Although there were occasional reservations against the extension of literacy from quarters where it was feared that the possession of reading skills might incite the masses to rebellion, the Brontë girls grew to adulthood in a social context where the education of the poor was regarded as a means of promoting peace and prosperity in Britain. It was the duty of every educated individual who had the means to do so – money, influence, teaching ability, and so on – to support it. On no segment of the population did this duty weigh more heavily than on Anglican clergymen and Dissenter ministers and on their families. Hence the participation of the four young Brontës in Sunday-school activities. However, another obligation was also keenly felt by at least two of them: the obligation to improve their minds by means of constant independent study.

The title of this chapter was borrowed from Isaac Watts's classic of 1741, a copy of which was given to sixteen-year-old Anne Brontë as a school prize (for good conduct). In recent times it has been assumed that a sprightly teenage girl would not have been pleased to receive Watts's The Improvement of the Mind as a gift, but in fact it is a much more enjoyable read than one might expect. It remained in print throughout the early 1800s and was often recommended by writers on education, including those who wrote primarily for women.