Classics, now a days, are stereotyped as boring reads or as "forced- to reads". After reading a few of them myself, I have to admit at times, I did not find the plot very interesting. I felt like the story was slow- paced and had all these useless words in place just to make my reading longer. I think a main reason for this feeling is that I don't understand the context of the novel and I'm not used to reading books that have more ancient words and sentence syntax. Another huge reason is that I probably don't understand where the author is coming from. So taking this opportunity, I'd like to tell you a little about Emily Bronte- the author of Wuthering Heights. And I'm shocked to say that, personally, I find Bronte's life story more interesting than the novel itself.
Emily Bronte, the fifth child of her family, was born on July 30, 1818 in the tranquil town of Yorkshire, England. She was a person who had very little life experience. She rarely traveled out of her village and lived a very circumscribed life. Even so, she was aware of the horrors of everyday life. At a young age, she became very familiar with grief. She was about three by the time her mother died of cancer, two of her older sisters died of malnutrition, and her only brother ruined his life and became a drug addict and alcoholic. All of these life experiences really shaped the way that she decided to portray the world in her novel. Her two, also famous sisters, Ann and Charlotte Bronte were also literary fanatics. The three of them wrote numerous short novels, poems, and biographies together at a young age. Literature slowly grew to become a part of their lives. Because Emily, Ann, and Charlotte were women who were living in a society dominated by men, it was very difficult for them to publish their works. Thus, they broadcasted their stories under the pennames of Ellis, Acton, and Currer Bell, respectively.
Wuthering Heights is Emily Bronte's only published novel. Inevitably, living in such an isolated society, she died very close to the home she was born in. Tuberculosis was a very contagious and dangerous disease during her time period. Her brother died in October of 1848 from this disease, and Emily Bronte passed away from TB just two months later on December 19th, 1848. She lived a very short life, yet she was able to touch the emotions of so many different people from so many different backgrounds. I believe that even though her life wasn't as glamorous as those of some other author's, the legacy she left is truly a noteworthy one.
Dear Cindy,
ReplyDeleteFinally, someone else who's read "Wuthering Heights" :) The lives of authors in that time period were often tragic—Jane Austen gave up writing one of her novels after it became too similar to her own life. I love your hook and your honesty about your opinions. Have you read the works of Emily's sisters?
Cindy, this was very well-written! I loved when you said, "I think a main reason for this feeling is that I don't understand the context of the novel..." and, "Another huge reason is that I probably don't understand where the author is coming from." These are things that people often don't think about before judging classics as "boring". I think readers need to do a little research about the author and time period before they read a classic in order to truly be able to judge whether or not the book is good. I appreciate that you did that here!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you engaged the reader at the beginning by stating your opinions, but then shedding some light on the subject. By learning about the author, you figuring out why the novel was written in the perspective that it was. It was a good idea to research the author, even if you felt like you did not enjoy their writing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree with your opinion on classics. I'm the type of skip words unintentionally, so when I read a classic and I don't know most of the words on the page, I find myself very confused after a few characters. I think you should try reading autobiographies. They are actually really interesting if you are trying to relate to the author or find wisdom from their life stories.
ReplyDeleteI was engaged from the start. As simple as that. You glued the reader to the seat from the very beginning. Not many people have done 'all about the author's life' well, but you did this blog perfectly.
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