I am one of the few that spend a large portion of any book trying the fully understand the author's mindset, their culture, their history, and the way they lived their lives. Although most people deem that knowledge is unnecessary, I feel that you can never truly understand what an author is attempting to say unless you know who the author is to the world, and who the author is to himself, or herself.
As with all literary works, there are usually introductions and sets of historical facts that help describe the zeitgeist, or spirit of the time, to help readers understand what social context a book will be taking, this book is the same in that there is such establishment time period and culture, but a distinguishing factor is how the book is introduced and edited by Charlotte Bronte. This tidbit of relational information, such as Charlotte finding and pressuring Emily to print some of her poems, and Charlotte's, Anne's, and Emily's attempts at publishing their first set of literary pieces, helps establish the character of the author and possibly stems, to a further extent to different aspects of the novel's characters.
Throughout the novel, the notion of keeping ones own company, and enjoying it, arises several times. Lockwood states, "a sensible man ought to find sufficient company in himself" and Heathcliff mutters back "delightful company" (45). This internal will longing for Lockwood to be left alone, coupled with the Heathcliff household who can be metaphysically seen throwing Lockwood out with each side eyed glance, each tear from their eyes, or their constant groaning during conversation, leads me to the conclusion that although Emily Bronte was a part of the Moor culture a large portion of her mind was not set on the pleasantries of the daily moor societies and conventions.
I like how you took a different perspective and talked about the author and her relation to the book instead of just a plot summary. It is interesting to see how her life affects her work and why she writes what she does. And I didn't know that her sister was the editor the first time I read it, I find that very interesting because it makes it seem like such a family-oriented and personal novel--not in its content but in how it was written and who contributed to the writing.
ReplyDeleteI think your 100% right,how can a person understand the context of any novel or play without knowing the reason it's being written or the life of the author.
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