Datebook: During the most isolating era of the pandemic, I decided to read all the Brontë sisters’ novels, partly because they, too, were isolated. In 1850, Charlotte Brontë published an account of their living situation in Yorkshire: “Resident in a remote district, where education had made little progress, and where, consequently, there was no inducement to seek social intercourse beyond our own domestic circle, we were wholly dependent on ourselves and each other, on books and study, for the enjoyments and occupations of life.”
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The only thing I knew about Wuthering Heights before reading this article was from the Kate Bush song. Granted that is not much information and I mainly only knew that song because of its camp value. Regardless, that much information was enough to intrigue me into reading this article and I am glad that I did. Emma Rice seems to have a great understanding of this material and its poignancy in our current time. Heathcliff aInd Cathy have a turbulent relationship that is not as cookie cutter as we often wish they were. We as a society often sanitize these classic relationships and reduce them down to their tropes. It is rather refreshing that Berkeley Rep is going in the opposite direction. Rice is saying no they aren’t this romantic ideal couple. They have nuance and problems that deserve to be explored on the stage. It’s this type of contemporary analysis that keeps these texts relevant and refreshing.
This was another fun article. As a fan of the Bronte sisters’ myself, this is an adaptation of Wuthering Heights that I would love to see. The fact that Emma Rice easily admits that it is not a love story is great, because not everyone agrees on that matter. This allows for Emma Rice to focus on other aspects of the story, and not just the supposed ‘love story’ that is happening. Also the turning of the moors into a chorus of the moors, I’m obsessed with that idea. I mean for me the pandemic was a time of rereading some of my favorite classics by the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen. I mean what better way to spend lockdown than to be in isolation with those who felt like they were stuck in isolation for most of their lives as well. So I definitely understand Lily Janiak’s need to read them.
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