”

These and other outpourings must have upset the professor’s wife considerably because she kept the damning letters and probably read them over and over. Did she keep them as evidence?

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre from the movie

The sad affair was doomed to failure and 3 years later Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre. 

She must have poured all her feelings of unrequited love into it because the work is full of pent-up emotion.

In fact another of her lesser known works, Villette is said to bear a noticeable resemblance to her own love story.

And now, one of Charlotte Bronte’s letters is due to be published by the British Library in an Anthology of love letters by historical personalities.

The anthology called “Love Letters: 2000 Years of Romance” is to reproduce original love letters in the authors’ own handwriting.

What a win for Graphologists. Wouldn’t you just love to get hold of it?  I know I would!

Freddy Mercury in Music and Handwriting

The other day, I was listening to a CD of Freddie Mercury’s music which always blows me away.

His dynamism and showmanship, his musicality and plain musical genius are quite unforgettable.

I thought of his outstanding individuality and originality; of the power and strength he projected on the stage – and of course, his unique and imaginative approach.

A handwriting sample always adds new dimensions of understanding for me so I tried to imagine what his signature and handwriting would look like.

Fortunately, I managed to track down a rather bold and clear signature on Wikipedia.

I studied it with interest. And if truth be told it didn’t really surprise me.  I had expected his handwriting to look something like this because it encapsulated everything about the Freddie Mercury I had read about and knew from his music.

What really intrigued me was how I had managed to visualize some of the qualities of  his signature by reverse engineering it from a known set of personality traits.

Anyway,  here  is the sample of Freddie Mercury’s signature.  What do you think  of it?:

It would appear to me that he wrote this in his heyday when things were going well for him.  Some of his later signatures show a progressive deterioration and loss of power.

But the strength and drama in this signature are obvious.  The strokes are firm and assertive.  Also, the pressure is dark and powerful though the extreme upward slant shows a somewhat euphoric trend. 

The M is imposing and the final “y” is the epitome of dynamic showmanship. There is further showmanship as well as some artistry in the way the F and M are joined.

On the other hand, the tall d’s show pride as well as a dislike of criticism.  Not surprising really as he was a man who did things his way and refused to bend to public opinion.

 There is so much to read in this signature and we haven’t even begun to  look at his handwriting as such. Much more can be added but I  would very much like this to be a conversation. 

And so  I want to know what you think.  Add your opinion below and let’s see if we can strike up a discussion about this rather fascinating signature.

A Van Gogh Self-Portrait

 Van Gogh was not only a master painter; he was also a prolific letter writer.  And for a graphologist that is akin to gold!

Here is a fascinating description of Van Gogh’s handwriting from an article issued by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. 

Which incidentally I visited a few years ago – and was blown away by the truly stunning visual beauty and vibrant colours of Van Gogh’s paintings. 

If truth be told, I had never been a Van Gogh fan before – that is, until I saw his original paintings.

My interest in him as a painter changed from that day on and it probably won’t surprise you to learn that I also developed an interest in his handwriting.  

Here is one of his letters:

Sample of one of Van Gogh’s letters:

Letter by Van Gogh Amsterdam Museum

I have put together a few excerpts from a rather long article by the museum that gives a wonderful description of his handwriting.  It is from their article “Van Gogh as a letter-writer.”  And he was indeed a very prolific letter writer.

I couldn’t find any mention of the writer’s name  – but the article gives a very interesting description of his handwriting. Here it is:

Excerpts from: Van Gogh as a letter-writer

“His handwriting is not that difficult to read, particularly after one has got used to it. Comparison of the earliest letters with those from the French period show that it evolved from a rather stiff and school-boyish form into a more personal and distinctive one, as is the case with almost everyone.

This barely affected legibility, partly because he had quite an upright and open hand and usually wrote with a fine-nibbed pen.

The most difficult letters to read are those in which he resorted to a minuscule, cramped hand, with many words to the line and many lines to the page, which applies in particular to the Amsterdam letters.

As mentioned in the section on the nineteenth-century letter-writing culture, there were certain conventions that had to be observed, and the neatness of a letter was considered to have a bearing on the impression that the contents made on the recipient.

Van Gogh clearly took liberties in this respect. The letters are still neat in the years up to around 1875, but the more he began to distance himself from the prevailing conventions in his private life, the freer the appearance of his letters became.

The growing length of the letters forced him to use smaller handwriting, and he often placed additions in the margin or between the lines. He also crossed out many mistakes, which was rarely necessary in the earliest letters. It seems he became less concerned about the appearance of what he wrote.

Reading them is made more complicated by the fact that Van Gogh often wrote very long sentences and was very sparing in his use of punctuation, capital letters and the like. Sometimes he must have put his recipients severely to the test.

Van Gogh and his Expressive Emotions

One oddity about his writing that gives editors trouble is the way in which he emphasized words.

Not only did he underline them, as is customary, but if he wanted to give something added emphasis he underlined it again and again, up to four or five times.

This is mainly found in vehement passages written when he was clearly agitated. He often combined that technique with individual letters written larger or more thickly.

One of the most striking examples is the letter in which he complains to Theo about their father’s refusal to meet him halfway as regards living at home again in the parsonage in Nuenen.

He seems to have gone to considerable lengths to communicate his anger through his handwriting, although we must nevertheless assume that he was too emotional to spend extra time on it.

Quite often, too, Van Gogh emphasized the names of artists and writers and the titles of their works. His usual technique here was to modify his handwriting, either by writing the name or title in slightly larger letters or by making them more upright, looser and more widely spaced, comparable to the way in which block letters are used nowadays.”
End of excerpts.

As it happens I wrote a detailed description of Van Gogh’s handwriting in “The Mark of Genius” which explains his handwriting in detail.  But that’s another story – I don’t want to spoil the lovely article above by adding my own impressions here.

Creative Children with Michelle Obama

Is your child creative? If so, it’s a blessing you should never take for granted.  A creative person has a gift for life.

One of the greatest things that you can do for your child is to uncover and encourage creativity early on  because this is a gift that can add immeasurably to your child’s quality of life – not only now during his or her childhood – but right through into adulthood as well.

So how can you find out if your child has creative potential?

Once again, a little knowledge of handwriting analysis comes to our aid.

Take a look at your child’s handwriting and see if you can find some of the following signs:

 Creativity in handwriting

1. Look for a comfortable and free flow of the writing stroke that looks natural and easygoing. Creativity thrives in an atmosphere of freedom where there is a lack of restriction.

2. Take note of the type of pen your child likes to use. If she chooses to write with a thick point rather than a thin point it may indicate a tendency towards pasty writing.  Pastiness is a term used by handwriting analysts to describe a pen stroke that looks as if it were written by a felt-tipped pen. It shows a love of beauty and artistry and is a mark of creativity.

3. Check to see if there any letter formations that are different from the normal school model.  Because this would indicate a measure of original thinking.

4. If your child’s handwriting is large and round it would suggest that she is inclined to choose form before function which would involve a use of imagination.

5. Circular i-dots as well as writing that is slightly decorative could show that your child has an eye for design.

These are just a few of the signs of creativity.  Obviously there are more, but these should be a good indication.  So be sure to check your child’s handwriting. It may very well give you some clues to his or her creativity.

Cutting grass to Perfection

While a certain amount of diligence and meticulousness is commendable, the extreme form of perfectionism is not.

Perfectionism can be a problem because it stands in the way of a child’s willingness to explore.

Obeying rules becomes more important to the child than investigating new methods and trying out new things. And as we know, exploration is a huge part of learning

So how can you tell if the child you are dealing with is too much of a perfectionist?

The Signs of Perfectionism

A child who is an extreme perfectionist will tend to be anxious to do everything correctly. Her written work will be neat and correct while any little mistakes will stress her. She will choose to stick to the safe methods dictated to her by her teachers and parents and will be wary of experimenting.

At first this may seem like a very desirable trait. After all, the child is obedient, gives no trouble and produces correct, neat work. 

Unfortunately there’s a flip side because it means that she will be discouraged from using her own initiative – something that will be reinforced whenever she is praised for being a good girl and for following all the rules.

It will inevitably lead to formalism and frustration and a stifling of her creativity.  And it  just so  happens that creativity and experimentation will always be the first casualties to suffer from perfectionism.

Creativity and the significance of Failure

Creativity can only thrive in a free atmosphere where the child is unafraid to learn and experiment and make mistakes.  It cannot thrive where there are too many restrictions and rules.  

Failure should be seen as a normal part of learning and children should be taught that failure does not  have to be dreaded.  In fact, not trying at all is far worse than failure itself.

Fortunately it’s possible to identify different fears in a child’s handwriting before they have any lasting or damaging effect.

There are ways to detect perfectionism in a child’s handwriting and I will show you how in my forthcoming newsletter. 

If you are already subscribed to The Graphology Review you will get it automatically.  If not, simply enter your email in the box below and  I’ll send it to you.

THE GRAPHOLOGY REVIEW

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When Google honoured her with a picture on their homepage, I immediately began to wonder about her handwriting.

I’m pleased to say that I was fortunate enough to find her signature and a brief sample of her handwriting! 

So while I looked for her signature and handwriting (see below) I also discovered that she actually won two Nobel prizes. 

One in 1903 for physics and 8 years later another in chemistry. 

Sadly, she didn’t realize how dangerous her research was and she later died from too much exposure to radiation.

Born in Poland, on November 7, 1867 she was the youngest of five children. When she was 24 she went to Paris to study physics.

She met her husband Pierre Curie at the Sorbonne where he was an instructor in physics and chemistry.

They worked together researching radioactivity and discovered a new element which she named polonium in honour of her home  country, Poland.

A brilliant and determined scientist, she became a victim of the very research to which she was so dedicated.

So here is her signature:

The most striking thing about this signature is the simplicity and clarity which are so obvious.  It is also very legible.  There was nothing artificial about her.  She did not seek fame or glory.

Look at the strength in the signature which is confident but unassuming.  The lines are clean and the stroke unwavering.

Following is a brief sample of her actual handwriting in Polish.

 Note the hooks in both M’s which show her tenacity. A true scientist, she had a critical mind and a desire for accuracy. High ideals and a scientist’s curiosity were the hallmarks of her meticulous research.

And yet there is strong evidence of an imaginative quality too. To some this would seem strange because science and imagination would seem to be strange bedfellows.  But in  fact it really isn’t so strange at all.

After all it was Einstein himself who said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

He could have been referring to Marie Curie herself.

But to me, the most outstanding features are the power and the passion so evident in his handwriting.

Of course, when the handwriting is as rich and as complex as Freud’s it can be rather challenging to analyze.

But the complexity alone speaks volumes and soon you begin to see the outstanding features that bring his personality to life on the page.

One of the most fascinating aspects of handwriting analysis is its ability to uncover certain facets of personality that are not generally known by the public.

So with these things in mind, let’s take a look at a sample of Freud’s handwriting:

Passion and fearless originality are the hallmarks of Freud’s handwriting.

Freud appears to have been a very temperamental character and he must have found his turbulent emotions difficult to control.

His compact, heavily- pressured handwriting with its numerous restrictions shows that he was temperamentally volatile and subject to dark moods, emotional torment, and impulsive outbursts.

His strong resentments and undying grudges are also plain to see. He was a turbulent character and his handwriting clearly mirrors his dark brooding quality.

His moodiness was undoubtedly exacerbated by the high degree of tension so evident in his handwriting.

Note the heavy pressure, the irregularities, the discordances and the obvious lack of rhythm.  These are all indicators that point to extreme moodiness.

But – and this is the important part – there is also a strong element of untamed inventiveness, of genius unconfined by established rules and a boundless creative energy that exudes from every letter.

A Passionate Personality

Passion is the word best used to describe Freud’s handwriting with its ink-filled letters and many sweeping extensions. He was a passionate and intense character who saw everything in shades of black and white and his bouts of frustration and anger were no doubt inflamed when he had to endure rejection from his fellow psychiatrists.

He was certainly passionate about his beliefs – and there was passion in his relationships too. Small wonder that his theories revolved around sex.

Certainly, his courtship of his wife, Martha Bernays was ardent enough when in addressing this particular letter to her he started it with: “My sweet darling girl”.

This was no luke-warm character. Neither, years later, would he have been lukewarm in his association with the beautiful Lou Andreas-Salome, a notable seductress who ostensibly admired his intellect.

These are just a few of the fascinating insights that help us to understand more about Freud’s character. They help us to see him as a lively personality rather than as a dry intellectual from the pages of history.

 I you would like to find out more about this, go to Graphic Insight where you can read about the bitter enmity between Freud and Jung and see the clash of their personalities in a comparison of their handwritings.

It’s only a little story but it does draw our attention to something that we can all relate to: the trap and loop of inevitability that we sometimes fall into.

Many of us, through force of circumstance or possibly through some problem of our own making, find ourselves helplessly buzzing our lives against closed window panes. 

It’s a loop of sadness that we often find difficult to crawl out of.  Unfortunately the longer it continues, the more likely it is that sadness and frustration will set in and become ingrained in our personalities.

Sadness can settle on our personalities like a cloud that won’t lift and when this happens it is reflected in the way we walk, in the way we carry our heads and even in the way we dress.

It becomes a part of how we express ourselves and when it reaches that stage, it’s hardly surprising that it is also reflected in our handwriting.

Because, after all, handwriting  is a graphic expression of our psychic energy on paper.
 
It’s easy to understand why temporary sadness does not reflect in handwriting.  But when it is ingrained to the point where it has become part of your personality, then this is what it will look like:

Usually in depressed handwriting the lines slope downwards. In this particular sample you will  notice that the lines slope slightly upwards which shows that this writer’s depression has not really set in.

But take a look at the following combination which presents a rather sad picture …

• Slack tension in the handwriting
• Light pressure
• Short upper and lower loops
• T-bars placed low on the t-stem
• Missing i-dots

Graphotherapy

Graphotherapy is a long and complicated process but it involves making certain changes in your handwriting that could have a rollover effect on your personality.

It means that if you consciously make a particular change in your handwriting every time you write you will be re-enforcing a positive message into your subconscious mind.

However,  it is important not to try to change more than one aspect at a time as this could have the opposite effect of what you intended.

In any event, Graphotherapy should only be used by graphologists who have the appropriate psychological training.

Contact me below if you have any questions or if you would like to make any comments about this intriguing subject:

There are various reasons for this. But I’m not going to go into validating Graphology or handwriting analysis here.

You will either be receptive to it or not. (If you want to find out more about the scientific side of all this you can check out Research and Validation Studies for Graphology)

What I want to focus on here is why those people who do accept the validity of graphology totally miss the point anyway!

I know that there are some who will disagree with me.  But let me explain.

People watching

People Watching

We all indulge in “People watching.” It’s endlessly fascinating to sit at a sidewalk café and watch people go by.

It can keep us absorbed for hours – if we don’t have anything more pressing to do!

But that is only watching people!  Imagine how much more fascinating it is to be able to check out how people function!

What lights their fires? Why are they looking so worried and stressed?

Do they have work-related issues or have their relationships gone into an unexpected dive?

The Mysteries of your Psyche

Now here is where people seem to miss the point.  Because graphology isn’t only about finding out more about people and their personalities. It’s also about delving into the mysteries of your own psyche.

You may well recall that I mentioned in a previous article that one of the main benefits of Graphology is that it helps you to grow and develop as a person.  And that’s exactly my point. Graphology is a medium par excellence for promoting self-development and self-growth.

Just think! Imprinted in your own handwriting lies a treasure trove of personal information! But it’s information that will remain a mystery to you forever if you don’t explore it.

People know so little about themselves. Can you imagine how valuable it would be if you could discover all those things that fire you for good or ill!  Where else would you be able to gain access to such valuable self-knowledge?  And what better way to find out than from your own handwriting?

Privileged Information

Unfortunately there is also a caveat that comes with the advantage of being able to gain access to such privileged information.

You see, Graphologists are honour bound to guard privileged information so that it does not get misused. So much so that in order to remain objective, a Graphologist is expected to resist the temptation to peep into certain aspects of a person’s private life.

It is not for the Graphologist to be judgmental. That’s why, with training, a handwriting analyst is perfectly capable of ignoring the contents of a handwritten message while focusing purely on the meaning of the handwriting through the shapes of the letters.

Responsible graphologists do not trespass into areas where they are not qualified. And this applies specifically with regard to areas such as psychiatry or medicine – unless of course they are already experts in these fields.

So Graphologists do have a responsibility to use their expertise with care.  Even so and despite all this, Graphologists are sometimes regarded as mysterious beings. Maybe this is because of their ability to gain access to personal information in an unconventional way.

Nevertheless, the bottom line is that Graphologists can do a lot of good by showing people how to understand more about the people in their lives.

And just as importantly – by giving them insights into their own lives too.

Isn’t that really the point of it all?

You must be joking!

Actually, I’m not joking.

I’m being quite serious about it.

Graphology or handwriting analysis has a great deal to do with personal development and I’ll tell you why this is so in a moment.

But before I do, I’m going to show you an interesting illustration that shows the wide reach of graphology at a glance.

It comes from an independent survey and poll that I found at Steve Pavlina’s site.  And it shows some of the most important aspects of personality that you can access through graphology.

Articles about handwriting analysis rarely give you colorful illustrations like this – so naturally it caught my eye. And very happy I was to see it too.

At any rate it should give you quite a bit to think about.

Aspects of personality accessible through Graphology
Mood		7	63.64%
Time horizon		3	27.27%
Introvertness/Extrovertness		7	63.64%
Uptight/open		5	45.45%
Honesty/dishonesty		2	18.18%
Attentive to detail/ Inattentive to detail		6	54.55%
Inviting/Distancing		5	45.45%
Economical/Waster		3	27.27%
Like/Dislike		3	27.27%
High energy/Low energy		5	45.45%
Creativity level		7	63.64%
How materialistic you are		2	18.18%
Considerateness		3	27.27%
Aggressiveness		4	36.36%
Active/Tired		4	36.36%

I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy of this poll – in fact there are one or two things that I don’t agree with and I don’t know how it was researched.  Also, Steve’s specialty is personal development – I don’t believe he is a Graphologist.

Anyway I am including it here for your interest even though as I say, I have not verified anything about it and cannot give it the official stamp of approval.  But it is interesting and I thought you might like it.

But all that being said, the following is what I found to be of particular interest:

Handwriting Analysis promotes Personal Development

Steve Pavlina is a major opinion leader on the internet about personal development and he chose to include this survey on his site because he associates handwriting analysis with personal development.

Now this has long been my own personal point of view.  I fully endorse the premise that graphology can help you to grow as a person.

And I speak from personal experience. Because, over the years, it has done wonders for my own self-understanding and I daresay, personal growth.

When you are able to explore areas of your own personality with the help of an external tool it can only serve to make you more aware – aware of your strengths and potential as well as your limitations and weaknesses.

Graphology is not for the faint of heart!

Here I must give you an aside – when I first looked into the mirror of my own personality I genuinely wimped out!

I’m not proud of it but in my own defense I must tell you that meeting yourself face to face does demand some courage.  When you catch a glimpse of yourself  in the mirror and don’t fully recognize yourself, I can promise you it can be quite a nerve wracking experience

On reflection, I  admit that I genuinely did run scared.  So scared in fact, that I dropped Graphology like a hot coal for many months. But of course the temptation to learn more was too great and so, very very cautiously,  I tiptoed back.

Graphology on different Levels

It was then that the realization dawned on me that it’s possible to study Graphology on different levels. And you can take up graphology for many different reasons whether they are frivolous or serious.

Yes, it can provide you with countless hours of entertainment. And yes, it also makes a fascinating topic of conversation and you can easily corner the conversation at dinner parties if you so wish.

You can also peep into the personalities of current or past celebrities such as Michael Jackson or Frank Sinatra and many other famous people. All this and more is possible.

But Graphology is not only for those who want to look into the personalities of the rich and famous – though it does so with remarkable accuracy.

So here is the real nugget of truth:

The real gold, I find,  lies in the fact that Graphology can help you to grow as a person – in self-understanding and in the sympathetic understanding of others.

So even though Steve’s site is not about graphology, it took his interest in the subject to give me a wake-up call.

It reminded me that a major focus of Graphology (or handwriting analysis) is about personal development and personal growth.

But there’s even more to it.

In this day and age where human understanding and human relationships are more important than ever, handwriting analysis can help us to clear away the mists of misunderstanding.

And that, in my book, says an awful lot.

If you would like to follow up on this here is a link to The Hidden Meaning of Handwriting.