Emily Bronte, right? Most likely, but how much of the book did she write? Assuming she wrote in a linear structure then, once she killed off Cathy Linton (née Earnshaw), she was left with a male lead; Heathcliff. And writing from a man’s point of view, even when the man in question is your own creation, is hard to convey with any degree of integrity. Particularly when you, as a writer, pose as Mr. Ellis Bell. Content needs that ring of truth, that sense of authenticity. Writing from experience, from the heart, opens up the potential for that unique writer-to-reader connection we long to achieve.

I believe Patrick Branwell Bronte, the much-maligned brother of the wickedly talented Emily, Charlotte, and Anne, wrote most of the second half of the novel, replacing Emily’s story after Cathy Linton’s death (page 203, Wordsworth Classics , 1992 edition). ). If we accept that much of the input after this point was Branwell’s, then isn’t it fair to claim co-authorship on his behalf? That is the basis of my argument.

Branwell may not have been published, as his sisters were, but he was a writer; he contributed to the stories of Gondol and Angria along with his sisters and, as with Emily, wrote poetry. How much did he influence Wuthering Heights? Both were in Haworth at the time the novel was written (between 1845 and 1846), so his contribution was always a possibility. The question is, how much did he contribute?

Emily knew a man who was like Heathcliff, and certainly, at least physically. she based it on her brother. Patrick Branwell Bronte, from the rare portraits of her, could be described as Emily described Heathcliff; wild, dark hair, low forehead, piercing eyes. He, too, had an affair with a married woman, was dissolute and wild, drank too much, gambled, and had even tried to go abroad after his affair failed. Emily’s brother, Patrick Branwell Bronte, was Heathcliff.

It’s interesting to reflect on how much of an influence he had on his sister as she sat in her kitchen in Haworth, creating Wuthering Heights. Certainly, the matching evidence is accumulating; Heathcliff had an affair (or at least a relationship so uncomfortably close that Cathy’s husband Edgar threw Heathcliff out of Thrushcross Grange); Branwell had an affair with the wife of his employer, Mrs Robinson of Throp Green and was evicted from the property. Heathcliff went abroad for three years; Branwell placed an advertisement in the Halifax Guardian for a position that would take him abroad. Heathcliff drank heavily and gambled, and as a result won the deed to Wuthering Heights; Branwell drank and gambled; although he was going to get into a lot of debt. Heathcliff could wander the moors all day; certainly Branwell enjoyed the freedom of the Moors on his doorstep, his sisters could only enjoy within the confines of the accompanied restraint common to women of the day.

If Emily had to choose a collaborator for Wuthering Heights, who better than the main character herself? She would need someone who could take the Heathcliff character and run with it, especially after Cathy’s death. This was Emily’s first novel, she was not an experienced writer like Charlotte was. However, her sister’s style was completely different: more docile, more spiritual. Charlotte might have preferred a romantic ending and that was not the subject of the book. Cathy, wild and tempestuous and utterly selfish, was not a meek Jane Eyre. And as for Heathcliff, the remaining character, now central; he certainly wasn’t a fluctuating professor and had a much darker personality than Rochester, whose motives could at least be traced back to logic and reason, albeit with skewed logic and vague reasoning. Heathcliff was not based on the character of a gentleman, but he was as untamed as a moor, as wild as a wolf and as dangerous as a panther. Emily had created a character unique in literature, an unruly man except for Cathy,

Also, consider this; Emily has created a group of characters, the most prominent being Cathy and Heathcliff, with most of the story being provided through the narration of the housekeeper, Nelly. This tagline provides the writer with the female perspective needed to convey real, truthful women under the drama that other women, the readers, can relate to. However, when it comes to getting into Heathcliff’s shoes, his degenerative health, both physical and mental, his excessive consumption of alcohol, affair with a married woman (although Emily was not specific about this aspect of the relationship of Cathy and Heathcliff) Who could be more skilled than his own brother, Branwell? Also taking into account the assumed male persona of the writer, Ellis Bell, this would be a necessary consideration for reasons of more than just the integrity of the book. If it was supposed to have been written by a man, as it was when it was published in 1847, then either the male perspective becomes necessary or the writer’s voice becomes muddled, muddled.

To bring another point, although this is only as an aside, we know that the Brontës, as a family, knew the value of a shilling. Charlotte’s friend Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell reported how, after Charlotte’s death in 1854, Charlotte’s father cut her daughter’s letters into shreds to sell to the interested public. The idea of ​​retaining the concept of three brilliant sisters who wrote novels is perhaps more lucrative than two brilliant authors and Emily, who she co-wrote with her brother. She just doesn’t have the same kerching. Perhaps this is too cynical; but it is worth considering. Art for art’s sake, money… Charlotte and Ann had revealed the true identities of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell to their publisher, going to London for the purpose, in 1848.

Branwell Bronte was only 31 years old when he died of chronic bronchitis/consumption on 28 September 1848 at his Haworth home. Only a few months later, on December 19 of the same year, when she was only 30 years old, Emily also died in Haworth. Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights continue.