Emily Jane Bronte was born on July 30, 1818 in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. Many economic, religious and social changes were taking place in England at this time. She was the fifth out of six children born to Patrick and Maria (Branwell) Bronte. Both parents had some literary talents. Patrick was an amateur poet, and wrote four books, and Maria published an essay.

In 1820 the Bronte family moved to a secluded and dismal village on the moors called Haworth where Patrick Bronte was appointed as a clergyman of the church. Shortly after Emily’s third birthday, Mrs. Bronte died of cancer and her sister Elizabeth Branwell came to reside with the family to help raise the children and teach them household duties.

The four eldest Bronte daughters: Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte and Emily were sent away in 1824 to a school for daughters of poverty-stricken clergy, in Cowan Bridge, Lancashire. Charlotte Bronte illustrated this infamous school with its harsh and inhumane conditions in her famous novel, Jane Eyre. In 1825 an epidemic broke out in the school and took the lives of the two oldest sisters; Maria died in May and Elizabeth in June of that same year. When Charlotte caught the illness a few months later Emily became so distraught that both girls had to be sent home.

Emily grew increasingly close to her youngest sister Anne in the year following her return and during their hours together, they created an imaginary rival kingdom they named Gondal, which took the setting of islands in the Pacific Ocean. This fantasy world became so meaningful to Emily that she spent many of her hours writing about them.

In the years following, Emily continued writing the sagas of Gondal and published twenty-one poems under the pseudonym of Ellis Bell. These poems did not prove to be very prosperous, for only a few copies were sold however; in 1847 her novel, Wuthering Heights was published and was a success.

Emily’s only brother, Branwell had a serious addiction to alcohol and drugs. During one of his drunken stupors he wrapped in a blanket, lit himself on fire, and Emily beat out the flames with her bare hands. Despite many efforts to aid her brother with his addictions he died at the age of thirty in1848. Emily caught a cold during his funeral, grew increasingly ill, and by October was diagnosed with tuberculosis, known at that time as consumption. She frustrated her family by refusing any medical attention until she collapsed one morning and finally agreed to be seen by a doctor. But by that time it was too late and she died early that same afternoon on December 19, 1848; Emily was thirty years old.

Many of Emily Bronte’s creative writings included her own experiences and many were based on the setting of the moors of Yorkshire where she spent most of her life. Emily Bronte was a very strong person. She endured much tragedy and sadness in her life. One could only imagine how emotionally difficult life must have been for her. Her poem, "Remembrance," was published in 1846 along with a collection of poems written by her sisters. From the description of the poem as noted in the footnotes of the Norton Anthology, it stated that the narrator of the poem is a female and was composed originally for the heroine in a Gondal saga for the death of the hero. I felt also that this poem could have reference to a specific event in Emily’s life because it is full of her sentiment and emotion, and it could clearly illustrate her own feelings about the loss of her mother at such a young age. "Remembrance" is a colloquial poem and I felt that the conversation in this poem could be related to a conversation that could take place between her and her deceased mother. While reading the poem I could almost picture Emily herself, while she is standing aside her mother’s grave, which is covered with snow. With her words, she accounts the anguish that she herself could have felt in years of her life. The character speaking states that she felt her life was "carried along" by the world and asks for forgiveness if she has forgotten anything about this person. Again, I felt that she could say this to her deceased mother because this could be associated to her age at the time of her mother’s passing. The character in the poem expressed that the person in the grave gave all the happiness in her life and all the happiness in her life was also taken to the grave. In another part of the poem she says that her young soul had to be weaned from longing for the other person’s soul. Becoming motherless as a young girl must have been terribly frightening for her and I related this part of the poem to her existence without her mother and how she had to go on wanting her to be there. She describes that she cried many tears and had to fight her own desire to die herself, and goes on further to say that from the death she learned that her own life is precious. This could also be interpreted as pertaining to Emily’s mother’s death and her own life. She had the drive to become a successful writer and this was shown by her accomplishments.

Emily’s life was quite sorrowful, with the loss of her mother, sisters and then her only brother, but she seemed like she was a very strong person always wanted to remain in power of her own life. Her literary talents could have been inherited from her parents and she left behind many wonderful poems such as "Remembrance" and her famous novel Wuthering Heights.
 

Allard, Jody. "Emily Jane Bronte." Online. Jody Allard’s Women Novelists of the 1900’s at:

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/1380/emily.htm 7 March 2000

Bronte, Emily. "Remembrance." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Seventh Edition,

victorian/bronte/ebronte/chron.html 7 March 2000.

MacLeod, Laura. "Emily ‘The Strange’ Bronte" (1818-1848) Online. Incompetech’s British

Author Series at: http://incompetech.com/authors/ebronte/ 7 March 2000