Wuthering Heights Essay, Research Paper
Analysis of Fiction Elements in
Wuthering Heights
By Emily Bronte
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
typhus, 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,
rejection, 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
face 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…
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