Emily Brontë, right? Most likely, but how much of the book did she write? Assuming he wrote in a linear structure then, once he killed Cathy Linton (née Earnshaw), he was left with a male lead; Heathcliff. And writing from a man’s point of view, even when the man in question is your own creation, is difficult to convey with any degree of integrity. Particularly when you, as a writer, pose as Mr. Ellis Bell. Content needs that ring of truth, that sense of authenticity. Writing from experience, from the heart, opens up the potential for that unique writer-to-reader connection that we long to achieve.
I believe that Patrick Branwell Bronte, the much maligned brother of the wickedly talented Emily, Charlotte, and Anne, wrote most of the second half of the novel, replacing Emily’s plot after Cathy Linton’s death (page 203, Wordsworth Classics , 1992 edition). ). If we accept that much of the input after this point was from Branwell, then isn’t it fair to claim co-authorship on his behalf? That is the basis of my argument.
Branwell may not have been published, as were his sisters, but he was a writer; he contributed to the stories of Gondol and Angria along with his sisters and, as with Emily, wrote poetry. How much did he influence Wuthering Heights? They were both at Haworth at the time the novel was written (between 1845 and 1846), so their contribution was always a possibility. The question is, how much did he contribute?
Emily knew a man who was like Heathcliff and certainly, at least physically. he based it on his brother. Patrick Branwell Bronte, from his rare portraits, could be described as Emily described Heathcliff; dark wild hair, low forehead, piercing eyes. He too had an affair with a married woman, he was dissolute and wild, he drank too much, gambled, and had even tried to go abroad after his affair failed. Emily’s brother, Patrick Branwell Bronte, was Heathcliff.
It’s interesting to ponder how much influence he had on his sister as she sat in his kitchen in Haworth, creating Wuthering Heights. Certainly the coinciding evidence is accumulating; Heathcliff had an affair (or at least a relationship so uncomfortably close that Cathy’s husband, Edgar, kicked Heathcliff out of Thrushcross Grange); Branwell had an affair with his employer’s wife, Ms. Robinson of Throp Green and was evicted from the property. Heathcliff went abroad for three years; Branwell posted an ad with the Halifax Guardian for a position that would take him abroad. Heathcliff drank heavily and gambled, and as a result won the Wuthering Heights deeds; Branwell drank and gambled; although he was going to get into debt a lot. Heathcliff could roam the moors all day; Branwell undoubtedly enjoyed the freedom of the Moors on his doorstep, his sisters could only enjoy within the limits of the accompanied restraint common for women of the time.
If Emily had to choose a collaborator for Wuthering Heights, who better than the main character himself? He would need someone who could take Heathcliff’s persona and run with him, especially after Cathy’s death. This was Emily’s first novel, she was not an experienced writer like Charlotte was. However, her sister’s style was completely different: more tame, more spiritual. Charlotte could have preferred a romantic ending and that was not the subject of the book. Cathy, wild, tempestuous, and utterly selfish was not a meek Jane Eyre. And as for Heathcliff, the remaining character, now central; He was certainly not a fluctuating professor and had a much darker personality than Rochester, whose motives could at least be traced back to logic and reason, albeit with skewed logic and vague reasoning. Heathcliff was not based on the character of a knight, but was as wild as a wasteland, as wild as a wolf and as dangerous as a panther. Emily had created a unique character in literature, an unruly man except for Cathy,
Also, consider this; Emily has created a group of characters, the most prominent of which are Cathy and Heathcliff, and most of the story is provided through the narration of the housekeeper, Nelly. This motto provides the writer with the feminine perspective necessary to convey real, truthful women, under the drama, with whom other women, the readers, can relate. However, when it comes to getting into Heathcliff’s shoes, his degenerative physical and mental health, his heavy drinking, his affair with a married woman (although Emily was not specific about this aspect of his relationship). Cathy and Heathcliff) Who could be more skilled than his own brother, Branwell? Considering also the assumed masculine personality of the writer, Ellis Bell, this would be a necessary consideration for reasons of more than just the integrity of the book. If it was supposed to have been written by a man, as it happened when it was published in 1847, then the male perspective becomes necessary or the writer’s voice becomes confused, confused.
To bring another argument, although this is only as an aside, we know that the Brontë, as a family, knew the value of a shilling. Charlotte’s friend, Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell reported how, after Charlotte’s death in 1854, Charlotte’s father cut his daughter’s letters into strips to sell to the interested public. The idea of keeping the concept of three brilliant sisters who wrote novels is perhaps more lucrative than two brilliant authors and Emily, who co-wrote with her brother. It just doesn’t have the same ‘kerching’. Perhaps this is too cynical; but it is worth considering. Art for art’s sake, money … Charlotte and Ann had revealed the true identities of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell to their publisher, going to London for that purpose, in 1848.
Branwell Bronte was only 31 years old when he died of chronic bronchitis / phthisis on September 28, 1848, at his home in Haworth. Just a few months later, on December 19 of the same year, when she was just 30 years old, Emily also died in Haworth. Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights continue.