With Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell, having hit cinemas in February, it is safe to say the often-mythologised figure of Emily Brontë will return to the spotlight. This film is undoubtedly experimental, with Fennell defending the liberties taken, stating that she “can’t adapt the book as it is, but [she] can approximate the way it made [her] feel,” hoping to provoke “a primal response.” Certainly, this idea of emotional intensity has haunted Emily Brontë’s legacy in both literary and cultural spheres. Indeed, the stereotypical imagination of Brontë’s Haworth is pervaded with ideas of the supernatural, much like those in her sole novel. To some extent, this is plausible: the now Brontë Parsonage Museum stands only a few hundred metres away from a graveyard that is estimated to hold forty thousand people. Emily also suffered intense grief as a child, losing both her mother and two older sisters. However, while certain biographical facts are known, the image of the enigmatic Emily is largely constructed through interpretation. Lucasta Miller coins this “The Brontë Myth.” Within the popular imagination, Emily remains solitary and elusive, a sharp contrast to the vivacity of this new adaptation.
So, what do we know? Born in July 1818, Emily Jane Brontë was the fifth child of Reverend
Patrick Brontë and Maria Brontë, sister to Charlotte, Branwell and Anne. After moving to
Haworth in 1820, she was often described as withdrawn and deeply attached to home. While
at Roe Head School, Charlotte notes in a correspondence that she felt Emily might die if she
stayed. In 1842, Emily accompanied Charlotte to Brussels, where she developed a reputation
for being fiercely opinionated, particularly toward their tutor, Constantin Heger. Returning
home, she was exposed to Branwell’s alcoholism and opium addiction while constructing a
poetry collection with her sisters and writing Wuthering Heights, describing her as a “powerful and peculiar character,” which only made her want to “cling to her more.”
However, our personal insight into Emily remains limited. The image we hold is largely
shaped by her writing and the observations of others, elevating her into a figure of intense
spirituality who harbours a strong connection to nature and her imagination. This perception
is particularly prominent in Frances O’Connor’s 2022 haunting biopic Emily. Perhaps, then,
it is precisely this elusiveness that Fennell can feel such primal magnetism towards both
Wuthering Heights and its author. The Emily Brontë we know is a figment of our collective
imagination, and as such, we delve into her literary work to uncover any hidden truths.
Image courtesy of Katya Roberts, @katyaillustrates