There's nothing less poetic than cod-liver oil

We don't know whether this statement by Alice Munro places her in the category of Brontëites or not.

She was glad to come home. "This is where I'll always live," she assures me as the light in the large dining room shifts and we move on to a second glass of wine. "I prefer inhospitable, 'Wuthering Heights' climates, essential gloom. As I get older, I get less poetic and more real."

We actually think Wuthering Heights is more poetic than real, but if Alice Munro says so then who are we to contradict her? :P

Did you ever have trouble differentiating a nanny from a governess? We think the differences are pretty obvious but just in case The Oregonian makes it clear.

We all know Mary Poppins is a nanny. But how is that different from, say, a governess, such as Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre?
The word nanny originates from a nickname for a grandmother, and was traditionally a child's nurse. In wealthy households, the nanny was in charge of child care and reported to the mother. Her duties included looking after the children during agreed-upon hours; preparing meals; keeping the children safe; encouraging positive child development; and reporting to parents about the child's welfare and progress.
The governess, by contrast, concentrated on teaching and training children.

In Jane Eyre, for instance, Sophie is the nurse/nanny and Jane is, of course, the governess. Easy.

And now you can get your stock of cod-liver oil out. According to The Independent

The number of cases of tuberculosis, one of the worlds deadliest and hardest to treat diseases, leapt by almost 11 per cent last year to 8,115, the highest total for more than 20 years.
Known as the "white death" because of the deathly pallor of its victims, TB claimed the lives of Chopin, three of the Brontes, Modigliani, Kafka, Stevenson, Lawrence, Chekhov and Orwell.

The "three of the Brontës" bit is confusing, and a clever way to avoid actually checking it out. Does it mean the three famous sisters? Then it would be wrong to include Charlotte. Does it mean the three that survived into adulthood including Branwell? Then it would be quite right, though Branwell's death was categorised as "pthisis", which may or may not include TB, though it probably did. And finally if it's three out of the original six siblings then it's very wrong. Pick your choice.

Categories: Wuthering Heights, In the News