Emilia Bronte (1818-1848) is an English writer who became famous for her only work. The fate of her novel Wuthering Heights, which was written in 1847, was not easy - it was only after Emiliaās death that he became a bestseller and almost at the same time was announced as a masterpiece by readers and literary critics. In addition, for his time he was considered innovative.
Emilia Bronte is known today as a poetess and author of short literary essays, but still much less. Truly a Bronte novelist overshadowed her other talents. In addition, Emilia is known as the sister of two other equally famous sisters-writers: Charlotte Bronte and Anne Bronte.
This article provides a biography of Emilia Bronte. We will also talk about the circumstances of the family and personal life of the writer. Let us briefly describe how the famous novel was written, about the facts of entering the "big literary scene" and its further fate.
Place of Birth
So, the full name of the writer is Emilia (Emily) Jane Bronte. She was born into the family of a rural priest in the summer of 1818 in the village of Thornton in the English county of West Yorkshire. The village was pretty decent - 15 thousand people, streets and stone houses. In this place, in 1815, Pastor Patrick Bronte received a parish and settled with his wife and two daughters in Market Street No. 74. The other children of Patrick were born in this house - Charlotte, Brenwell, Emily and Ann.
By the way, the classic, ordinary, unremarkable Yorkshire village of Thornton, thanks to this glorious family, has become a cult tourist attraction. Still: here three famous English novelists were born here, as well as their brother - artist and poet Patrick Brenwell Bronte.
However, the family of Rev. Patrick Bronte did not live long in this house and soon moved to another, also Yorkshire, village of Hoert. In both of these villages today are the home-museums of the Bronte sisters, and both of these places, which are funny, are considered their homeland. However, it was in Hoert that the writer spent most of her life.
God knows what picturesque views were from the windows of the rooms in which the little sisters and brother Bronte played ā peatlands and heather fields. And the family lived very poorly. After the birth of the sixth daughter, Ann, the mother died. And the heroine of our story then turned only three years old.
Childhood
Unhappy Patrick, who himself, of course, was unable to cope with the children, had to identify little Emily and Charlotte Bronte to school. It was a charity school for the daughters of the clergy in the neighboring village of Cowan Bridge. The girls stayed there for a while, and when the epidemic started at school, they had to move. Emily's two older sisters - Elizabeth and Maria - died from this disease, which could not but become a great emotional shock for the girl.
Emiliaās further studies and living took place either in one of the other Yorkshire schools, Row Head (but there she did not take root and soon became ill), or at home.
True, there was another trip: in 1842, together with sister Charlotte, they went to study in Brussels. After all, a young woman with education at that time was destined for one road - to a teacher or governess. But the strange girl Emilia, wild, uncomfortable in communication, introverted, could not fully get used to this profession. Having received bad experience, she soon returned to her fatherās house in Hoert, so as not to leave him ever again.
Emilia's character
These and subsequent misfortunes of the Bronte family probably affected the character of Emilia: according to the testimony of many contemporaries, she was not sociable, but rather secretive, silent and prone to mysticism. In this, Emilia Bronte and her sister Charlotte were complete opposites - she, according to many, was cheerful, energetic, sociable and loved to start all kinds of games.
Emilia was distinguished by a persistent and courageous, albeit stubborn, character. She only occasionally attended church and did not go when she was a child to Sunday church school. Her best friends were books, and the closest of the sisters was the youngest Anne.
Charlotte Bronte told how one day Emilia was bitten by a dog, which, apparently, was furious. Remaining completely calm, Emilia went into the kitchen and burned the bite wound with a hot iron. The same Charlotte characterized her sister with these words:
Stronger than a man, simpler than a child, her nature is always to be one ...
By the age of fifteen, Emilia Bronte had grown into an attractive, rather tall girl - after her father she was the highest in the family. One of Charlotte's girlfriends described Emilia:
Emily was a tall, slender girl. Her hair lay naturally and very beautifully, although the curls were too tightly curled. The girl has very expressive eyes, but she constantly lowered them and tried not to look at you. The color of her eyes changed depending on her mood: it was either dark gray or blue. Emily spoke very little and was inseparable from her sister Ann.
In addition, Emilia, apparently, almost did not write letters (not a single one reached us) and loved pets very much - many of her drawings with the image of cats and dogs were preserved.
A life
Emilia spent her time in literary pursuits, housework, and caring for her brother. Probably to say that it was not easy for her, to say nothing. Branwell gradually drank himself, in addition, he was a drug addict and used opium. His behavior was characterized by bouts of rage and brawl - naturally, life with him in the same house sometimes turned into real hell. Gradually he became ill with tuberculosis and finally fell ill.
Emilia Bronteās personal life was not only destined not only to form, but simply to arise - her circle was limited only by her family: an aging father, a drinking brother and a younger sister Ann, who also rarely went away from her own nest. Emilia Bronte had no children. Actually, like all young Bronte.
A separate portrait of Emilia Bronte has not reached us - there is only a sketch made by Brother Branwell, in which he depicted his three sisters. In this figure, it is in the middle. This is her only reliable image.
And, of course, we do not have a photo of the writer Emilia Bronte. The art of photography was just in its infancy, therefore, alas, we cannot provide pictures of our heroine.
Death
Emilia looked after her brother until the very last day - in September 1848, Patrick Branwell was gone. At his funeral, Emilia caught a cold and fell ill with consumption. Her death occurred in December of the same year.
Emilia Bronte lived a very short life, in July she was only thirty years old. Not much survived her brother and sister and the youngest of the Bronte family - Ann. She died the following spring, 1849.
The sisters and brother Bronte rest together in the family crypt in Hoert.
Literary Experiments
Emilia began recording her first little stories and poems as a child, barely learning to read and write. In the early period of creativity, the girl, together with her younger sister Ann, invented and described the magical world of Gondal, composed poems for him. Unfortunately, the Chronicles of Gondal, although it is known that they existed (they are mentioned in one of Ann's diary entries), have not survived to this day. There is evidence that for some reason they were destroyed after the death of the younger sisters Charlotte, but whether this is so is not known for certain.
The year 1846 was marked by the release of the collection "Poems by Carrera, Ellis and Acton Bell" (after all, tradition did not allow women into the world of poets and writers). It was a joint literary work of the sisters and brother Bronte. Emilia Bronteās poems in this collection were published under the name Ellis Bella. They were praised by literary critics of the time.
Although the poems were appreciated only because they came out under male pseudonyms. It is well known that at one time Charlotte Bronte was in correspondence with the poet of the "lake school", the famous Robert Southey. She sent him her poems and asked for his advice. The master answered her approximately in this spirit:
... women are not made for literature and should not devote themselves to it. The more they are busy with their urgent duties, the less time they find for literature, even as a pleasant activity and a means of self-education.
But along with the romantic works of Blake and Shelley, today's literature pays tribute to the poetry of Emilia Bronte - in particular, her poems such as "The Prisoner", "Recollection" and some others.
From the literary heritage of Emilia, we also know small essays written in Brussels, several so-called "diary papers", which were created in a pair to the same from her sister Ann.
As already mentioned, Emiliaās correspondence was either lost (which is unlikely), or the girl did not like to write letters - but this in a purely epistolary era could only indicate a girlās dislike for communication. Only a couple of her very short notes survived for Charlotte's friend named Ellen Nassi.
Most of the surviving papers are now in the Bronte Sisters Museum.
Novel
In 1847, Emilia Bronte decided to publish the novel Wuthering Heights. Of course, he came out under a male pseudonym - Ellis Bell. However, the first edition of the book was not successful - only two copies were sold. Yes, and criticism of the novel did not praise. So Emilia was so upset.
And only a few years later, when Emilia was already gone, Charlotte Bronte, being a famous writer, again took up this seemingly hopeless venture - she published her sisterās novel, but under her real name. And this time, the book of Emilia Bronte instantly gained popularity, and later became one of the classic examples of English literature.
True, there was a small incident, which once again proves how unfairly the fate of Emilia cost. The fact is that initially authorship (possibly according to the intention of the publishers) was attributed to Charlotte herself, whose famous novel "Jane Eyre" had already been released by that time and had become a favorite of the public. So then Charlotte then had to prove the authorship of Emilia Bronte.
The work aroused and still causes a wide variety of judgments among literary connoisseurs and ordinary readers. Due to the general painful atmosphere, the novel was called the ādiabolical bookā and āinconceivable monsterā, although, in fact, all the actions and passions of the heroes are the result not only of their whims, but also of the incredible, almost in the Greek spirit, tragedy and evil rock that hang over them .
An English essayist, art critic and chief ideologist of aesthetics, Walter Pater, noted that in Wuthering Heights, Emilia Bronte
... the spirit of romanticism has found its true embodiment among the Yorkshire wastelands ... Herton Earnshaw, Catherine Linton and Heathcliff, who digs out Catherineās grave and breaks out the side of her coffin to truly rest in death next to her - these figures, filled with such passions, but woven against the background of the discreet beauty of heather expanses, are typical examples of the spirit of romanticism.
Plot
Even the summary of Wuthering Heights by Emilia Bronte is rather verbose - mainly due to the large number of characters and the many ups and downs of their relationship and life circumstances.
The work tells the story of the fate of two families from Yorkshire - Linton and Ernshaw. Their story is told by a certain outsider young man, Lockwood, who stayed at Skvortsi Manor and visited the nearby Wuthering Heights estate.
Charlotte Bronte noted in her sisterās novel āterrifying, great gloominessā, which was the basis that permeated the entire work of Lintons and Earnshaw and their āevil geniusā Heathcliffe. Of course, this novel was still fully Gothic, albeit with reservations, as noted by literary critics of the time.
The Wuthering Heights novel is about love, but about tragic love. The eldest daughter Ernshaw Katherine and Heathcliff are connected by a special kind of love feeling - this is demonic, rebellious passion, obsession. But on earth this feeling cannot be triumphed, and lovers are united only after death.
Key characters
The central figure of the novel is Heathcliff, a real type of the so-called Byronic hero. Once, the old landlord of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Ernshaw picked up a boy who was freezing in the street and saved him from hunger.
Hitkilff is a very ominous type, and his origin is shrouded in mystery, and this secret remains unsolved until the end of the book.
Judging by the text, Heathcliff has a gypsy appearance - he is a brunette with dark skin and dark hair.
As a child, he was the most friendly with the daughter of an older Earnshaw - Katherine. Then they fell in love with each other. And the love of Heathcliff was a special kind - he was obsessed with Katherine. His character, like the temper of an evil genius, is cruel and revengeful. Heathcliffās wife Isabella in the novel even asks: is he really a man?
Catherine Earnshaw - a girl whose character is inherent in independence and love of freedom, as well as selfishness and spoilage. She loved Heathcliff very much, but, thanks to the judiciousness that she also has, found him not a suitable candidate for a prosperous future. Heathcliff did not receive a suitable education, he has no weight in society, and he is also poor. Therefore, Katherine married Edgar Linton, one of her friends. She has the secret hope that her marriage will help poor Heathcliff achieve something in life, somehow advance. However, her plans were not destined to come true: her husband and lover hate each other. Moreover, this apparent hatred affects her so much that, already pregnant, she becomes ill, goes crazy and, in the end, dies.
Edgar Earnshaw. He is calm, devoid of such a temperament as Katherine, a gentle and patient person. He blows out the explosions of his wife's discontent and the rudeness of her character. Sometimes Katherine seems that Edgar is completely unable to defend his position under the pressure of Heathcliff. In the course of the development of events, Edgar Ernshaw manifests himself as an excellent father and noble man.
Isabella Earnshaw is a young person in love with Heathcliff. She is attractive, sophisticated and elegant. And completely frivolous. True, having left with Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights, she pretty soon realized what gloomy prospects her life together with this man was offering her, and fled from her husband to London. There she gave birth to a son and soon died.
Katherine has a sibling. His name is Hindley Earnshaw. From childhood, he was jealous of his own father, the owner of the estate, to Heitcliff, a foundling who had grown up in the family. Hindley suspected that the older Earnshaw was giving him too much attention, forgetting about his children. After the death of his father, he shows his hatred in full. Let him - and Heathcliff could get a good education, and there, you look, and Catherine would have looked differently at the union with him. But Hindley could not allow this.
In the course of the development of events, this character successfully married and is quite happy in marriage. But suddenly his wife fell ill and died of consumption, and Hindley washed down. Once he sat down at a card table and lost to Wuthering Heights inherited from Heathcliff.
Ellen Dean (Nelly). This is the housekeeper in the house on Skvortsi Manor. She tells the whole story to Lockwood, as she was not only an eyewitness, but she herself grew up in Earnshaw's house, next to Heathcliff and Katherine - the main characters of this story.
The fate of the novel
Wuthering Heights is one of the most popular works of English literature. The novel was filmed many times, including by such directing stars as Luis Bunuel and Jacques Rivette. According to a recent survey by one of the British television channels, Wuthering Heights remains the main romantic work of all time.
Most often, which is understandable, the directors take for the screen embodiment. only part of the novel. Until now, the classic example of the role of Heathcliff remains the work of Lawrence Olivier, brilliantly performed in 1939.
The last film adaptation took place relatively recently - in 2011. It was carried out by one of the British film studios. The role of Heathcliff this time went to the black actor.
In 1978, a British singer-songwriter working at the intersection of pop and rock recorded Wuthering Heights (Wuthering Heights). The song was written by 19-year-old Kate under the influence of impressions left after watching the film of the same name (1939).
There was a manifold increase in interest in the novel when American writer Stephanie Mayer admitted in an interview that she had used some of the Wuthering Heights motifs to write her famous Twilight. She also mentioned the novel as her favorite book by Bella and Edward, the protagonists of the vampire saga.
Emilia Bronteās books still continue their successful march around the world. In world literature there are many "extensions" of fate and branches of storylines written by various, including contemporary, novelists.