An alert for today, Febuary 10:
Presentations by members of the Brussels Brontë Group
Saturday 24 February 2024 (morning)
Université Saint-Louis, Rue du Marais 119, Brussels
10.00 Talk by Ana Gauthier on Wuthering Heights in pop culture
Emily Brontë’s timeless novel has transcended its literary realm to permeate various facets of popular culture. From haunting songs to evocative aesthetics, the impact of Wuthering Heights resonates far beyond its pages.
In this talk Ana will examine how Wuthering Heights has shaped our collective consciousness with an impact to audiences that reach far beyond just those who have read the novel.
11.30 Talk by Johan Hellinx: The Brontës and fake news: why Branwell Brontë didn’t write Wuthering Heights and why it’s important to take this myth seriously.
The fact that the Brontë sisters published their respective novels under a nom-de-plume opened a Pandora’s box of all kinds of gossip and fake news. How many Bells were there, one or three? Were they men – in which case the coarseness of their novels could be forgiven – or women? And who was Heathcliff, was he Irish, black, or even a Jew? Or was he an illegitimate son of Mr Earnshaw, and therefore … Cathy’s half-brother? And if so, was theirs a mirror of an incestuous relationship between Emily and Branwell?
Elizabeth Gaskell, in her Life of Charlotte Brontë, described the siblings as a bunch of shy, unsociable youngsters, living in a remote village isolated on the Yorkshire moors; amongst secretive locals; oppressed by their father; in charge of an alcoholic and drug-addicted brother. All that wasn’t helpful to reveal the truth about the Brontës. These two factors explain why there could be such a lot of gossip about the siblings.
Years ago, I found Alice Law’s study on Branwell Brontë, in a second-hand bookshop in Worcester. In this book, Law explained that the author of Wuthering Heights was not Emily, but her brother Branwell. So, the black sheep of the family, in whom their father Patrick had placed such high hopes, was a literary genius, at least according to Alice Law. This looks like another example of fake news about the Brontës, and a very tenacious myth indeed since it persists today. In my talk I will explain how this myth originated, and how it could reach such a big audience. We will study as well which lessons can be learned from this mystification: what do we really know about the Brontës?
