Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

AUTHOR:

Emily Bronte was born in Thornton, Yorkshire in 1818. She was the fifth of six children. Her father, Patrick Bronte, was an imaginative and intelligent man of Irish descent who was ordained into the Church of England in 1806. Both her father and her mother, Maria Branwell Bronte, were interested in writing, and they passed their beliefs onto their children. At the age of two, she moved to the parsonage at Haworth. She lived there until she died at the age of thirty. Haworth was surrounded by the moors that Bronte describes in Wuthering Heights. Throughout her life, Emily spent much of her time in the moors because she had a strong love for nature. Emily's mother died of cancer when Emily was about three years old. Her aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, came to raise the remaining six children. Emily and her siblings wrote many poem, plays, and short stories in their youth. Some of the characters and plots in these earlier works were used again in their later works. Wuthering Heights was published in 1848 and was not successful at the time. This was mainly because the novel was so different from the usual romantic novels of the time. Wuthering Heights was much too reaslistic for the public's taste.

SETTING:

The story of Wuthering Heights is set in two different houses and the moors that separate them. A few of the characters are mentioned to have made trips to town occasionally, but otherwise, the entire story takes place in Thrushcross Grange, Wuthering Heights, and the moors. This element of seclusion adds to the effect that the two families form their own little world that appears to be separate from the rest of society. All marriages, with the exception of Hindley and Frances, are arranged within the Earnshaws and Lintons. Wuthering Heights is an old, rustic looking house. Thrushcross Grange is well kept and well furnished house. Both reflect the personalities of its occupants. The wild moors attract the wild spirits of both Catherine and Heathcliff.

THEMES:

A strong theme in Wuthering Heights is love versus hate. There is love between the various members of the two families in various different forms. In the same respect, there is hatred between many of the characters.

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