Exploring the life and themes of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte's early life and where she studied

When Emily’s mother died in 1821, she was leaving five daughters and one son alone, so the children grew up in the Harworth parsonage that allowed them to explore nature and to read books.
As a matter of fact, they loved creating stories and poems that their father created also a little domestic library.

In 1824, Emily and her older sisters started to attend the Cowan Bridge boarding school but her experience here was terrible, as Charlotte testify in her masterpiece Jane Eyre, so the following here they were taken out.

In 1835, Emily took lessons at Roe Head school where Charlotte was a teacher.
Emily, as well, became an Halifax school’s teacher in 1838 but she could not handle the job because of his health problems. In fact, after six month she returned home.

In 1842, Emily and Charlotte went to Brussels in order to learn French and open a private school but their try was unsuccessful. A contributing cause wa salso her aunt Elizabeth’s death.

In 1846 Anne, Charlotte and Emily decided to self-publish some of their poems under the pseudonyms of Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily) and Acton Bell (Anne), because at the time publisher critics and readers were much more likely to respond well to a work by man.
So, in 1847, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey and Jane Eyre were published.

Nevertheless, short time later, Emily died because of tuberculosis that was developed from a sever chill caught at her brother’s funeral, whom she had nursed during those years.

Themes in Wuthering Heights

The plot revolves around two generation of families: the Earnshaw, who were living at the Wuthering Heights, and the Lintons, who were living at Thrushcross Grange.

The novel contains a lot of Romantic themes: the protagonist passionate nature involving extreme feelings and their impossible romance which can be fulfilled only after death, when their souls are joined forever.

There is a Byronic hero, a cruel and revengeful man, that can be found in Heathcliff.

The nature is also important. In fact, it becomes a projection of the characters feeling too.
It is also important the presence of supernatural events and the Gothic atmosphere.

The language varies in relation to the different characters.

Mr. Lockwood's visit

Mr.Lockwood is forced to spend the night there because of a snowstorm and a servant showed him into a room of the house.

Lockwood noticed that on the window shelf there are three names written, over and over again: Catherine Earnshaw, catherine Heathcliff and Catherine Linton. The atmosphere was dark.

It can be noticed that the extract present Catherine’s passionate and rebellious nature is in contrast with Nelly’s rational and practical attitude.
On the other hand, the spiritual bond Catherine and Heathcliff had established was shown with natural images that expressed the eternity of their relationship.