Haworth

 

Haworth's main street

Haworth is the little village in West Yorkshire which is internationally famous for its connection with the Brontë sisters.

Surrounded by the typical english moors, Haworth offers a quiet atmosphere to go for a walk, to drink a tea in one of its many good tea rooms, to have a lunch in its restaurants and bars (specially the one named "Black Bull", where Branwell Brontë's alcohol addiction began), and so on.

 

- The brontë family:

The Brontë family moved to Haworth from Thornton in 1820, and there they lived at the Haworth Parsonage from 1820 to 1861.

Mrs. Brontë died in 1821 of a cancer, so her sister had to look after the six children. In 1825, Maria and Elizabeth died.

 

Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë.

 


For the following six years, Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell stood at the Parsonage, where they developed their creativity and imagination, inventing their own worlds: Angria and Gondal.

Later, Charlotte went to Roe Head School, and when she went back home she taught her sisters. Then she became a teacher at Roe Head School and Emily became a student there for only three months. After this time she went back to Haworth and Anne took her place at the School.

In 1842, Charlotte and Emily went to Brussels, where they learnt French, German, music, singing, writing, arithmetic and drawing. But some time later they went back home to bury Aunt Branwell, who died after an illness, and then only Charlotte went back to Brussels.


 

At the same time, Branwell's talent seemed very promising, so his father hired a painting master to teach his son. Mr. Brontë thought that Branwell would become a great poet and a fantastic journalist, but he was wrong. Branwell went to London to attend the Royal Academy Schools, but he didn't pay much attention to the classes and he wasted his money on alcohol instead. But eventually, after some other problems, he died at age 31.

Meantime, Charlotte, Emily and Anne had begun publishing their poetry and novels. Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell were the aliases used by the sisters because they lived in a time where women were rarely given a chance in the business world. That's why they took masculine names, to make sure that their books could be published.

A portrait of Branwell Brontë

 

These are the main books they wrote:
Charlotte: Jane Eyre, Shirley and Villette.
Emily: Wuthering Heights.
Anne: Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

But in 1848 Emily fell ill with tuberculosis and later, she died. It soon happened the same to Anne, and Charlotte and her father were the only remaining members.

After a time, Charlotte married her father's curate, and one year later she died of tuberculosis. Mr. Brontë, at age 84, was the last of his family to die.


- WUTHERING HEIGHTS, BY EMILY BRONTË (1847):

In 1801, a man called Lockwood rents a house named Thrushcross Grange in the moor country of England. Here, he meets Heathcliff, who lives four miles away from the Grange. Lockwood asks Nelly (the housekeeper) for Heathcliff's story, and she begins telling it.

As she was a young girl she used to work as a servant at Wuthering Heights, owned by Mr. Earnshaw. One day, Mr. Earnshaw goes to Liverpool and comes back with a gipsy child, Heathcliff. Hindley (Mr. Earnshaw's son) doesn't like him at all, but Catherine (Mr. Earnshaw) does like him, so they become inseparable. After Mrs. Earnshaw's death, Hindley becomes jealous of Heathcliff, the reason why his father sends his son away to college.

But when Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley inherits Wuthering Heights and his revenge against Heathcliff begins. Catherine decides to marry Edgar Linton although she's in love with Heathcliff, so he runs away from Wuthering Heights. When he comes back he seeks revenge, and he also marries Isabella Linton, who treats him very cruelly. Later, Catherine dies giving birth to a daughter, which drives Heathcliff mad.

Finally, Heathcliff dies walking through the moors looking for his love, Catherine.

After hearing the end of the story, Lockwood goes to visit the graves of Catherine and Heathcliff.