Emily Brontë: Difference between revisions

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1818-1848. English novelist.

Her Childhood

Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in the north of England. She had four sisters (Charlotte, Anne, Elizabeth and Maria) and one brother (Branwall). Emily, Charlotte and Branwall were born in Thornton , while Elizabeth and Maria were born in Hartshead. Her father, Patrick Brontë, 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 Brontë sisters and it was Emily's home until her death.

Emily's mother died of cancer in 1821. The six children spent most of their time reading and composing. It has been suggested tha Anne, Emily, Charlotte and their brother Barnwell wanted to escape from their unhappy childhood by creating imaginary worlds [Source?]. Perhaps they were inspired by Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels (1726).

After Mrs. Brontë's death, her sister, Elizabeth Barnwell, came from Cornwall to act as housekeeper; she trained the girls meticulously in all the household arts.

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. But Emily suffered from homesickness and returned home after only a few months.

Her Works

She wrote one novel, Wuthering Heights (1845-1846)
Poems (Emily's poems are used to interpret her novel, particularly those discussing isolation, rebellion, and freedom)

Recalling "No Coward Soul is mine", one of Emily's best poems, Wuthering Heights has been considered a mystical novel, a religious novel or a visionary novel. All the characters are round: they have good and bad qualities and they hate and love with equal intensity. Some characters are also depicted as brutal and violent, which is different from many romantic novels of the day. Heathcliff, the main character, is depicted as a wild, villainous, fierce anti-hero, Catherine as passionate heroine.

Sources

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily-Bronte.
James, Janet. Wuthering Heights Notes. Hesslington: U of York P, 1993.

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, in the north of England. She had four sisters ([[Charlotte Brontë|Charlotte]], Anne, [[Elizabeth Brontë|Elizabeth]] and Maria) and one brother (Branwall). Emily, Charlotte and Branwall were born in Thornton , while Elizabeth and Maria were born in Hartshead. Her father, Patrick Brontë, 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 Brontë sisters and it was Emily's home until her death.
-Emily's mother died of cancer in 1821. The six children spent most of their time reading and composing. It has been suggested tha Anne, Emily, Charlotte and their brother Barnwell wanted to escape from their unhappy childhood by creating imaginary worlds [Source?]. Perhaps they were inspired by [[Jonathan Swift]]'s novel'''[[Gulliver's Travels]]''' (1726).
+Emily's mother died of cancer in 1821. The six children spent most of their time reading and composing. It has been suggested tha Anne, Emily, Charlotte and their brother Barnwell wanted to escape from their unhappy childhood by creating imaginary worlds [Source?]. Perhaps they were inspired by [[Jonathan Swift]]'s novel ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1726).
 After Mrs. Brontë's death, her sister, Elizabeth Barnwell, came from Cornwall to act as housekeeper; she trained the girls meticulously in all the household arts.