EMILY BRONTE

Wuthering Heights

Born July 30, 1818, one of six children

and lived in a desolate area of Haworth,

Yorkshire, England which inspired the

setting of this novel

Mother died when Bronte was 3, two

sisters died of TB before Bronte’s 10th

birthday-disease and death were a

constant in her family

Raised by an aunt who, though very

religious, also allowed the children to use

their imaginations and create their own

worlds

EMILY BRONTE

Bronte died December 19, 1848, a

year after this novel was

published. She caught a cold at

her brother’s funeral and it

progressed to tuberculosis.

The Bronte sisters, Emily, Charlotte

and Anne, published their own book of

poetry with male pseudonyms: Currer,

Ellis and Acton Bell. They only sold 2

copies, but soon began novels

Each sister published a novel at

about the same time. Charlotte’s Jane

Eyre was the most critically and

financially accepted. Wuthering

Heights is now considered by critics to

be the best of the sisters’ novels.

THE BRONTE SISTERS

THE NOVEL

At the time the novel was written, capitalism and the Industrial Revolution were the

mainstay of the British economy.

Cash became more important than land, so many of the middle class had more

economic power than those of the upper class.

Relationships between the classes are a part of the novel with each group featured:• Hareton-farming class• Lintons-the gentry• Heathcliff-rich capitalist

The new wealthy capitalist wanted the same standing as traditional gentlemen and

two marriages in the novel are possible because of these changes in class and status

Novel is a frame narrative-story within story within story. This form allows reader

to go deeper into the story

Married women could not

own property until 1882

Daughters did not

automatically inherit property

unless provided for in the will

Heathcliff uses knowledge of

women’s property rights to

exact his revenge

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

ROMANTICISM

Movement in response to the rationality of the Restoration Period

and the issues surrounding the Industrial Revolution

This novel considered Romantic because of the following elements• Nature as a powerful spiritual force• Descriptions of countryside• Elevated level of emotion and passion• Strong interest in death• Portrayal of opposites: escape/pursuit, calm/turbulence, classes,

suffering/peace• Isolation both emotional and geographical• Elements of supernatural

Heathcliff referred to as

Byronic hero because of

these elements• Conflicting emotions and

moodiness• Self-criticism• Mysterious origins• Distaste for social

institution and norms• Self-destructive

tendencies• A loner

BYRONIC HERO

GOTHIC NOVEL

The form began in Britain in late

1700s. Elements of• A castle, ruined or haunted• Extreme landscapes and weather• Death and madness• Omens• Ancestral curses• Terrifying events• Taboo topics• Supernatural• Villain or villain-hero driven by

passion• A hero whose true identity is

unknown until the end• A curious or persecuted heroine• Revenge