I've only read Wuthering Heights, which I love. It's one of my favorite books.

I've tried Jane Eyre twice in the past, and both times gave up after 60 or so pages. I just wasn't in the mood for it. I'll probably give it another try in a few years or so;-).

I have to say, Christen, I probably just wouldn't read any more of their books if you don't really care for them:-). I have a few authors I now avoid just because I've read a few of their books, and not cared for their style.

People are starting to remember my name here! Thats so nice, wait, back on subject...
I loved Jane Eyre! Its one of MY favorite books!
-Kren, what was it that you liked about Wuthering Heights? Did the style appeal to you? was it the passion? I really do appreciate others veiws on this!
I detested Vilette. I dont know what it was, but it drove me up the wall. And Shirley (my half-finished book)seems rather 'staged' to me.
Its probably very wrong and stuck-up of me, but id like to say that ive read all the novels by the Brontes. ;-)Two more books wont kill me, and their such slim volumes anyway...
CMK

There is nothing in literature anything like Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights - whether one likes it or not. A writer friend of mine said in one of his own novels, 'It blots out a piece of the sky.' Yes, it's elemental; the characters aren't what we think of as 'human' - you can't identify with any of them because they're all larger than life. Except, perhaps, Mr Lockwood who, compared with the rest, seems very pale.

You might like to think of it as more of a huge poem, and, of course, Emily was a poet. Only last night I was discussing it (with the same novelist as mentioned above) and we agreed that the final paragraph is so beautiful it makes you weep:

'I lingered among them (the graves), under that benign sky; watched the moths flulttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing throught the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth.'

- Oh, the pure balance of the line 'unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' And after the tempest which is the novel, to reach such absolute peace!

On the structure of the novel, yes, it's a sprawling mess as far as classic shape goes: it's got 2 narrators, for a start, and the story of the next generation which takes up about the last quarter is kind of tacked on to the end like a big tail. But the double-narrative serves to distance us that bit more from the main story which could never be comprehended in terms of ordinary human existence. The very name 'Heathcliffe' for instance,tells you that he's more of the elements than ordinary flesh and blood. And Cathy says, 'I am Heathcliff', when she's describing the way she feels about him, to Nelly Dean.

Emily herself was a strange person, solitary, not at all sociable like Charlotte. I think she was a woman of violent but restrained passion: she once beat a dog very violently because it defied her when she had forbidden it from sleeping on the beds! Haworth itself, where they lived, was a remote village on the edge of the moor leading from Yorkshire to Lancashire, a few miles from Keighley the other way (I lived there myself for nearly 20 years in the '80s & 90s, about a 10 minute walk from the Parsonage). There would have been very little socialising with the gentry there at that time - what 'gentry'?

'Cold in the earth and the deep snow piled above thee,
'Far, far removed, lost in the dreary grave -
'Can I forget, my only love, to love thee,
'Severed at last by time's all-severing wave?'
(from Wild Decembers - Emily Bronte)

Christen, you must read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne, the third sister. It's a gem of a book, rather overshadowed by the fame of WH and JE. It contains amazing truth of observation and the characters are believable and real in human terms.

Dido

I've only read 3 or 4 of the Bronte family novels. We had a thread on Jane Eyre awhile back (see link below) which might be of interest. I loved JE, and read Vilettte last year for the first time and really enjoyed that one, too (though enjoy isn't the right word).

Wuthering Heights is a novel that I admire, but frustrates me, and I still find it rather tortuous to read. I do think its structure was something quite unique and different for its time, and perhaps even ahead of its time when you think about later experiments with narrative techniques. I've never been fond of narrators who are merely observers removed from the action of the story, though (Conrad uses this technique a lot, as well, and maybe that's the problem I have with some of his novels, too). I do regard it as a classic from which much can be learned, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reading Jane Eyre Again

They are an interesting family. Unfortunately, all sorts of psychological babble has been applied to the books by Charlotte and Emily Bronte, to the portrait of the 4 siblings with artist Branwell rubbing out his own face in the middle (thus making him the focal point instead of just one of four), and then the "theory" that surfaced a few years ago that Charlotte and her husband had murdered the rest of them.

I would love to see the original manuscript of Wurthering Heights. I imagine that Emily wrote WH at a rush, with sprawling penmanship, blots and cross-outs, almost as if she was driven to get it out of her head and onto the paper, or go mad.

Cristin, I must say that you have given the Bronte sisters a much fairer trial than I have given some authors I don't much like. If you decide not to read any more, no one could blame you.

I agree with Dido about The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It puzzles me that it is not more widely read. It is indeed a gem of a book and quite modern in its subject matter. If you were inclined to try one more, I'd like to suggest that this is the one.

Wuthering Heights is in my opinion a difficult book. It's passions are of hatred and vengeance, not love. People who approach it expecting a love story, even if a tragic one, are bound to be disappointed.

Jane Eyre is simply one of my favorite books. I've read it several times over the years, seeing it differently each time I read it from a different life perspective, always enjoying it. I must say that my opinion of Mr. Rochester has gone down over the years. When I first read the book in my teens, I had no comprehension just how much he was putting his desires over Jane's well-being, and how damaged she would be by his actions, if successful.

Rosefolly

"You might think of it more as a huge poem..."
-dido, that was EXACTLY what I was thinking. Many of their novels have a certain strain of poetry in them. I bet it wouldnt surprise you any if I said I really didnt care much for poetry in general (gasp!). Its not that I cant appreciate it, but that I can't relate to it in many ways. Im more of the staid and stoic realist. Lol, often times the closeset i'll come to poetry are the Homeric Hymns! I think thats also why I couldnt understand/enjoy Hardy much, his style was to poetical and metaphorical for me.
Wuthering Heights is a book that will certainly make an impression on you, favorably or otherwise. Its been several years since I read it, but I still remember it vividly, or about as vividly as a Bronte book can get.
There was one line I really enjoyed. It was when Nelly was telling Heathcliff that he shouldnt take vengence on Edward (was that his name??), that was up to god to do. Heathcliff replied 'but god wont take the pleasure out of it that I will'.

Ive read that the raw emotions in their books mirror the rawness of their surroundings, the moors. I can understand that. I found Vilette to be rather disturbing, lol. It was like opressive heat; it was too close and made me uncomfortable (does that even make sence??). I found the way Lucy roamed around very ghost-like. She seemed like one of those people that really could benifit from a couple of Ambien sleep pills.
I AM planning to read the other books, just so I can have a good knowlege on all of their works. I'll be sure to read Tennant of WFH next. I too am interested in their life stories. Ive done a little research on it (as I seem to do with many classic writers anyway). Im also going to read The Bronte Myth, by Lucastia Miller in the future (its been waiting on my shelf for over a year now...)
Ps. dido, I believe all of the sisters wrote poetry. If you want to read any online-literature.com has most of them.
Have any of you read their poetry?
CMK

Christin,

I've got copies of all their poetry. I've also got all their books - thanks for the reference. As to Hardy, he was a very great and wonderful poet - I like his poems MUCH more than I like his novels. I can't stand TESS; and never managed to finish JUDE in 3 readings. Poet friends of mine would never travel abroad without a Complete Works of Hardy in their cars.

Rosefolly,

Mr R. in J.E. was surely a s**t of the first order! A Byronic Hero, of course - but that scene in the garden, where he leads her on and lets her believe he was going to marry Blanche Ingram is amazing for its sheer cruelty! She ought to have just left him groping in the final scene..... (say no more for fear of spoilers for those who don't know it.)

Do you know a book called THE CROWDED STREET by the English writer Winifred Holtby (better known for her book SOUTH RIDING)? Very Jane Austenish for those who like J.A., but a much more up-to-date ending. Set between 1905-1925. Interesting. Just been reprinted.

Dido

Dido, I never have. And the public library doesn't have anything by her, either, though the university library has South Riding. I'm going to see if I can find it as a used book. Based on your description, I think I might like it.

Rosefolly

dido, thanks for sharing information about what (to me) were little known facts about obscure works and settings. I am one who did not like "Wuthering Heights" at all. (I found it dark and lacking in balance). However, I did like "Jane Eyre" very much, having read it at different stages of my life. It is very layered and nuanced, IMHO. I agree with the poster who found Rochester far less admirable, upon re-reading the novel with some years on me!

Was it not the "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys that took off from JE with the hidden "back" story of Grace Poole?

Wide Sargasso Sea is the story of the first Mrs Rochester, set in the West Indies.

I have unexpectedly come across a copy of Wuthering Heights so must try (very small print) to make a start on it.

Rosefolly,

South Riding is Winifred Holtby's best-known novel. There was an award-winning TV dramatisation of it in 12 parts in the 1970s - the DVD of that has recently come out. It stars Dorothy Tutin. It's set on the east coast of Yorkshire in the 1920s.

The Crowded Street was out of print for some years but has recently been re-published by Persephone Press, a fairly new, British publishing house. I had the priviledge of dramatising it in 10 episodes recently, for BBC Radio4.

Winifred was an interesting writer and person. She was a Yorkshirewoman. She died young, in her 30s, in the 1930s. She was very close friends with an English writer called Vera Britten who wrote 'Testament of Youth' and 'Testament of Friendship' - autobiographical works which recount her friendship with Winifred, the loss, in WW1 of her fiance and her brother. They're both well-known and loved books. Vera married and had a daughter who became a well-known Labour MP - Shirley Williams. Winifred never married. Both of them cared very much about women's rights and freedom.

Dido

Perhaps I have to read JE a few more times, but I didn't really feel that Rochester was being cruel to Jane in pretending to court Miss Ingrham. He wanted to make her jealous which seems rather natural. I belive he even explained it as he wanted to draw her and her emotions out to ascertain wether or not she cared for him. Boyfriends/Girlfriends all over try to make the other jealous. I think Rocester must have been an early 'bad boy' in literature, and Jane was the good girl that wanted to change him.
No one has yet mentioned Agnes Grey. Have you read it? I thought it was better than Villette, though still dull. But to me the characters wernt very expresive, so it was hard for me to sympathize. Now that I look back on it I think the plot of the hardships of a working class woman interesting. But I think the way it was carried out made it dull and trite (in comparison to JE). I think Agnes got on my nerves too. After awhile I felt she was just whining, or more accuratly, the author was whining thru Agnes. But I cant be too hard on the author (Anne? wasnt it?), I dont think she ever wanted to get this piece published. Charlotte pushed for it I believe.
What did you think of Shirley? I am having the deuce of a time trying to get through it. It feels so staged and overdramatized to me.
CMK

Hi all, hope everyone's enjoying April so far! I was unable to start a new thread today so I pulled up an old one about the Brontes (it was nice reading the older posts above). I just came across a book about the Brontes by Juliet Barker that I thought some might be interested in. It is coming out in Canada in May, although it looks to be a reprint as the cover says "revised and updated". Perhaps some of you have come across it before.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Brontes by Juliet Barker

Thanks, stoneangel -- A very good thread, indeed! ... Lots to think about -- so many opposing and deeply-held opinions. That's why I come here!