Book Review | Whirling Hills
Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England in 1818. The fifth of six children, Emily was Charlotte Brontë’s younger sister. In 1820, the family moved to Haworth. During her childhood, after the death of their mother, the three sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) and their brother Branwell Brontë dreamed of imaginary places, the names of which can be found in their stories. Very few of Emily’s works from that period have survived to the present day. In 1838, Emily studied at Miss Patchett’s Ladies Academy near Halifax. She later attended a private school in Brussels with her sister Charlotte.
When Emily’s talent in poetry was discovered by her family, she and her sisters Charlotte and Anne published a joint book of poetry in 1846. In order to escape the prejudiced attitude of the period towards women writers, they published the work under both male and female pseudonyms. The pseudonyms they used had the same initials as their real names: Currer Bell for Charlotte, Ellis Bell for Emily and Acton Bell for Anne. In 1847, she published her only novel, Wuthering Heights, which was the first two volumes of a three-volume set. The last volume was Agnes Grey, written by her sister Anne. The novel’s innovative structure surprised critics in a sense. Although it received both good and bad reviews when it was first published, the novel has become a classic of English literature in time. In 1850, Charlotte prepared the novel for publication, edited it, and published it under Emily’s real name as a stand-alone work called Wuthering Heights.
The novel’s plot is based on themes of love, lust, and revenge. After Heathcliff and Catherine, who love each other very much, suddenly turn into disappointment, Heathcliff pursues a revenge game that will last for many years.
Like her sisters, Emily’s health has weakened and deteriorated due to the difficult conditions at home and school. He caught a cold during his brother’s funeral in September, and after refusing all medical intervention, he died of tuberculosis on December 19, 1848. He was buried in Haworth, West Yorkshire, England.
Subject of the Book
Earnshaw, the owner of the house called Wuthering Heights, returns from Liverpool one day with a 6-year-old dark gypsy boy. He decides to raise this child, who has no family and names him Heathcliff, as his own son with his son Hindley and daughter Catherine. Catherine and Heathcliff soon fall in love. After their father’s death, Hindley begins to treat Heathcliff like a servant and treats him very badly. Heathcliff learns that Catherine marrying someone like him is humiliating and escapes from Wuthering Heights. After three years of not being seen, Heathcliff returns three years later as a rich man. During his absence, Catherine has married Edgar Linton, the wealthy owner of the neighboring mansion. When Catherine and Heathcliff meet, love reignites between them. Catherine dies after giving birth. In order to get revenge, Heathcliff marries Edgar Linton’s sister Isabella and has a son from their marriage. After 20 years, he continues his revenge by forcibly marrying his son to Catherine and Edgar Linton’s daughter.
