A sense of place

Essential Writers discusses the importance of a sense of place in a story and uses Wuthering Heights as a successful creation.

You can find countless examples of a sense of place in classical literature. Charles Dicken’s London was as recognisable as any of his characters, and in Emily Brontë’’s Wuthering Heights the Yorkshire moors played as significant a role as either Heathcliff and Catherine - remove their love story to some peaceful village or a balmy Mediterranean shore, and the stormy sensual undertones would mutate into something else entirely. (Judy Darley)

It is certainly food for thought. Undoubtedly, the moors are one more character in the novel, and yet Luis Buñuel's adaptation Abismos de Pasión and Jacques Rivette's Hurlevent, set in Mexico and France respectively, are (arguably?) among the best adaptations of the novel.

At any rate, the fact that the sense of place is a success is the many references it gets. Such as this one from The Delaware News Journal:

Just yards from Pa. Route 52, the home at 2 Frog Pond Road pops out of the Chester County landscape as if a fairy tale or some well-pedigreed piece of literature just came to life. It would come as no surprise to see Catherine and Heathcliff storming out the heavy wood front door or Lurch from the Addams Family greeting guests. (Betsy Price)

A different sense of place, however, is that achieved by Nora Roberts at her Inn BoonsBoro, mentioned in The New York Times.

Rooms are named for famous literary couples, including Marguerite and Percy of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and Jane and Rochester from “Jane Eyre.” Each suite has its own signature scent. (Tammy La Gorce)

Woman Up - a Politics Daily blog - writes about her book club:

A member whom I depend upon for good ideas -- such as re-reading her beloved "Jane Eyre" -- was mysteriously absent from our meeting. This elegant woman, let's call her A -- shares my love of the late 18th century and handwritten notes. Just my cup of Earl Grey tea. In discussing the character Jane Eyre, we identified her as the first autobiographical heroine in the English novel - unless you count the shades of Jane Austen in "Persuasion." So when I got home from book clubbing, I read the reason why we missed her: seems the pool opens in a matter of weeks. She had a work-out to do with a Brazilian bikini video because, as she put it, "I am determined to wear a bikini this summer."
Somewhere, governess Jane Eyre and novelist Jane Austen are swooning and reaching for their smelling salts. Sisterhood may not be as powerful as it used to be. But we try. (Jamie Stiehm)

Metro (US) reviews Second City's One If By Land, Late If By T, with its Emily Brontë skit:

The troupe has several non-region-specific skits that get great laughs, but Dana Quercioli’s stand-up comedy debut of Emily Brontë (seriously) proves to be one of the funniest bits in the show. (Nick Dussault)

And the Buxton Advertiser celebrates local resident Alison Beatrice Mollan's 100th birthday.

She moved to North Yorkshire with her family at the age of five, attending Casterton School in Cumberland, famed for its past pupils, the Brontë sisters. (Louise Bellicoso)

We still find it kind of funny that the school is so freely associated with the Brontës, given that Maria and Elizabeth died because of it and Charlotte blamed her physical 'underdevelopment' on it. Needless to say, none of them were ever close to being 100.

The Wingéd Elephant compiles several reviews of the upcoming Laura Joh Rowland's second installment of her Adventures of Charlotte Brontë series: Bedlam. For instance, this one from Booklist:

Rowland’s literary heroine demonstrates all the cunning, guile, and daredevil skills of a modern-day Bond girl while retaining the essence of Victorian morality. Sharply relevant, Rowland’s inventive action-thriller delivers enough intrigue and romance to satisfy a wide array of readers.

The Club of Compulsive Readers traces parallels between Jane Eyre and Rebecca, the Brontë Sisters talks about Eric Ruijssenaars's 2000 book Charlotte Brontë's Promised Land; it's a long wild drive... posts a poem devoted to Heathcliff (in Spanish); Paulus Torchus continues reading Jane Eyre.

Categories: Brontëana, Humour, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights,