Taking into account the background of the of the author what do the remoteness and loneliness of the setting contribute to the effect of the novel,

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Claire Cram  10x1  Miss Liddle

Taking into account the background of the author what do the remoteness and loneliness of the setting contribute to the effect of the novel, "Wuthering Heights"?

Emily Bronte loved nature and spent most of her childhood on the remote Yorkshire Moors near her home in Haworth. Emily found that the Moors were a place of peace and sanctuary where she could retreat to relax and follow one of her most favourite past times, which was writing. However she knew that in a matter of seconds the Moors could change into a wild and savage wilderness.

Emily chose this ever-changing setting for her only novel "Wuthering Heights". "Wuthering Heights" tells the tale of two families living in and around the bleak Yorkshire Moors near a small village, very similar to Haworth, called Gimmerton. This setting mirrors the personalities of the savage and brutal characters. These characters live in a remote and weather ravaged working farmhouse called Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights acquired it's name due to the,

"atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather"

The inhabitants of Wuthering Heights need to be tough to survive and only those characters born in Wuthering Heights are able to survive within it. When Hindley returns from University with his wife Frances she dies rather quickly as she cannot survive the savage weather conditions. We do not expect Hindley to die but as he has been away from Wuthering Heights for so long he also cannot survive. However there are other reasons for his death. When Heathcliff returns from his absence he stays with Hindley, and gets his long awaited revenge by slowly luring Hindley into gambling and alcoholism. This is the main cause of his death. If Wuthering Heights was not set in such an isolated place Heathcliff would not have been able to torture and eventually destroy Hindley.
        Alternatively the more refined characters live in a secluded manor house in the valley called Thrushcross Grange. These changes in location throughout the novel represent the shifting fortunes of the characters.

" it was beautiful - a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson-covered chairs"

The interior of Thrushcross Grange represents the superficial and sometimes foolish personalities of its inhabitants.

" … they had nearly pulled in two between them. The idiots! That was their pleasure! to quarrel who should hold a heap of warm hair … We laughed outright at the petted things,"

In this quote Heathcliff is describing his scorn at the petty argument between Edgar and Isabella Linton that himself and Catherine had watched through the window of Thrushcross Grange before they had been caught by the Lintons. He is obviously disgusted at their foolish behaviour and cannot understand why they would want to quarrel when they have the best of everything. The interior is also an indication of the high social status of the inhabitants. Perhaps Emily chose to write about opposite families at opposite ends of the social scale, as social status was very important when she was alive. Emily would have been very accustomed to the ways of the working class and the much talked about upper class. Without the remote setting of the Moors "Wuthering Heights" would not have been as believable and realistic. If it were set in London or another large city it would have been impossible for Heathcliff to imprison Cathy and Nelly. The lonely setting of Wuthering Heights influences both the inhabitants' physical and emotional state. It creates wild and uncultured people who are of great contrast to those living in the more secluded and cultured manor house; Thrushcross Grange. The unpredictable characters from Wuthering Heights are exciting and interesting to read about and without them "Wuthering Heights" would not be such a success.

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Emily preferred to write about things that she loved and knew well. One of these things was nature. Emily spent most of her childhood on the Moors and thus felt at one with nature. If Emily had not grown up surrounded by nature she would not have been able to write about it so enthusiastically and with so much passion. Her knowledge of nature and her home surroundings give "Wuthering Heights" an original aspect that the inhabitants of the city could not relate to or understand. Throughout "Wuthering Heights" Emily uses pathetic phalasy to portray the emotions of the characters. ...

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