Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Charlotte or Emily?
Whose novels do you like better - Charlotte Bronte's or Emily Bronte's? I was swept up by Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" when I was in college; the extreme romance (in both senses of the word - the "love" sense and the literary sense) and drama were appealing to me as they are to so many young people. Those moors...that howling wind...that love that even death couldn't end.... But as the years went by, the appeal of the novel wore thin, and the appeal of the cruel, overbearing "hero," Heathcliff (understandable as his behavior was, given the way he had been treated as a child), turned sour. Ever since, I have liked and appreciated Charlotte Bronte's work more. "Jane Eyre" is, of course, also romantic, gothic, and unrealistic in some ways, and its hero is also sometimes quite overbearing and even unlikable. But there is somehow more reality in "Jane" than in "Wuthering." And the character of Jane is so well drawn, so appealing. The story and main character in Charlotte Bronte's "Villette" are also very believable and compelling. Charlotte's writing conveys a kind of hard-won wisdom about life. I have re-read and enjoyed her novels several times. But when I tried to re-read "Wuthering Heights" a few years ago, I just couldn't do it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is interesting. I never liked Wuthering Heights nearly as well as Jane Eyre, but I always felt I "should" prefer Emily...seemed like she had more literary clout. I was still surprised, though, when my daughter had to read W.H. in high school and she could barely stand it! I tsk tsked--until I tried to read it again myself! The thick dialect alone was almost inpenetrable, and the over-the-top dialogue almost made me giggle...forgive me, Heathcliff...
ReplyDeleteThe following is from Christian (a tech glitch didn't let him post his comment):
ReplyDeleteStephanie, I think you pegged it perfectly - I too loved Wuthering Heights when I was a callow youth - entranced with by its extreme love, as you put it, as I think many romantic adolescents and young adults yearn for this - witness the Twilight phenom, with similar parallels. I read Jane Eyre much later, as a 'grown-up' and loved it as well, which I don't think I would have (and understood) when I was much younger. Jane Eyre speaks to a person who has more life experience, older, wiser, and hopefully not sadder!