Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

After it's publication in 1847 this novel made an immediate impression

on its readers. It aroused mixed feelings and continues to do so even

today. As this novel was very ground breaking, readers were shocked

and some did not react well to this book. However, it is clearly

recognised as a classic novel.

The author of this book, although well known in the present, was

unheard of in 1847, and Emily Bronte was forced to enter a male name,

as woman authors were unheard of in the 19th century. Her book would

not have been published otherwise.

Emily Bronte was born in 1818 at Thornton, a bleak moorland village

near Bradford in Yorkshire. She was the fourth daughter of an Irish

clergyman.

The family of six children lived in privacy and since Mr Bronte was

busy with his work as a vicar and their mother was ill with cancer,

the children became very close and dependent on each other.

Although living in solitude, Mr Bronte was up to date with the goings

on in the world and this was maybe where Emily Bronte got her ideas.

Emily liked to wander the moors in her free time as well as writing,

where her imagination would run wild.

This book has hints of the gothic genre. An example of this is a dark,

mysterious and evil character such as Heathcliff. Also the dark,

neglected, isolated and mysterious building of Wuthering Heights. This

book is especially linked with the gothic genre in chapter three where

Lockwood sleeps in a mysterious room that belonged to Cathy. Lockwood

dreams of a strange voice outside and then an ice cold hand grabs him

and the blood pours from the hand that he scraped against ...

... middle of paper ...

...comes obsessed,

digging up Cathy's grave and replacing Cathy's picture of Edgar in her

locket with his own picture. Isabella cannot take his mood swings she

is beaten more than ever after Cathy's death and eventually runs away.

Edgar and Heathcliff are two completely different people both

physically and mentally. They are from completely different

backgrounds. Edgar was spoilt as a child and lived in a big house with

many servants. Compare this to Heathcliffs background; he lived on the

streets of Liverpool taking what food he could from bins. However they

are linked by one thing and one thing only Cathy! Their love for Cathy

even surpasses their growing hatred of one another. Emily Bronte shows

us this only when Edgar realises that Cathy belongs on the moors and

is buried there instead of in the Linton family vault.