Emily Brontë Best Quotes

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Emily Brontë was an impassioned storyteller who enjoyed channeling her inner pneuma toward often complicated human topics such as love, grief, hope, and belief system.

Victor Onuorah

Article written by Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Emily Brontë mostly applied a stylized – and somewhat indirect – approach in executing these subjects and would wrap them around her poetic brilliance and lyrical wordplay. Her interest covered a wide variety of human disciplines, so her best quotes center on aspects such as nature, love, and grief, among others. The best quotes of Emily Brontë will be analyzed here in this article. 

Love Unconditional

Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my being.

This is one of Emily Brontë’s quotes that expresses unconditional love. The statement is an excerpt from ‘Wuthering Heights,’ the author’s only ever book, and it follows Catherine’s confession of unconditional love for Heathcliff, his half-brother. 

Although there isn’t much documentation about Emily Brontë’s romantic relationship and love life, she was very interested in the subject of love and wrote several pieces about it. The author believes that even though love can be felt unconditionally, it doesn’t mean that it comes without pain and hurt. She releases a full dose of this to two of her major characters – Heathcliff and Catherine – perhaps reliving her experience through them and sending a caveat to her readers who are slaves to the subject. 

A Desire For Freedom 

I’m wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it.

This quote manifests the mindset of a freedom seeker. It talks about an overwhelming yearning to escape one’s setbacks and limitations and to be in a safe space where one can feel free and can fully express oneself.

At a point in Emily Brontë’s life, she had this desire for freedom, to explore the full potential of her life. This might be part of the reasons she was a loner, introverted, and often enjoyed spending a lot of time all by herself, writing and creating passionate imaginations. Through Isabella, in ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Emily Brontë speaks of this as she (Isabella) too can relate, following a hell of a life she faces in the hands of a mean Heathcliff. 

The Productive Person

A person who has not done one half his day’s work by ten o’clock runs a chance of leaving the other half undone.

This quote is Emily Brontë defining the supposed difference between a productive and non-productive person. It’s a quip, it’s witty, and has the ingredients of truth. Throughout her book ‘Wuthering Heights,’ readers get to see a lot of these kinds of people, from Hareton, the productive hard worker, to Linton Heathcliff, the lazy and unproductive brat – spoiled by his father.

The Pain of Losing a Loved One 

…Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you – haunt me, then!…Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!

Not many have felt the bigger pain of losing their loved ones than Emily Brontë felt during her days. At only two or three years old, she lost her mother, Maria Branwell Brontë, and by six years thereabout, she lost two of her sisters – Elizabeth and Maria Brontë. It didn’t stop there as she also later lost her aunt, Elizabeth, and brother, Branwell Brontë, before her death.

But, while she lived, her writing helped her better manage these feelings of grief and sadness as she creatively channeled them to her characters, thereby giving her a platform to express the way she truly felt. And in this quote is Heathcliff, pained and aggrieved by the death of Catherine, cruising her spirit to not rest but to always hover around to torment and haunt him, noting that it’s better than having to live in a world where she doesn’t exist. 

FAQs

What kind of writer was Emily Brontë?

Emily Brontë was a talented and passionate writer, who mostly utilized the poetic prose style to create compelling stories and vivid imaginations.

What inspired Emily Brontë to write ‘Wuthering Heights’?

Her life experiences were a huge inspiration for ‘Wuthering Heights,’ and if one takes a closer look, one would see some connections between her life and the book itself. 

Was Emily Brontë in any kind of romantic relationship?

Emily Brontë lived a very reserved life, and certain aspects of her life, such as whether or not she had a romantic relationship, stay hidden and unknown before the public. 

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Victor Onuorah

About Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Victor is as much a prolific writer as he is an avid reader. With a degree in Journalism, he goes around scouring literary storehouses and archives; picking up, dusting the dirt off, and leaving clean even the most crooked pieces of literature all with the skill of analysis.

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