Emily Bronte's work

Emily Bronte led a very reclusive life. Unlike her sisters, who worked as teachers and governesses, she rarely left home and only held very short term jobs. So she had little real life experience to furnish material for her writing. She was not interested in real life, as such, and had no relationships outside of her family... Her novel comes from literary sources for the most part. She heard stories from the family servant, Tabby about local farmers and squires and their lives, which gave her a basic story for her novel. THere was a young lad who like Heathcliff was adopted by a local farmer and who took over his foster father's property, throwing out the man's heir. She also read novels and poetry which were very emotionally violent, and used the feelings in her book. Heathcliff may owe something to the criminal Eugene Aram, and something to the heroes of Byron's poems, who usually have some dark secret. HIs passion for Cathy, his foster sister, may owe something to Byron's heroes who love their sisters as Byron himself did. Byron was in love with his half sister Augusta who may have become his mistress. ALl of these violent passions were the genesis for Wuthering Heights. The other Bronte novels usually have schools or governesses in them wheras Emily's is a tale of 2 houses, and the people of opposing temperament who live in them.