175th anniversary of the death of Emily Brontë

Today marks the 175th anniversary of the death of Emily Brontë. Deutschlandfunk (Germany) marks the occasion with a short audio clip. La Voz (Argentina) also mentions the anniversary but the article is accompanied by a beautified image of Charlotte. Today's newsround, however, shows that Emily Brontë is still quite alive.

The New York Sun's Poem of the Day is Emily's To a Wreath of Snow.

Last winter, as a Poem of the Day, the Sun offered “Spellbound” by Emily Brontë (1818–1848). It’s a grim poem about winter on the Yorkshire moors and the sense of being caught: “a tyrant spell has bound me / And I cannot, cannot go.”

Today’s poem offers a different view of winter. In “To a Wreath of Snow,” Brontë begins with something similar to her thoughts in “Spellbound”: “morning rose in mourning grey / And faintly lit my prison room.” But there’s a difference in what happens next, for on one of those gray mornings, she rises to find that snow had fallen: “angel like, when I awoke.” And the message of the moors is changed: “voiceless, soulless, messenger / Thy presence waked a thrilling tone / That comforts me while thou art here / And will sustain when thou art gone.”

In seven tetrameter quatrains, rhymed abab, “To a Wreath of Snow” reverses a poem such as “Moonlight, Summer Moonlight” (another of Emily Brontë’s, Poem of the Day last summer). Where that poem shows a beautiful, romantic landscape that suddenly reveals a beautiful, romantic corpse, “To a Wreath of Snow” gives us the landscape as an iron-hearted prison — even satanic, with hands that have a “rebel task,” like the fallen angels — that is overcome in beauty and meaning by the “frail” snow. (Joseph Bottum and Sally Thomas)

According to The Review Geek, both Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are among the '10 Influential Books That Shaped Literature'.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a gothic novel written by Emily Brontë and published in 1847. The story revolves around two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, who live on the West Yorkshire moors. It follows the complex and tumultuous relationships between the families and the haunting visions of a ghost outside the window. Influenced by Romanticism and Gothic fiction, the novel explores themes of mental and physical cruelty, domestic abuse, and challenges to Victorian morality and the class system. The narrative is told by Nelly Dean, a servant who witnesses the events unfold. The story spans generations, depicting love, revenge, and the haunting presence of past ghosts. [...]

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre is a novel written by Charlotte Brontë and published in 1847. The story is told from the perspective of its protagonist, Jane Eyre. The novel follows Jane’s life from her traumatic childhood living with her cruel aunt and cousins to her time at the Lowood Institution, where she develops important relationships with her best friend Helen Burns and her mentor Miss Temple. Later she becomes a governess and falls in love with Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall. However, their happiness is threatened by Mr. Rochester’s dark past. The story explores themes of love, independence, morality, and social class, and is widely considered a classic of English literature. (Kennie M)

According to Taxidrivers (Italy), Emily is one of the best Prime Video films of 2023.

06. Emily

Incentrato sulla figura di Emily Jane Brontë, sorella minore dell’altrettanto famosa Charlotte (autrice di Jane Eyre), il film segue la sua breve ma intensa vita tutta protesa a trasformare i drammi esistenziali e l’emotività interiore nel romanzo che la rese una scrittrice unica e indimenticabile. Sul letto di morte, Emily Brontë racconta a Charlotte come ha ottenuto l’ispirazione per scrivere “Cime tempestose“. La trama rivisita momenti cruciali della giovinezza di Emily, focalizzandosi sulla sua breve e appassionata storia d’amore con il giovane curato William Weightman. A causa degli atteggiamenti audaci di Emily, la vicinanza tra i due si complica quando diventa anche il precettore della ragazza. Questa relazione complessa porta Emily a una consapevolezza del suo destino, influenzando la creazione del suo capolavoro letterario.

L’esordio registico dell’attrice Frances O’Connor sviscera le angosce che ribollono in capo alla famiglia delle scrittrici. Si concentra su Emily senza tralasciare di tratteggiare i caratteri non meno cupi e tormentati di Charlotte e del secondogenito Branwell, incerto sul proprio cammino artistico e perennemente diviso tra pittura e scrittura. (Edoardo Renna) (Translation)

The Review Geek recommends Wuthering Heights 1939 as one of several movies 'like Gone with the Wind'.

Wuthering Heights (1939)

This William Wyler magnum opus concerns the tragic liaison of Heathcliff, an orphan played by Lawrence Olivier, and Catherine Earnshaw, daughter of the affluent Earnshaw family, portrayed by Merle Oberon. This multi-generational story digs into the ripple effects of Heathcliff and Catherine’s ardent but turbulent romance and how they decimated everyone around them.

Both films examine the tumultuous nature of their protagonists’ relationships. The passionate and conflicted love between Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights mirrors the turbulent marriage of Scarlett and Rhett in Gone with the Wind, both stories ultimately ending in tragedy. (Rishabh)

JSTOR Daily has a short article on Mary Taylor, dubbed by them as 'Charlotte Brontë’s Cool Friend'. Donna Moderna (Italy) recommends giving Jane Eyre as a Christmas present.