Emily Brontë : a Victorian or a modernist

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to approach Wuthering Heights from different literary conventions and genres, to attempt at classifying and positioning Emily Brontë within some literary movement. The introduction will delve into the reception of the novel at the time of its publication and briefly assimilating it to other Victorian novels. Certain theories and essays will be introduced as a framework for the dissertation. The first chapter splits into two subchapters analyzing Wuthering Heights through a Romantic and Gothic lens, and how both these genres have had an influence on Brontë and the novel. The second chapter will subsequently involve Realism and Modernism which will split akin to the first chapter and show the avant-garde side of Brontë. In that chapter the novel will be viewed from a perspective that came after the author’s time and her influence on these movements will be exhibited. There will be a small section on a particular affect she had on Postmodernism. These two chapters will provide the different angles that one might view Emily Brontë from, which will ultimately lead to the conclusion vis-à-vis her position as a writer and whether she can be classified or not.