Unraveling the Enigma: Exploring the Mind of Emily Brontë in Wuthering Heights

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With her only novel, “Wuthering Heights,” Emily Brontë introduced us to the fierce, dramatic, and passionate love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. But what was it in Brontë’s mind that inspired this timeless classic? Let’s plunge into the deep and tumultuous consciousness of Emily Brontë while examining some elements of her classic literary work.

Section 1: Introducing Emily Brontë

Emily Jane Brontë was born in 1818, the fifth of six siblings, and grew up in the rural solitude of Haworth, Yorkshire. Raised in an isolated Parsonage, Emily’s imaginative and creative nature grew in leaps and bounds, powered by deep curiosity and an innate desire for learning. The influence of the soul-stirring landscape took root in her childhood flights of fancy and later helped her create the raw, atmospheric, and brooding landscape of “Wuthering Heights”.

Brought up by a churchman father, Emily, along with her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, was immersed in literature and music from a young age. Their imaginary worlds inhabited by romantic heroes were early signs of the literary geniuses they would become. As was the fashion of the time, Emily’s work was initially published under a male pseudonym, Ellis Bell, cloaking her identity and shrouding her in mystery.

Section 2: Treading on Emily Brontë’s Landscape – A Vivid Picture of Wuthering Heights

Primarily set in the desolate and wild moorlands of Yorkshire, the dark and foreboding atmosphere of ‘Wuthering Heights’ is a mirror to its creator’s deep mind. Emily paints a vivid picture of these desolate moors, with their animate nature giving the narrative a supernatural and eerie charm. This harsh backdrop, combined with the turbulent emotions of the characters, offers a glimpse into the solitary mind of Emily Brontë.

It’s no surprise that Emily had an affinity for the raw beauty of her surroundings. She was a homebird who preferred her solitude, nature walks, and animals to the human company. This preference is evident in her characters, Catherine’s description of her perfect heaven and her kinship with the wild Heathcliff echo Emily’s own moorland-fixation and solitude.

Section 3: Emily’s Enigmatic Characters: Wild, Passionate and Timeless

Undeniably, ‘Wuthering Heights’ breaks free from the conventional narrative structures and character developments prevailing in the Victorian era. The dominant figure in Emily’s narrative is Heathcliff, a man gripped by raw and untamed passions.

Emily Brontë’s characters are driven by their desires and emotions rather than rationale and restraint. They disregard societal norms and moral boundaries, choosing instead to heed their deeply instinctual drives. Through her explorations of love, loss, revenge, and obsession in ‘Wuthering Heights’, Emily Brontë exposes us to an array of human experiences, painting a complete picture of human nature and its complexities.

Is Heathcliff a reflection of Emily? While the jury is still out, there’s little doubt that Heathcliff’s tempestuous journey in some way mirrors Emily’s own experiences and feelings. The narrative showcases the various states of the human soul in its raw form. However, there’s also an undercurrent of magical realism, which may have been influenced by folktales, myths, and sagas that Emily often heard in her childhood.

Section 4: Emily’s Creative Process: A Glimpse via Her Poetry

Besides ‘Wuthering Heights’, Emily’s extensive poetic work also provides us with an understanding of her creative process. While the male protagonist, Heathcliff, takes center stage in the novel, her poems are dominated by strong female voices, often echoing lonely cries of freedom and sorrow. Her profound relationship with nature, her feelings of exile, and her struggle with love and mortality weave themselves into her poetry.

Emily’s poem, ‘The Old Stoic,’ offers insights into her belief in personal liberty and emotional self-sufficiency. Echoing similar sentiments, ‘No Coward Soul is Mine’ clearly reflects Emily’s indomitable spirit and her beliefs about immortality and God. These themes are reflected in the characters and narrative of ‘Wuthering Heights,’ providing an additional layer of understanding to the enigma that is Emily Brontë.

Section 5: Brontë’s Enduring Legacy

Emily Brontë died young at the age of 30, but her literary attempts continue to shape the realm of English literature. She left behind a treasure trove of work that continues to fascinate and inspire readers and scholars alike.

What Emily Brontë achieved in ‘Wuthering Heights’ still stands out as a masterpiece. Her exploration of the darker, untamed side of human nature and the ethereal beauty of the English moors proves her to be a literary genius.

In conclusion, the mind of Emily Brontë remains as enigmatic as her masterpiece, ‘Wuthering Heights.’ The novel, like its author, continues to intrigue and captivate the imagination, offering endless opportunities for exploration. It’s a deep dive into the world of passion, love, hatred, and revenge that takes us into the heart of Emily Brontë’s universe, forever immortalized through her words.