While reading Chesterton's discussion about the painter G.F. Watts, I noticed that he barely gives any biographical information. In his discussion of Charlotte Bronte, in 'Twelve types', I found out why: Chesterton considers precise points such as 'his exact class in society, the circumstances of his ancestry, the place of his present location' all unimportant, even irrelevant.
He illustrates with the case of Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre'. This novel, he says, is 'not true to manners, which are constantly false, or to facts, which are almost always false; it is true to the only existing thing which is true, emotion, the irreducible minimum, the indestructible germ'. The quality of the book stems not from Charlotte Bronte's experiences as a governess or a teacher, but from something deeper, more essential.
I myself am currently reading a biography about Chesterton. One wonders what he would have thought about that. And one thing is certain: up to now, I have not found too much relation between Chesterton's life and his writings (but then, I only just reached 1898).
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