Wuthering Heights Context

Emily Bronte was born on July 30th 1818 at Thornton, Bradford in Yorkshire, fifth child of the six children. Her mother died of cancer in 1821. In 1824 she attended the newly opened Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge. While there along with her sisters Maria, Elizabeth and Charlotte they suffer the harsh regime, cold and poor food. In June 1825 Emily and her sisters were finally taken away from the school for good.

Emily and Anne write poetry and stories for their imaginary world of Gondal. Few survive, but they worked together on poems and the Gondal sagas into the 1840's

In July 1835 she enrolled at Miss Wooler's school at Roe Head Mirfield which lasted for 3 months, returning to Haworth in October.

In September 1845 Charlotte inadvertently discovers Emily's poems. Emily is angered by the intrusion into her private writings. Her sister convinces her to collaborate on a book of poems. About this time it is thought Emily started to write Wuthering Heights.

In November 1848 Emily's health was poor. Charlotte Bronte writes that her sister has difficulty in breathing and pains in her chest. On 19 December 1848 Emily Bronte died at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. She was 30 years old. On 22 December she is laid to rest in the family vault in Haworth church.

Emily Brontë has been cast as Absolute Individual, as Tormented Genius, and as Free Spirit Communing with Nature.

The Bronte's father was a withdrawn man who dined alone in his own room; their Aunt Branwell, who raised them after the early death of their mother, also dined alone in her room. For three years Emily supposedly spoke only to family members and servants.

Their brother Branwell, an alcoholic and a drug addict, went through mad ravings with threats of committing suicide or murdering their father, his physical and mental degradation, his bouts of delirium, and, finally, his death.

Almost everything that is known about Emily comes from the writings of others, primarily Charlotte.

Often Wuthering Heights is used to construct a biography of Emily's life, personality, and beliefs. Edward Chitharn equates Emily, the well-read housekeeper of the family home, with Nelly based on the similarity of their roles and the similarity of their names, "Nelly" being short for "Ellen".

The illnesses of Catherine, who stops eating after Edgar's ultimatum, and of Heathcliff, who stops eating at the end, is used as proof of Emily's own illness; support for this is found in the tendency of all four Brontë siblings not to eat when upset.

Katherine Frank argues that Emily had a hunger "for power and experience, for love and happiness, fame and fortune and fulfilment?". An interpretation of this could be that several of her characters are desperate for passion, romance and affections from others such as Hareton (from Heathcliff), Young and Elder Catherines, Heathcliff, Isabella.

Another interpretation of Wuthering Heights has been that nearly all the characters in some way are deprived of love and passion - something that Emily may have wished for herself and basing the only main character in the novel who is accepted by everybody (Nelly) on herself - could reveal her longing for love.

There is also the argument over jealousy between her and her siblings. Emily and Anne separated from Branwell and Charlotte during their adolescent writings to create their own imaginary world. Charlotte is also the only sister to marry and their brother Branwell is also a failed writer who committed adultery. It can be argued that these issues were replicated in the relationships of Wuthering Heights.

Similarly, Emily's poems are used to interpret her novel, particularly those poems discussing isolation, rebellion, and freedom.