Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay -- Emily Bronte Wuthering Heigh

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights The female writer Emily Bronte wrote the novel 'Wuthering Heights' in 1847. Bronte's father had influenced Emily with his well-known poetry and imagination. Bronte's childhood could have also played a part in writing her novel as she used to live in the moors herself before her mother died. The North Yorkshire moors where 'Wuthering Heights' is set is a bleak, desolate and solitary place. The area was very inaccessible and it would have taken days to get to neighbouring small towns as the only method of transport was by horseback or by horse and cart. As the moor was so remote there was a limited social life and close friendships were only usually between other family members. The women of those times were expected to be married at an early age and also bear children soon after marriage. However, many women died during or soon after childbirth as the medical knowledge was very poor. Death at an early age was also not uncommon. If a mother died then it was normal for an unmarried female relative to look after the children and take the late mother's place in the home. The social classes were separate at the time the novel was set and marriage was usually within a social class. It would have been considered degrading for a rich person to marry someone with little or no inheritance and of a lower class. This class distinction meant servants were treated badly and often had to live separate to the family they worked for, sometimes out with the animals. This class separation was also in place in Santiago, Chile, at the time James Watson wrote 'Talking in Whispers'. Watson's novel was based on real events and some of the characters were meant to reflect real people.... ...next one to be killed and the risk of losing your family. The type of psychological brutality in "Wuthering Heights" is different. The brutality in this novel is more to do with social status than fear. It is apparent when Heathcliff's "father" dies and Hindley makes Heathcliff live as a servant. Hindley could not accept him as an equal he was seen as a "gypsy". This type of verbal insult, a long with when Cathy said, "It would degrade me to marry him", hurts people's minds rather than their body. Yet, "Wuthering Heights" also shows physical brutality such as when Hindley fought with Heathcliff when they were young and when Heathcliff beats his wife. Also, his treatment of Hareton is not very kind. In conclusion, both novels contain brutality but both concentrate on different aspects, and because of the setting, the reasons and effects are different.

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