In our attempt to find contextual information for Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, Group 3 was particularly struck by the influence of Christianity in Brontë’s text and found an interesting book titled The Bronte’s and Religion by Marianne Thormahlen. In Chapter 1, “A Christian Home in Early 19th Century England: Evangelicalism, Dissent, and the Brontë Family,” Thormahlen explores how the Brontë sisters attempted to steer their own course by being fearless and determined in their pursuits. In our reading of the text, Group 3 took notice of the connexions between Emily Bronte’s fearlessness and anti-Christian beliefs as they are replicated through characters like Joseph, Catherine, and Catherine II.
In her book, Thormahlen ascribes the religious instability of Britain between the new, Non-Conformist communities and Anglican Churches during 1800-1850 to the fearlessness that the Brontë’s embodied when criticising organized religions. Unlike the rest of her family, Emily Brontë had little regard for religion and this is present throughout the novel as she incorporates gothic, mystical apparitions and anti-Methodist satire. For instance, Joseph is a character in which Emily Brontë criticizes religious doctrine and values by using him as a satirical device in his appearance in Lockwood’s dream and his criticism of Catherine I and Catherine II defying traditional gender roles. In addition to Brontë’s criticism of religious values, Thormahlen postulates that her upbringing in an Evangelical Christian household is reflective in her novel. She states, Evangelically reared children, like Brontë, acquired the characteristic of loving their homes, even to the point of suffering extreme homesickness which potentially could result in lack of physical health when required to spend time away from it. Lastly, Emily Bronte’s religious pursuits not only reflects the religious climate in Britain during this time, but also is shown throughout Wuthering Heights in the form of her development and portrayal of her characters.
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