life of emily bronte as reflected in wuthering heights
..._Emily_bronte.html) They would spend most of their time roaming the open country and/or living in their own private fantasies, and in their isolation they were truly happy, for they knew no other life was to be had. The remote lifestyle of the Bronte family is reflected in very closely in the setting of ‘Wuthering Heights’. The property of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange lies in the country, the closest town being the small village of Gimmerton Kirk. “A charming introduction to a hermit’s life! Four weeks’ torture, tossing and sickness! Oh, these bleak winds and bitter northern skies, and impassable roads, and dilatory country surgeons! And, oh, this dearth of the human physiognomy! (Emily Bronte, P. 98) Here Lockwood refers to life at the Grange as ‘a hermit’s life’, and hermits certainly aren’t known for being heavily involved in society. He is used to a busy life in the bustle of the society of the time, and to be so isolated causes him to become depressed. This is the setting that the characters in the story live and grow up in. Being one of the only that Bronte was experienced with, it is no surprise that she should make this the setting for her novel. Not only does the location of the novel setting mirror that of Emily’s childhood, the geography of the setting is very similar, if not written to be the same, as that of her parent’s farm. “Life at home was much better for Emily and her siblings: in their isolated childhood on the moors,” (Http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/About_Emily_bronte.html) The Bronte home is described as being on the moors, as are Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Both residences are in the country, surrounded by rolling hills and natural vegetation. “..She found she was unable to bear being away from her home and her beloved, wild countryside.” (Http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/About_Emily_bronte.html) After Emily left home for a brief period she found it hard to be away from the land and home she loved. This is reflected in the novel by Catherine and Heathcliff’s desires to return to the moors after Catherine marries Edgar. The moors were their place of childhood happiness, just as Emily’s home was to her. Emily Bronte lived most of her life without her mother. She reflects this in ‘Wuthering Heights’ by creating motherless characters. “When Emily was only three years old, her mother died of cancer..” (Http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Authors/About_Emily_bronte.html) Being only three, Bronte lived most of her life without a mother. Several of the characters in ‘Wuthering Heights’ are also motherless, and reflections of Emily in that aspect. “’Oh, such a grand bairn!’ she panted out. ‘The finest lad that ever breathed! But the doctor says missis must go: he says she’s been in consumption these many months..”(Emily Bronte, p. 68) “About twelve o’clock, that night, was born the Catherine you saw at Wuthering Heights: a puny, seven months’ child; and two hours after the mother died,” (Emily Bronte, p. 180) When Hareton was born, his mother frances died of consumption, leaving him motherless. When young Cathy was born, Catherine died, or rather, Catherine died before Cathy was born. Having lived her whole life without a mother, Emily probably knows no other way of living because she is so sheltered. The addition of motherless characters into ‘Wuthering Heights’ is just another way that the novel is made to reflect circumstances in Emily’s life. In the days of Emily Bronte’s life and those of ‘Wuthering Heights’, care of children was left almost entirely in the hands of women. Having lost her mother at a young age,...