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this is my third time reading emily brontë’s only novel – the first being when i was 12 (i was highly confused and didn’t know what i was getting into), second when i was 15 (which left me thinking lord i hate these characters) – now eight years since my last read, this time around the book completely and permanently altered my brain chemistry i fear
emily brontë is a poet first and foremost, the prose is gorgeous, the storytelling absolutely brilliant; the atmosphere, the mood are all perfect — her characters? god fucking awful, worst people you could ever encounter, and it doesn’t need to be said but her characterisation is amazing; even with these horrible people this novel is genius and moving and everything a novel should be
it’s miserable — it’s miserable and it’s hauntingly beautiful with such well explored themes of social class, nature-nurture, the cycle of trauma and violence, grief, revenge – and ultimately, love and passion
the story is dark, heavy and wild – truly it did feel at times like brontë was losing her grip on it – and surrounded by this cloud of profound descriptions of the moors and the environment, just a semblance of brightness in a gloomy and uneasy climate
but there are brief moments of comedy cleverly spliced in by brontë which genuinely had me laughing aloud
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence
Moderate: Death, Racism
Minor: Incest
Also on this read, I was more interested in the structure and style. The use of two unreliable narrators is so brilliantly done, where Mr. Lockwood’s diary-style narrative depends entirely on an abbreviated version of Nelly Dean’s narrative, which depends entirely on her retelling of events that happened to other people nearly three decades ago. The layers of bias between us and the events of the story create a feeling of always viewing the action through a fun-house mirror, with the melodrama rendered farcical and the broodiness of the characters and the moors deepening into supernatural terror.
Ultimately, who but an isolated and introverted young woman confined to the English moors, writing under an alias, defying the strictures of her zealous Christian family members could have written a story even her own sister would later caution is maybe too dark? (Charlotte’s posthumous introduction to the novel is overly apologetic and explanatory to a degree that I really dislike, but her note that her sister’s writing was “moorish, and wild, and knotty as a root of heath” is perfectly said).
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Cursing, Incest, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm, Stalking, Suicide attempt
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism
Minor: Animal cruelty
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence
Moderate: Incest, Racism, Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy