Wuthering Heightsby Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte• Born July

30, 1818, in England

• One of six, 5 girls and 1 boy

Emily Bronte• At 2, moved to

Haworth, near Yorkshire moor—wild & desolate

• Died here 30 years later; inspired setting for Wuthering Heights

Death and Disease• Mother died when she was three

• By ten, her two eldest sisters died of tuberculosis

• Rev. Bronte--distant; raised by stern Aunt Elisabeth who did not stifle their creativity

• http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/19342/chp905704_700k.asf

What’s there to do in Haworth?

• The three Bronte sisters (Charlotte and Anne) and their brother Branwell read many books and created a fantasy world all their own, filled with unique characters and events.

Publishing• In 1846, Emily and her two

sisters publish a book of poems under the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell (attempt to thwart sexism of the day)

• Sold only two books

Undaunted…• Each author begins writing her own novel

• Charlotte is published first—Jane Eyre (although finished last, publisher knew its success would guarantee audience for other two sisters)

• Emily is next—Wuthering Heights (mediocre reception but critiques agree Heights is best of three)

• Anne’s novel is Agnes Grey http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/11673/chp897475_700k.asf

• http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/19342/chp905707_700k.asf

Death• Emily dies December 19, 1848, one

year after the publication of Wuthering Heights

• Branwell dies three months before; she catches a cold at his funeral which turns into tuberculosis

• Anne dies shortly after Emily in 1849

• Only Charlotte survivor of six, until 1855

• http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/11673/chp897476_700k.asf

Wuthering Heights

General Themes– Madness

– Loneliness

– Social class

– Significance of setting

– Dreams

– The cosmic universe

–The Fall

–Elemental forces

–Transcendence

–Abusive patriarch

–Childhood and family

–Intense suffering

Heathcliff as First Anti-hero—overtones of the Byronic hero

• Qualities associated with the Byronic Hero:• dark, handsome appearance; brilliant but cynical and self-

destructive• "wandering," searching behavior• haunted by some secret sin or crime, sometimes hints of forbidden

love• modern culture hero: appeals to society by standing apart from

society, superior yet wounded or unrewarded• fictional examples in American literature: Magua in Last of the

Mohicans, Claggart in Billy Budd• Byronic authors in American literature: Poe, Hawthorne• As with the "fair lady-dark lady" tradition of literature, the dark

Byronic hero is sometimes paired a more innocent, unmarked, even angelic figure. http://gtm-media.discoveryeducation.com/videos/11673/chp897472_700k.asf

Gothicism• "The Gothic" is a style, tone, or genre in western literature that most people recognize

through various names or images: "the dark side," haunted houses, repressed fears & desires, death & decay, bad-boy Byronic heroes, fair & dark ladies, interplay of dark and light with shades of gray or blood-red colors in-between, grotesque figures and lurid symbols; blood as visual spectacle and genealogy / ethnicity.

• Elements of the gothic make a long list, and so do its literary genres: • gothic novels or romances, horror films, thrillers, mysteries, film noir• or in performance culture: “goth” fashion and gothic rock or metal.• Frequently today the gothic (and earlier) the gothic is spoofed or satirized as a

formula: The Addams Family, Young Frankenstein, etc.• The gothic has deep roots in theology, architecture, psychology, the imagination, and

many traditions of literature.• Images associated with the gothic stretch back to Christian visions of hell, devils, and

demons, with Lucifer as the original Byronic hero: proud, rebellious, attractive, dangerous to know. As the gothic develops, such imagery becomes secularized but may still evoke the supernatural.

• The indispensable feature of nearly any gothic narrative is a haunted space that reflects or corresponds to a haunted mind. In European literature the gothic space is typically a haunted castle or other architectural structure such as a maze or labyrinth. American literature sometimes features a gothic building, as in Faulkner’s southern gothic, but American literature and films often transfer the gothic to a haunted forest or wilderness—from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Last of the Mohicans to The Blair Witch Project.

http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_item.asp?path=%2FAssets%2Fproduct%5Fimages%2F1020%2F&file=142683%2E1020%2EA%2Ejpg

Emily Bronte• Born July 30, 1818, in England

• One of six, 5 girls and 1 boy• At 2, moved to Haworth, near

Yorkshire moors—wild and desolate

• Died there 30 years later; inspired setting for Wuthering Heights