But between her pursuit for vintage wares and spending quality time with her children, she’s also been revisiting literature she was assigned to read in high school, including Wuthering Heights and Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and rewatching old films. “I think a lot of times we’re trying to accumulate books and movies rather than take them on,” she said. (Kia D. Goosby)

WHAT SOULS ARE MADE OF BY TASHA SURI

If you’re a fan of classics, this YA novel is a dreamy, atmospheric take on Wuthering Heights. Suri’s Heathcliff is the son of an Indian sailor, left behind in Yorkshire. He makes his way in an unfriendly estate. When he meets Catherine, the daughter of the estate owner, there’s an instant connection. They share friendship until Catherine’s father dies and things change for the worse. Intense longing, Gothic Vibes, and a beloved story from a different cultural perspective? Sign me up! (Courtney Rodgers)

15. “Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,

But these are transient all;

If the shower will make the roses bloom,

O why lament its fall?” — Life, Charlotte Brontë

At the heart of Brontë's "Life" lies an uncomplicated yet profound directive — to embrace existence with unwavering fearlessness. Brontë aims to dispel the romanticized notion that life is perpetually veiled in darkness or melancholy. She draws attention to the fleeting essence of life's sad facets, a poignant reminder that they eventually dissipate, replaced by more felicitous experiences akin to roses blossoming after a downpour. Hence, the question arises: Why harbor apprehension towards the rain? (Aastha Pahadia)

5. “Wide Sargasso Sea” (1966) by Jean Rhys

Jean Rhys’ “Wide Sargasso Sea” explores colonialism and slavery in the Caribbean. Inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre,” Rhys further develops the story of Rochester’s first wife, the madwoman in the attic named Bertha Mason. While the novel is technically a fan fiction, it stands as a masterpiece in its own right. Antoinette Mason is a white Creole woman who is forced into marriage by her evil stepfather. Antoinette’s childhood trauma involving her mother and the loss of her childhood home provide much needed context for understanding her destructive counterpart in Brontë’s novel. Rhys’ use of Antoinette’s perspective in the novel gives the reader an insight into Antoinette’s conflicted mind. She has rocked between social classes so many times that she has little understanding of her place in the world. 

Rhys’ insight into Rochester through first person perspective is also effective. To outsiders like Rochester, the strangeness of the Caribbean lends it its beauty. He notes: “Standing on the veranda I breathed the sweetness of the air. Cloves I could smell and cinnamon, roses and orange blossom. And an intoxicating freshness as if all this had never been breathed before.” Rhys wonderfully writes from both an outsider and insider perspective to capture a full picture of the colonial atrocities in the Caribbean. Both characters’ mind frames provide for an illuminating read and imbue Brontë’s English novel with greater depth. (Matthew Doss)

3. “Wuthering Heights” — Kate Bush, 1978

English art rock singer Kate Bush not only topped the charts with her debut single, “Wuthering Heights,” but also made history. The track became the first time a female singer in the United Kingdom had a No. 1 hit with a song she had written herself. Bush’s haunting vocals speak as the dead character Cathy, who haunts the moors and begs her lover Heathcliff to let her in. 

The scene comes from the prologue of Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel. During the chapter, the narrator, Mr. Lockwood, visits Wuthering Heights and stays the night. He has a nightmare about a dead woman named Cathy pleading to be let in through the window. Later, he learns that it may not have been a dream at all, as Wuthering Heights is known to be haunted by her spirit. (Savannah Dantona)

2. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)

This unconventional love story depicts the bond between a governess and her employer, despite their differences in social status and Mr. Rochester's hidden past. The relationship covers individual independence, morality, and the power of love.

3. Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte)

This passionate and so to speak, destructive relationship, is marked by its intensity and tragic nature. Heathcliff's obsession with Catherine carries the plot but the book also reveals the dark aspects of love and the impact of societal norms on individuals.