Emily Brontë
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Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, ''
Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...
'', now considered a classic of
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
. She also published a book of poetry with her sisters
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
and
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
titled '' Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell'' with her own poems finding regard as poetic genius. Emily was the second-youngest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother Branwell. She published under the
pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
Ellis Bell.


Early life

Emily Brontë was born on 30 July 1818 to
Maria Branwell Maria Branwell (15 April 1783 – 15 September 1821) is best known as being the mother of British writers Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, Charlotte Brontë and of their brother Branwell Brontë, who was a poet and painter. Maria married Patrick Br ...
and an Irish father,
Patrick Brontë Patrick Brontë (, commonly ; born Patrick Brunty; 17 March 1777 – 7 June 1861) was an Irish Anglican priest and author who spent most of his adult life in England. He was the father of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, and of ...
. The family was living on Market Street in the village of Thornton on the outskirts of
Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, in the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
, England. Emily was the second youngest of six siblings, preceded by Maria, Elizabeth,
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
and Branwell. In 1820, Emily's younger sister
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
, the last Brontë child, was born. Shortly thereafter, the family moved eight miles away to
Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages includ ...
, where Patrick was employed as
perpetual curate Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...
. In Haworth, the children would have opportunities to develop their literary talents.Fraser, ''The Brontës'', p. 16 When Emily was only three, and all six children under the age of eight, she and her siblings lost their mother, Maria, to cancer on 15 September 1821.Fraser, ''The Brontës'', p. 28 The younger children were to be cared for by
Elizabeth Branwell Elizabeth Branwell (1776 – 29 October 1842) was the aunt of the literary sisters Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë and Anne Brontë. Called 'Aunt Branwell', she helped raise the Brontë children after her sister, Maria Branwell, died in 1821. S ...
, their aunt and Maria's sister. Emily's three elder sisters,
Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
, Elizabeth, and Charlotte, were sent to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge. At the age of six, on 25 November 1824, Emily joined her sisters at school for a brief period.Fraser, ''The Brontës'', p. 35 At school, however, the children suffered abuse and privations, and when a
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
epidemic swept the school, Maria and Elizabeth became ill. Maria, who may actually have had
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, was sent home, where she died. Elizabeth died shortly after. The four youngest Brontë children, all under ten years of age, had suffered the loss of the three eldest women in their immediate family.Fraser, ''The Brontës'', p. 31 Charlotte maintained that the school's poor conditions permanently affected her health and physical development and that it had hastened the deaths of Maria (born 1814) and Elizabeth (born 1815), who both died in 1825. After the deaths of his older daughters, Patrick removed Charlotte and Emily from the school. Charlotte would use her experiences and knowledge of the school as the basis for Lowood School in ''
Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...
''. The three remaining sisters and their brother Branwell were thereafter educated at home by their father and aunt
Elizabeth Branwell Elizabeth Branwell (1776 – 29 October 1842) was the aunt of the literary sisters Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë and Anne Brontë. Called 'Aunt Branwell', she helped raise the Brontë children after her sister, Maria Branwell, died in 1821. S ...
. A shy girl, Emily was very close to her siblings and was known as a great animal lover, especially for befriending stray dogs she found wandering around the countryside. Despite the lack of formal education, Emily and her siblings had access to a wide range of published material; favourites included
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
,
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, Shelley, and ''
Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...
''.Fraser, ''The Brontës'', pp. 44–45 Inspired by a box of toy soldiers Branwell had received as a gift, the children began to write stories which they set in a number of invented
imaginary worlds ''Imaginary Worlds: the Art of Fantasy'' is a study of the modern literary fantasy genre written by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in June, 1973 as the fifty-eighth volume of its ''Ballantine Adult Fantasy ser ...
peopled by their soldiers as well as their heroes the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
and his sons,
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
and Arthur Wellesley. Little of Emily's work from this period survives, except for poems spoken by characters. Initially, all four children shared in creating stories about a world called Angria. However, when Emily was 13, she and Anne withdrew from participation in the Angria story and began a new one about Gondal, a fictional island whose myths and legends were to preoccupy the two sisters throughout their lives. With the exception of their Gondal poems and Anne's lists of Gondal's characters and place-names, Emily and Anne's Gondal writings were largely not preserved. Among those that did survive are some "diary papers," written by Emily in her twenties, which describe current events in Gondal. The heroes of Gondal tended to resemble the popular image of the Scottish Highlander, a sort of British version of the "noble savage": romantic outlaws capable of more nobility, passion, and bravery than the denizens of "civilization". Similar themes of romanticism and noble savagery are apparent across the Brontë's juvenilia, notably in Branwell's ''The Life of Alexander Percy'', which tells the story of an all-consuming, death-defying, and ultimately self-destructive love and is generally considered an inspiration for ''Wuthering Heights''.Paddock & Rollyson ''The Brontës A to Z'' p. 199. At seventeen, Emily began to attend the Roe Head Girls' School, where Charlotte was a teacher, but suffered from extreme
homesickness Homesickness is the distress caused by being away from home.Kerns, Brumariu, Abraham. Kathryn A., Laura E., Michelle M.(2009/04/13). Homesickness at summer camp. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54. Its cognitive hallmark is preoccupying thoughts of home ...
and left after only a few months. Charlotte wrote later that "Liberty was the breath of Emily's nostrils; without it, she perished. The change from her own home to a school and from her own very noiseless, very secluded but unrestricted and unartificial mode of life, to one of disciplined routine (though under the kindest auspices), was what she failed in enduring... I felt in my heart she would die if she did not go home, and with this conviction obtained her recall."Gaskell, ''The Life of Charlotte Brontë'', p. 149 Emily returned home and Anne took her place.Fraser, ''The Brontës'', p. 84 At this time, the girls' objective was to obtain sufficient education to open a small school of their own.


Adulthood

Emily became a teacher at Law Hill School in Halifax beginning in September 1838, when she was twenty.Vine, ''Emily Brontë'' (1998), p. 11 Her always fragile health soon broke under the stress of the 17-hour work day and she returned home in April 1839. Thereafter she remained at home, doing most of the cooking, ironing, and cleaning at Haworth. She taught herself
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
out of books and also practised the piano. In 1842, Emily accompanied Charlotte to the Héger Pensionnat in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, where they attended the girls' academy run by
Constantin Héger Constantin Georges Romain Héger (1809–1896) was a Belgian teacher of the Victorian era. He is best remembered today for his association with Emily and Charlotte Brontë during the 1840s. Early life Héger was born in Brussels and moved to ...
in the hope of perfecting their French and German before opening their school. Unlike Charlotte, Emily was uncomfortable in Brussels, and refused to adopt Belgian fashions, saying "I wish to be as God made me", which rendered her something of an outcast. Nine of Emily's French essays survive from this period. Héger seems to have been impressed with the strength of Emily's character, writing that:
She should have been a man – a great navigator. Her powerful reason would have deduced new spheres of discovery from the knowledge of the old; and her strong imperious will would never have been daunted by opposition or difficulty, never have given way but with life. She had a head for logic, and a capability of argument unusual in a man and rarer indeed in a woman... impairing this gift was her stubborn tenacity of will which rendered her obtuse to all reasoning where her own wishes, or her own sense of right, was concerned.
The two sisters were committed to their studies and by the end of the term had become so competent in French that Madame Héger proposed that they both stay another half-year, even, according to Charlotte, offering to dismiss the English master so that she could take his place. Emily had, by this time, become a competent pianist and teacher and it was suggested that she might stay on to teach music. However, the illness and death of their aunt drove them to return to their father and Haworth. In 1844, the sisters attempted to open a school in their house, but their plans were stymied by an inability to attract students to the remote area. In 1844, Emily began going through all the poems she had written, recopying them neatly into two notebooks. One was labelled "Gondal Poems"; the other was unlabelled. Scholars such as Fannie Ratchford and Derek Roper have attempted to piece together a Gondal storyline and chronology from these poems. In the autumn of 1845, Charlotte discovered the notebooks and insisted that the poems be published. Emily, furious at the invasion of her privacy, at first refused but relented when Anne brought out her own manuscripts and revealed to Charlotte that she had been writing poems in secret as well. As co-authors of Gondal stories, Anne and Emily were accustomed to read their Gondal stories and poems to each other, while Charlotte was excluded from their privacy. Around this time Emily had written one of her most famous poems "No coward soul is mine", probably as an answer to the violation of her privacy and her own transformation into a published writer. Despite Charlotte's later claim, it was not her last poem. In 1846, the sisters' poems were published in one volume as '' Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell''. The Brontë sisters had adopted pseudonyms for publication, preserving their initials: Charlotte was "Currer Bell", Emily was "Ellis Bell" and Anne was "Acton Bell". Charlotte wrote in the 'Biographical Notice of Ellis and Acton Bell' that their "ambiguous choice" was "dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming Christian names positively masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women, because... we had a vague impression that authoresses are liable to be looked on with prejudice".Gaskell, ''The life of Charlotte Brontë'' (1857), p. 335 Charlotte contributed 19 poems, and Emily and Anne each contributed 21. Although the sisters were told several months after publication that only two copies had sold, they were not discouraged (of their two readers, one was impressed enough to request their autographs). ''The Athenaeum'' reviewer praised Ellis Bell's work for its music and power, singling out his poems as the best: "Ellis possesses a fine, quaint spirit and an evident power of wing that may reach heights not here attempted", and ''The Critic'' reviewer recognised "the presence of more genius than it was supposed this utilitarian age had devoted to the loftier exercises of the intellect."


Personality and character

Emily Brontë's solitary and reclusive nature has made her a mysterious figure and a challenge for biographers to assess. Except for
Ellen Nussey Ellen Nussey (20 April 1817 – 26 November 1897) was born in Birstall Smithies in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She was a lifelong friend and correspondent of writer Charlotte Brontë and, through more than 500 letters received from ...
and Louise de Bassompierre, Emily's fellow student in Brussels, she does not seem to have made any friends outside her family. Her closest friend was her sister Anne. Together they shared their own fantasy world, Gondal, and, according to Ellen Nussey, in childhood they were "like twins", "inseparable companions" and "in the very closest sympathy which never had any interruption".Fraser, ''A Life of Anne Brontë'', p. 39Barker, ''The Brontës'', p. 195 In 1845 Anne took Emily to visit some of the places she had come to know and love in the five years she spent as governess. A plan to visit
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
fell through and instead the sisters went to
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
where Anne showed Emily
York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...
. During the trip the sisters acted out some of their Gondal characters.Barker, ''The Brontës'', p. 451 Charlotte Brontë remains the primary source of information about Emily, although as an elder sister, writing publicly about her only shortly after her death, she is considered by certain scholars not to be a neutral witness. Stevie Davies believes that there is what might be called Charlotte's smoke-screen and argues that Emily evidently shocked her, to the point where she may even have doubted her sister's sanity. After Emily's death, Charlotte rewrote her character, history and even poems on a more acceptable (to her and the bourgeois reading public) model. Biographer Claire O'Callaghan suggests that the trajectory of Brontë's legacy was altered significantly by
Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...
’s biography of Charlotte, concerning not only because Gaskell did not visit Haworth until after Emily’s death, but also because Gaskell admits to disliking what she did know of Emily in her biography of Charlotte. As O'Callaghan and others have noted, Charlotte was Gaskell's primary source of information on Emily's life and may have exaggerated or fabricated Emily’s frailty and shyness to cast herself in the role of maternal saviour. Charlotte presented Emily as someone whose "natural" love of the beauties of nature had become somewhat exaggerated owing to her shy nature, portraying her as too fond of the Yorkshire moors, and homesick whenever she was away. According to
Lucasta Miller Lucasta Frances Elizabeth Miller (born 5 June 1966) is an English writer and literary journalist. Education Miller was educated at Westminster School and Lady Margaret Hall, in Oxford, receiving a congratulatory first in English in 1988. She was ...
, in her analysis of Brontë biographies, "Charlotte took on the role of Emily's first mythographer." In the ''Preface'' to the Second Edition of ''
Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...
'', in 1850, Charlotte wrote:
My sister's disposition was not naturally gregarious; circumstances favoured and fostered her tendency to seclusion; except to go to church or take a walk on the hills, she rarely crossed the threshold of home. Though her feeling for the people round was benevolent, intercourse with them she never sought; nor, with very few exceptions, ever experienced. And yet she knew them: knew their ways, their language, their family histories; she could hear of them with interest, and talk of them with detail, minute, graphic, and accurate; but WITH them, she rarely exchanged a word.
Emily's unsociability and extremely shy nature have subsequently been reported many times.Gérin, ''Emily Brontë: a biography'', p. 196 According to Norma Crandall, her "warm, human aspect" was "usually revealed only in her love of nature and of animals". In a similar description, ''Literary news'' (1883) states: " milyloved the solemn moors, she loved all wild, free creatures and things", and critics attest that her love of the moors is manifest in ''Wuthering Heights''. Over the years, Emily's love of nature has been the subject of many anecdotes. A newspaper dated 31 December 1899, gives the folksy account that "with bird and beast milyhad the most intimate relations, and from her walks she often came with fledgling or young rabbit in hand, talking softly to it, quite sure, too, that it understood".
Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer and short story writer. Her novels offer a detailed portrait of the lives of many st ...
, in her biography of Charlotte, told the story of Emily's punishing her pet dog Keeper for lying "on the delicate white counterpane" that covered one of the beds in the Parsonage. According to Gaskell, she struck him with her fists until he was "half-blind" with his eyes "swelled up". This story is apocryphal, and contradicts the following account of Emily's and Keeper's relationship:
Poor old Keeper, Emily's faithful friend and worshipper, seemed to understand her like a human being. One evening, when the four friends were sitting closely round the fire in the sitting-room, Keeper forced himself in between Charlotte and Emily and mounted himself on Emily’s lap; finding the space too limited for his comfort he pressed himself forward on to the guest’s knees, making himself quite comfortable. Emily’s heart was won by the unresisting endurance of the visitor, little guessing that she herself, being in close contact, was the inspiring cause of submission to Keeper’s preference. Sometimes Emily would delight in showing off Keeper—make him frantic in action, and roar with the voice of a lion. It was a terrifying exhibition within the walls of an ordinary sitting-room. Keeper was a solemn mourner at Emily’s funeral and never recovered his cheerfulness.
In ''Queens of Literature of the Victorian Era'' (1886), Eva Hope summarises Emily's character as "a peculiar mixture of timidity and Spartan-like courage", and goes on to say, "She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a surprising degree. She loved few persons, but those few with a passion of self-sacrificing tenderness and devotion. To other people's failings she was understanding and forgiving, but over herself she kept a continual and most austere watch, never allowing herself to deviate for one instant from what she considered her duty." Emily Brontë has often been characterised as a devout if somewhat unorthodox Christian, a heretic and a visionary "mystic of the moors".


''Wuthering Heights''

Emily Brontë's ''Wuthering Heights'' was first published in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1847 by
Thomas Cautley Newby Thomas Cautley Newby (1797/1798 – 1882) was an English publisher and printer based in London. Newby published ''Wuthering Heights'' by Emily Brontë and both Anne Brontë's novels, ''Agnes Grey'' and ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall ''T ...
, appearing as the first two volumes of a three-volume set that included
Anne Brontë Anne Brontë (, commonly ; 17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, and the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne Brontë was the daughter of Maria (born Branwell) and Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish cl ...
's ''
Agnes Grey ''Agnes Grey, A Novel'' is the debut novel of English author Anne Brontë (writing under the pen name of "Acton Bell"), first published in December 1847, and republished in a second edition in 1850. The novel follows Agnes Grey, a governess, as ...
''. The authors were printed as being Ellis and Acton Bell; Emily's real name did not appear until 1850, when it was printed on the title page of an edited commercial edition. The novel's innovative structure somewhat puzzled
critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...
. ''Wuthering Heights''s violence and passion led the Victorian public and many early reviewers to think that it had been written by a man. According to
Juliet Gardiner Juliet Gardiner (born 24 June 1943) is a British historian and a commentator on British social history from Victorian times through to the 1950s. She is a former editor of ''History Today'' magazine, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Histori ...
, "the vivid sexual passion and power of its language and imagery impressed, bewildered and appalled reviewers." Literary critic Thomas Joudrey further contextualizes this reaction: "Expecting in the wake of Charlotte Brontë's ''Jane Eyre'' to be swept up in an earnest
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...
, they were instead shocked and confounded by a tale of unchecked primal passions, replete with savage cruelty and outright barbarism." Even though the novel received mixed reviews when it first came out, and was often condemned for its portrayal of amoral passion, the book subsequently became an English literary classic. Emily Brontë never knew the extent of fame she achieved with her only novel, as she died a year after its publication, aged 30. Although a letter from her publisher indicates that Emily had begun to write a second novel, the manuscript has never been found. Perhaps Emily or a member of her family eventually destroyed the manuscript, if it existed, when she was prevented by illness from completing it. It has also been suggested that, though less likely, the letter could have been intended for
Anne Brontë Anne Brontë (, commonly ; 17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, and the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne Brontë was the daughter of Maria (born Branwell) and Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish cl ...
, who was already writing ''
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall ''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' is the second and final novel written by English author Anne Brontë. It was first published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, it had an instant and phe ...
'', her second novel.


Death

Emily's health was probably weakened by the harsh local climate and by unsanitary conditions at home,Gaskell, ''The Life of Charlotte Brontë'', pp. 47–48 where water was contaminated by run off from the church's graveyard. Branwell died suddenly, on Sunday, 24 September 1848. At his funeral service, a week later, Emily caught a severe cold that quickly developed into inflammation of the lungs and led to
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
.Benvenuto, ''Emily Brontë'', p. 24 Though her condition worsened steadily, she rejected medical help and all offered remedies, saying that she would have "no poisoning doctor" near her.Fraser, "Charlotte Brontë: A Writer's Life", 316 On the morning of 19 December 1848, Charlotte, fearing for her sister, wrote:
She grows daily weaker. The physician's opinion was expressed too obscurely to be of use – he sent some medicine which she would not take. Moments so dark as these I have never known – I pray for God's support to us all.Gaskell, ''The Life of Charlotte Brontë'', pp. 67
At noon, Emily was worse; she could only whisper in gasps. With her last audible words she said to Charlotte, "If you will send for a doctor, I will see him now",Gaskell, ''The Life of Charlotte Brontë'', pp. 68 but it was too late. She died that same day at about two in the afternoon. According to
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
, an early biographer of Emily, it happened while she was sitting on the sofa.Robinson, ''Emily Brontë'', p. 308 However, Charlotte's letter to William Smith Williams where she mentions Emily's dog, Keeper, lying at the side of her dying-bed, makes this statement seem unlikely.Barker, ''The Brontës'', p. 576 It was less than three months after Branwell's death, which led Martha Brown, a housemaid, to declare that "Miss Emily died of a broken heart for love of her brother".Gérin, ''Emily Brontë: a biography'', p. 242 Emily had grown so thin that her coffin measured only 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide. The carpenter said he had never made a narrower one for an adult.Vine, ''Emily Brontë'' (1998), p. 20 Her mortal remains were interred in the family vault in
St Michael and All Angels' Church, Haworth St Michael and All Angels' Church is the Church of England parish church of Haworth, West Yorkshire. The current structure, the third church building on the site, was built between 1879 and 1881 although parts of the original medieval church b ...
.


Legacy

The English folk group
The Unthanks The Unthanks (until 2009 called Rachel Unthank and the Winterset) are an English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres."They may cal ...
released ''Lines'', a trilogy of short albums, which includes settings of Brontë's poems to music and was recorded at the Brontës' parsonage home, using their own
Regency era The Regency era of British history officially spanned the years 1811 to 1820, though the term is commonly applied to the longer period between and 1837. George III of the United Kingdom, King George III succumbed to mental illness in late 18 ...
piano, played by
Adrian McNally Adrian McNally is a record producer, a composer/songwriter and a musician with English folk group the Unthanks, which he also manages. As well as producing all of the Unthanks' albums he has produced the compilation album ''Harbour of Songs'' for ...
. In the 2019 film ''
How to Build a Girl ''How to Build a Girl'' is a 2019 Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film directed by Coky Giedroyc, from a screenplay by Caitlin Moran, based on her 2014 How to Build a Girl (novel), novel of the same name. The film tells the story of J ...
'', Emily and Charlotte Brontë are among the historical figures in Johanna's wall
collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole. ...
. In May 2021, the contents of the Honresfield library, a collection of rare books and manuscripts first assembled by Rochdale mill owners Alfred and William Law, re-emerged after being out of public view for nearly a century. In the collection were handwritten poems by Emily Brontë, as well as the Brontë family edition of Bewick's 'History of British Birds.' The collection was to be auctioned off at
Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
and was estimated to sell for £1 million. The 1946 film ''
Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...
'' was a highly fictionalized account of the lives of the Brontë sisters. In the 2022 film '' Emily'', written and directed by
Frances O'Connor Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British–born Australian actress and director. She is known for her roles in the films ''Mansfield Park'' (1999), '' Bedazzled'' (2000), ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001), ''The Importance of ...
, Emma Mackey plays Emily before the publication of ''Wuthering Heights''. The film mixes known biographical details with imagined situations and relationships.


Works

*Bell, Ellis (Brontë, Emily), ''Wuthering Heights, A Novel''. London: Thomas Cautley Newby, 1847
--> *


Electronic editions

* * * *


See also

*
Walterclough Hall Walterclough Hall, sometimes known as Water Clough Hall or Upper Walterclough, lies in the Walterclough Valley south-east of Halifax and north-east of the village of Southowram in the West Riding of Yorkshire, alongside the Red Beck.Southowram Southowram () is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England that stands on the hill top to the east of Halifax, on the south side of Shibden valley. The village falls within the Town ward of Calderdale Council. It is a small Pennine v ...
* " Come hither child" – a poem by Emily published in 1839 * "
A Death-Scene "A Death-Scene" is a poem by English writer Emily Brontë. It was written on 2 December 1844 and published in 1846 in a book collecting poetry by Brontë and her siblings. Poem excerpt Context The poem appears to be a Gondal (fictional ...
" – a poem by Emily published in 1846 * " To a Wreath of Snow" – a poem by Emily published in 1837 *
Emily (2022 film) ''Emily'' is a 2022 biographical drama film written and directed by Frances O'Connor in her directorial debut. It depicts a fictionalized version of the life of English writer Emily Brontë (portrayed by Emma Mackey), concentrating on her roman ...


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* ''Emily Brontë'', Charles Simpson * ''In the Footsteps of the Brontës'', Ellis Chadwick * ''Last Things: Emily Brontë's Poems'', Janet Gezari * ''The Oxford Reader's Companion to the Brontës'', Christine Alexander & Margaret Smith * ''The Brontë Myth'',
Lucasta Miller Lucasta Frances Elizabeth Miller (born 5 June 1966) is an English writer and literary journalist. Education Miller was educated at Westminster School and Lady Margaret Hall, in Oxford, receiving a congratulatory first in English in 1988. She was ...
* ''Emily'', Daniel Wynne * ''Emily Brontë'', Winifred Gerin * ''A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontë'',
Katherine Frank Katherine Frank is a noted United States, American author and biographer, now living in England. Her works include a highly acclaimed biography of Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon, and the more controversial book ''Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi,'' ...
* ''Emily Brontë. Her Life and Work'',
Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Life Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...
and Derek Stanford * * L. P. Hartley, 'Emily Brontë In Gondal And Galdine', in L. P. Hartley, ''The Novelist's Responsibility'' (1967), p. 35–53 * ''Emily's Ghost: A Novel of the Brontë Sisters'',
Denise Giardina Denise Giardina is an American novelist. Her book '' Storming Heaven'' was a Discovery Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and received the 1987 W. D. Weatherford Award for the best published work about the Appalachian South. '' The Unquiet Ea ...
* ''Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontës'', Jude Morgan * ''Dark Quartet'',
Lynne Reid Banks Lynne Reid Banks (born 31 July 1929) is a British author of books for children and adults. She has written forty-five books, including the best-selling children's novel ''The Indian in the Cupboard'', which has sold over 10 million copies and ...
* '' Literature and Evil'',
Georges Bataille Georges Albert Maurice Victor Bataille (; ; 10 September 1897 – 9 July 1962) was a French philosopher and intellectual working in philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and history of art. His writing, which included essays, novels, ...


External links


Emily Brontë papers, 1830s-1990s
held by the
Berg Collection The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, commonly known as the Main Branch, 42nd Street Library or the New York Public Library, is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. ...
,
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

The Brontë Society and Brontë Parsonage Museum
in
Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages includ ...

Locations associated with ''Wuthering Heights'' and Emily Brontë
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Emily Brontë
at the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

Poems by Emily Jane Brontë
at English-Poetry.RU {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronte, Emily 1818 births 1848 deaths 19th-century English women writers 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis 19th-century English novelists 19th-century pseudonymous writers Emily Burials in West Yorkshire Christian writers English Anglicans English people of Cornish descent English women poets English women novelists English people of Irish descent English governesses Tuberculosis deaths in England People from Thornton and Allerton Pseudonymous women writers Victorian novelists Victorian women writers Writers of Gothic fiction