In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte developed characters that revolved around actual experiences from her childhood. Emily was born and raised in Thornton,Yorkshire. Haworth, a suburb of Yorkshire in Northern England, was far away from cultural London. The Haworth parsonage was nearly surrounded by a graveyard. Emily and her siblings spent most of their lives with this gloomy setting. Patrick Bronte, an Irish clergyman, was the father of six children. All of the children were very disciplined due to the enforced and cruel discipline of their father.
Maria Bronte died of yphus, leaving her children without a motherly figure. Emily was fiercely independent. She was strongly opposed to formal religion. This could have been from the hardship she endured as a child. Emily felt no love from her aunt Branwell, who took care of them when her mother died. Aunt Branwell was a very religious person, yet had no compassion in her life for her nieces. She felt no bond between them (Barrons7). In Jane Eyre this real life situation was recreated between Jane and her Aunt Reed (11). Emily was left in the care of an aunt who had absolutely no affection for her.
These real life situations became themes throughout the books written by both Emily and Charlotte Bronte. Emily became very loyal to her father and found it hard to leave her home environment. She stayed with her ill brother until his death in September 1848, at the early age of 30. At the funeral of her brother, Emily caught a cold and never left the house again. She went into a deep depression. Her sisters couldn’t help her. Emily died at the early age of 30, never knowing about the success Wuthering Heights would experience. Her father, Patrick Bronte, outlived all of his children (The Professor 5).
After the tragedy of Emily’s death, her sister Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre, which became an immediate success. So devastated over the death of his beloved wife, Patrick retreated to his study. To fulfil the duties as a pastor, he left his study. The children were left mostly to themselves, leaving much time to create an imagination through books and writing. Most of these stories and characters were written revolving around the moors which they played by as young children (Lit. Women 225). Many themes develop throughout the book Wuthering Heights, such as love, hate, ejection, the risk of loving and revenge.
Love is strongest of them all. All of these themes are throughout the character’s lives, but in the end love is the only one that remains. In Wuthering Heights, the love between the characters Heathcliff and Cathy is very difficult. Heathcliff is from a lower economic class and is less educated. He actually works for Cathy’s family as a hired hand. In her heart, she loves Heathcliff but cannot marry him because of his social status and lack of money. Cathy chooses to marry Edgar, a very wealthy man, who does love Cathy. Marrying for the wrong reasons they never find fulfillment.
Cathy regrets not following her heart, to be with Heathcliff. Embittered Edgar cannot make Cathy love him. Heathcliff feels rejected, yet he never stops loving Cathy. Cathy knows in her heart she is doing wrong to marry Edgar. She said, “I have no more business marrying Edgar Linton than going to heaven” (68). Edgar is handsome, young, cheerful does love Cathy. The number one reason is money. Cathy believes it will make her happy (66). Without Cathy, Heathcliff feels hatred, but when they are together he can ace anything.
Heathcliff says he wants to become better for her. When Cathy’s father died, Heathcliff came back and gave Cathy a shoulder to cry on (36). At this point in the story Cathy has married Edgar, and realizes her huge mistake. She tells Heathcliff that when she dies, she will never lie in peace: “I’ll not lie there by myself, they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down under me, but… The rest of the paper is available free of charge to our registered users. The registration process just couldn’t be easier. Log in or register now. It is all free!
