ABC Radio (Australia) debunks some of the most persistent (Emily) Brontë myths:
Sandra Leigh Price, an Emily Brontë acolyte and author of The River Sings (2017) and The Bird's Child (2015), says "she's [Brontë] been shrouded in a lot of mythology which sadly was instigated by her sister Charlotte … so it's very hard to pick out what we want her to be, who she was and the kind of beautiful and wild mythology such as Kate Bush's song [1978's Wuthering Heights]".
As a result, there are claims about Emily that can't be substantiated beyond Charlotte's word, and lead us to wonder: was Brontë really an anti-social recluse who punched her own dog?
Here, we examine some of the myths about Emily Brontë and her writing. (Sarah L'Estrange and Hannah Reich for the Hub on Books)
France Culture (France) reminds us that
Brontë divine ! On fêtait lundi dernier le bicentenaire de la naissance d'Emily Brontë. Pour la journaliste et écrivaine spécialiste de la littérature anglaise Christine Jordis, "Les Hauts de Hurlevent, c'est une lecture continuelle. L'un des rares livres qu'on lit toute sa vie". Et si vous lisiez ou relisiez cet été cette œuvre qualifiée par Georges Bataille de "plus grand roman d’amour de tous les temps" ? Une merveilleuse façon de souhaiter un bon anniversaire à la mystérieuse sœur Brontë. (La Grande table d'été, 1h) (Pauline Petit) (Translation)
Singer, author and broadcaster
Cerys Matthews chooses her favourite books in
The Daily Express:
Villette
by Charlotte Brontë
I have the complete works of the Brontë sisters on Kindle. Charlotte gets into the head of her characters so well you feel close to them despite being written 200-odd years ago.
This features a kind of Jane Eyre character who goes to Belgium as a governess but it’s deeper and more nuanced. (Caroline Rees)
Neil McCormick's 100 homegrown hits list is published in
The Telegraph. The list includes:
Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush, 1978
Few debut hits have been quite as flamboyantly peculiar as Kate Bush singing the part of a ghostly Cathy from Emily Brontë’s 19th-century novel. The song has an irresistible, ethereal beauty.
A very exhaustive analysis of Kate Bush's song can be read in the German newspaper
Frankfurter Allgemeine:
Niemand, der „Wuthering Heights“ von Kate Bush einmal gehört und ihr Tanzvideo gesehen hat, wird das Lied je wieder vergessen. Inspirationsquelle war der gleichnamige Roman von Emily Brontë, die in dieser Woche 200 Jahre alt geworden wäre.
Überirdisches Klaviergeklimper, sphärische Klänge einer Harfe – dann diese hohe Mädchenstimme, die singt: „Out on the wild and wily moors …“ Und dann der Refrain. Dieses insistierende, sich wiederholende:
Heathcliff, it’s me, I’m Cathy
I’ve come home, I’m so cold
Let me in through your window.
Niemand, der „Wuthering Heights“ von Kate Bush einmal gehört hat, wird das Lied je wieder vergessen. Selbst wenn man den Roman „Wuthering Heights“ von Emily Brontë nie gelesen oder eine der zahlreichen Verfilmungen und TV-Serien gesehen hat, – man weiß einfach, dass man Zeuge einer Geistererscheinung ist, dass man einem Geist zuhört. Einer verlorenen Seele, die den angeredeten Heathcliff auf die andere Seite, in ihr Reich zu ziehen versucht, und vielleicht auch das Publikum gleich mit. (Christina Dongowski) (Translation)
La Nación (Argentina) also publishes an article about Kate Bush's anniversary.
Financial Times reviews
Happy Little Bluebirds by Louise Levene:
As a heroine, however, she is a triumph. Orphaned and severed from her roots, she is the worthy heiress of Jane Eyre, Becky Sharp and, particularly, Flora Poste, in her steeliness, her steady eye and her use and appreciation of wit. (Sue Gaisford)
Rockdale & Newton Counties The Citizens publishes an article about divine grace and hell (yep) which gracefully (sorry, we couldn't help it) quotes from Anne Brontë's
A Word to the Elect:
The poet and novelist Anne Bronte expressed it beautifully over 150 years ago when she spoke to those who “may be grateful for the gift divine, that grace unsought.” She asked about why we would then ignore and despise all others: “is it sweet to look around, and view/ Thousands excluded from that happiness/ which they deserved, at least, as much as you,/ Their faults not greater, nor their virtues less?” When she sees such an attitude, she declares, “May God withhold such cruel joy from me!”
Rather, she carries within her the hope “That as in Adam all have died,/ In Christ shall all men live.” It is the hope of grace, the hope of love. It is the hope for which Jesus lived, died and rose. It is this hope that Jesus showed to all. It is the hope that Scripture keeps pointing to. (Rev. David Armstrong-Reiner)
Tagblatt (Switzerland) and the dominance of the male canon in literature:
In ihrem jüngst erschienenen Roman «Das weibliche Prinzip» fordert US-Autorin Meg Wolitzer dazu auf, sich weibliche Vorbilder zu suchen. Das ist der springende Punkt: In der deutschsprachigen Literatur gibt es kaum solche. Mit Jane Austen, den Schwestern Charlotte, Emily und Anne Brontë und Virginia Woolf ist es da um die angelsächsische Literatur besser bestellt. (Anne-Sophie Scholl) (Translation)
Above the Law discusses the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh for the US Supreme Court and criticises the support of some Democrats:
“I am a feminist and I’m very concerned about Kavanaugh’s stance on women’s rights. I met Kavanaugh while clerking for Merrick Garland on the D.C. Circuit. I had not intended to love Kavanaugh; the reader knows I had wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, great and strong! He made me love him without looking at me.” — Jane Eyre (Elie Mystal)
Dazed interviews REINEN, one of the
Paul Institute's new artists:
Lyrically, she cites Romantic literature (“Wuthering Heights struck a chord early on”), Ray Bradbury’s sci-fi novels (“his writing style is so unique and completely immerses you into another world”), and tragic romance films like Francis Coppola’s Dracula and Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge (“they all have that flamboyance and pomp where emotions are limitless”) as inspirations. “I love the idea that my lyrics could be read without the music and still sound like a poem,” she says. (Selim Bulut)
Bustle posts beautiful book covers to 'post all over Instagram this summer' (verbatim). As Prince would have said, the sign o' the times:
Wrong in all the right places by Tiffany Brownlee
In another modern-day retelling of a literary classic — this time, Wuthering Heights — two foster siblings embark on a forbidden romance that will change both of their lives forever. A heart-thumping story of love and longing, this YA novel is a delicious read for teens and adults alike. (Sadie Trombetta)
Teach your children how to marry...
iNews says:
“Even in childhood, our romantic influences are less than ideal,” says Verity Hogan, relationship expert at eHarmony. “Think passive heroines like Sleeping Beauty, tortured and controlling heroes like Heathcliff, and the classic enemies-to-lovers plotline of almost every Hollywood rom-com. It’s important to separate these fictional ideals – designed to create drama – from the reality of relationships, ideally from an early age.” (Siobhan Norton)
BBC's iWonder traces a timeline of Gothic literature:
1847 Wuthering Heights: Gothic close to home
Emily Brontë published the novel under the male pseudonym of Ellis Bell.
Emily Brontë transports Gothic to the wild and dangerous Yorkshire moors.
The classic romantic novel has become synonymous with the idea of the Female Gothic: where women are trapped in a domestic space and dominated by men. In addition it includes many other Gothic traits: stories told within stories, the supernatural, the tyrannical ‘villain’, and Wuthering Heights itself, the imposing building in which much of the story is set. In the character of Heathcliff, Brontë creates the ultimate Byronic hero. (Dr. Catherine Spooner)
Five Books that changed the world:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
Of course, Charlotte Brontë loathed Jane Austen and thought she was far too genteel. This book was revolutionary because it insisted that not only could a heroine be small and poor and plain, but she could actually be worthy of respect because she had a mind, an intelligence that had been trained – and, unlike Austen’s heroines, she could do a job.
I remember finding that quite electrifying when I read it because even in my generation (people who are now in their early 50s or late 40s), it was still not automatic that a woman would have a job and a career. Jane’s boldness, her self-confidence and her resilience remain deeply inspirational.
Jane Eyre was also revolutionary in insisting that she be respected and that her moral values be accepted by someone of a higher social class. When he is exposed as a would-be bigamist, Mr Rochester offers her a life in Italy as his mistress. Although she is passionately in love with him, Jane rejects that because she feels it to be wrong and she wants to keep her flinty sense of what is right. Being the kind of fairy-tale it is, she finally wins. The very aunt who persecuted her for her stubbornness as a child leaves her a fortune.
The novel is all about learning to see things for what they truly are: again, this is one of the things great novels insist we do. You fall in love with Jane long before Mr Rochester does! (Amanda Craig)
A firm candidate for the moron article of the month is this piece of garbage (ironic engagé mode) in
The Overtake:
Classic: Wuthering Heights — Emily Brontë
The tragic love story has no likeable characters. Why do you want to read a book where everyone is, on some level, a dick? I guess that makes it quite a lot like real life, but aren’t we reading to get away from all that?
While we’re here, let’s stop romanticising Heathcliff’s manipulative behaviour. It’s not okay. He’s not a hopeless romantic or an old-fashioned gentleman, he’s abusive and horrible. He is physically abusive and emotionally manipulative to Catherine, his supposed “love”. Also, he kills a puppy! A puppy! That’s a baby dog!
REPLACEMENT: Wuthering Heights — Kate Bush
Great tune, greater dancing. Listen to this instead. (Ben Sledge)
Vestmanlands Läns Tidning (Sweden) talks about Georges Bataille's take on Emily Brontë:
Den författare som han tycker har lyckats bäst med detta är den engelska romantikens Emily Brontë. Just på grund av hennes stränga religiösa uppfostran kunde (...)
Brontës storhet ligger i hur hon kan frigöra sig från de egna sociala konventionerna och moraluppfattningarna och skildra olika människor tankar om och känslor. (Translation)
Women Writer's, Women's Books explores the sense of place in literature:
We’ve all read novels where the setting stays with us as much as the characters once we’ve finished reading the last page. The London depicted in Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations, the wild Yorkshire moors in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Middle-earth in JRR Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings books; C.S. Lewis’s Narnia… (Diane Jeffrey)
El Punt Avui's (in Catalan) reading of
Wuthering Heights suffers a detour through Virginia Woolf's
A Room of One's Own.
Tomorrow (August 5) and next Sunday (August 12),
M5 TV (Hungary) will broadcast
Jane Eyre 2016 (20.15 h)
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