Emily Brontë

Emily Bronte (1818-1848) Contents: Her CHildhood Her Education Her Works Sources

Her Childhood Emily Bronte was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in the north of England; she has four sisters (Charlotte, Anne, Elizabeth, and Maria) and one brother (Branwall). Emily, Charlotte and Branwall were born in Thornton and Yorkshire, while Elizabeth and Maria were born in Hartshead. Her father (Patrick Bronte) had moved from Ireland to Weatherfield, in Essex, where he taught in Sunday school. Eventually he settled in Yorkshire, the centre of his life's work. The lonely purple moors became one of the most important place in the life of the Bronte sisters and it was Emily's home until she died in December, Emily's mother died in 1821, a year after arriving at Haworth because of cancer, and she left six children and the children spent most of their time in reading and composition, Anne, Emily, Charlotte and their brother Barnwell wanted to escape from their unhappy childhood, by creating imaginary worlds – perhaps inspired by Jonathan swift's "Gulliver's travels (1726)", after Mrs. Bronte's death, Elizabeth Barnwell, Mrs. Bronte's sister came from Cornwall to act as housekeeper and she trained the girls meticulously in all the household arts.

Emily was tall and slight, with a slouchy, loosejointed gait like that of a boy. She had a pale complexion, dark, beautiful hair, and lovely hazel eyes. Her features were irregular clothes that were completely outmoded. Emily was passionately fond of nature and animals and could be seen striding through the heather and bracken with her bulldog. The village of Haworth was very isolated and intensely Yorkshire and the people who live there were in strong contrast to the Celtic temperament. They were blunt, practical, stubborn, sparing of speech, vigorous and harsh to the point of brutality role in creating the uniqueness of Emily.

Her Education

In 1824 Emily and her three sisters were sent to Cowan bridge school, a School for the daughters of improverished clergymen. Conditions in that School were frightful, and as a result Maria and Elizabeth died, and charlotte became ill, and then Mr. Bronte brought Emily and Charlotte home. Emily's father (Patrick Bronte) loved poetry; he published several books of prose and verse and wrote to local newspapers. After she returned from Cowan bridge school, she was largely educated at home; her father's bookshelf offered a variety of reading: the Bible, Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Scott and many others. When charlotte was at the age of fifteen, she was sent to school at roe head, and when she returned she acted as a tutor to Emily and Anne. In 1835 Charlotte returned to roe head as a teacher and took Emily with her as a student. There Emily suffered from homesickness and then she returned after a few months to the moorland scenery of home.

Her Works 1. She wrote one novel" Wuthering Heights", it was written between 1845-1846. 2. Poems (Emily's poems are used to interpret her novel, particularly those discussing isolation, rebellion, and freedom). A Wuthering height considers as a mystical novel, a religious novel, or a visionary novel calls on "no coward soul is mine" one of her best poems. All the characters in this novel were human, they had good and bad qualities, and they could hate and love with equal intensity. The characters were depicted brutal and violent that it differed so much from the romantic novel of the day. Heathcliff the main character in Wuthering Heights was depicted as a wild, fierce antiheroes, a villain or willful, and Catherine as passionate heroine. The main themes in this novel are revenge and love. Sources: - www.htt://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily-Bronte. - Janet. James, Ph.D., Wuthering heights notes. University of York, Hesslington, England, 1993.