The Brontë Sisters: Emily Brontë
Emily Brontë was born two years after her equally talented sister, Charlotte Brontë. She is known for her gothic and only novel: Wuthering Heights. It is a novel that shocked the general public when it was released for its violence and depiction of mental health. Emily brought a brave approach to sensitive subjects; something that was scarce in the Victorian era. Today, it is a famous classic that has inspired multiple adaptations.
The Brontë sister, Emily, was born in 1818 in Thornton near Bradford. Another Brontë sister was born in 1820; none other than Anne Brontë. Not long after the family decided to move to Haworth. The Brontë mother passed when Emily was only three years old. From there on out she and her siblings were cared for by their aunt. In 1824, at age six, Emily joined her older sisters at Clergy Daughters’ School. However, her education was cut short as her eldest sisters, Elizabeth and Maria died of illnesses. After their deaths, the Brontë father decided to educate them at home.
Throughout the years Emily became very close to her remaining sisters. She was said to be a timid child with a love for animals. Although Emily didn’t receive a formal education, she greatly loved writing. Little of her poems and stories are left but we know that she and her siblings wrote about imaginary worlds called Angria and Glass Town. Emily and Anne eventually created their own world together and became deeply connected.
At seventeen, Emily began school once again where he sister, Charlotte, worked. She quickly became homesick and Anne took her place as Emily returned home. The sisters’ goal was to be educated enough to begin their own school one day. Emily worked as a teacher for a while before embarking on a journey to Brussels alongside Charlotte. They went to a boarding school there, although Emily was uncomfortable and unaccustomed to the Belgian customs and refused to adopt them. Opportunities seemed bright and endless in Brussels, however, the death of their aunt led them back home.
The Brontë sisters finally decided to open their dream school but had to abandon it because of a lack of students. This was when writing became a true dependent for young women. They published poems together under the famous pseudonyms: Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell.
Emily was always mysterious and distant which is reflected in her novel: Wuthering Heights. Her closest friend and family member was Anne, whom she shared an imaginary world with. She published her first and ever novel in 1847, just a year before her passing. Emily decided to publish under the same pseudonym as before Ellis Bell. Her true identity was finally revealed to the public in 1850, two years after her death.
Emily fell ill with a bad cough that led to tuberculosis after her brother's funeral. She rejected any medical attention and therefore became weaker and weaker as each day passed. Emily died on the 19th of December in 1848.
The second Brontë sister, Emily Brontë, is recognised as one of the best gothic writers. Her novel Wuthering Heights is seen as one of the greatest classics of all time. Most of her life and character remain a mystery as our only source is Charlotte Brontë who might have changed some facts to favour Emily.
