The Role of Violence in Wuthering Heights

The Role of Violence in Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte and published in 1847.

Emily Bronte was born in Thornton, Yorkshire in 1818, but her family

moved to a nearby village called Haworth when she was eighteen months

old. This is where Bronte spent most of her life, seldom venturing

beyond the surrounding area of her village.

Emily was close to her siblings,Anne,Charlotte and Branwell, probably

because her mother had died when she was three and her father was

often busy with work.Emily and her siblings were all keen on reading

and literature.Before writing Wuthering Heights Bronte wrote poems and

stories about a fantasy world named 'Gondal'.She contributed to a book

of poetry her sisters had written using the pen name Ellis Bell. Emily

Bronte died from tuberculosis in 1848.

Wuthering Heights is the story of two families who inhabit two

separate houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Although

the houses are four miles apart on the Yorkshire moors, both families

provide significant characters to the novel.

Though some characteristics are similar, the personalities of the two

families seem to match their houses. The Earnshaws are a stormy family

and display passion, strong feelings, violence, and manipulation.

Their home, Wuthering Heights, is a remote moorland house with

'stunted firs', deeply set narrow windows and 'bare rafters'

suggesting a cold unfriendly atmosphere.

Thrushcross Grange, however, is described as 'beautiful-a splendid

place, carpeted with crimson, crimson covered chairs and a pure white

ceiling bordered by gold'. This description reflects the Lintons' who

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...n't think the novel would have much impact on those who read it.

Although there is a extensive amount of violence in Wuthering Heights

it is not portrayed as anything out of the ordinary. The story is

written as though violence is acceptable and is nothing to be shocked

at.

Violence is only mentioned as something unusual once in the whole

novel by Nelly Dean in chapter in which she comments on the

'diabolical violence'

Violence is used in Wuthering Heights to convey the emotions of the

characters. The characters turn to violence when they feel anger,

grief, betrayal, passion and other strong feelings.

The use of violence in Wuthering Heights is not used to shock people.

It is an essential theme in the novel and it is vital to the

characters personalities that they use violence to express their

emotions.