In this book the author paints a not-so-lovely picture of Emily herself. She is referred to as being selfish, stubborn and a painfully severe introvert who hated leaving home for any reason at all.
The story of her family is an incredibly sad one, beginning with the death of her mother when she was only three years old. Her two older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth soon joined their mother when they contracted tuberculosis at the school they attended. The remaining family consisted of the Brontë patriarch, Patrick, who was a self absorbed clergyman, his son Branwell and the three remaining girls, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
There was much heartache to be endured during their lifetimes but the amount of imagination, confidence and camaraderie those girls shared with each other and ultimately with their readers have brought them to the fame and adoration they deserve.
I myself adore Emily, even more so than the sweeter tempered Charlotte or the spiritual and peaceful Anne.
Emily was a "hot mess" of emotions. She loved the moon and would wander off onto the moors late at night, soaking in the moonlight and chilly air. She was the one sister who refused to reveal her true identity when the girls finally decided to meet with their publishers and unveil themselves as women writers (as they had published under male, or rather, gender neutral names).
She was crippled by her fear of the world beyond her small parsonage home, even to the point of feigning sickness, or even refusing to eat, so as to be returned home from the school she had been sent to.
She was stubborn even unto death, refusing to see a doctor as she suffered through the final stages tuberculosis.
I pondered these things as I took a walk out onto the moonlit field behind our house this dreary evening with my family. I imagined what things went through Emily's mind during her late night wanderings on the moors of Yorkshire England. I hurt for her and thought of how she must have felt carrying the pain of losing her mother and sisters throughout her entire, though short, life.
Whenever I look out my window and see the moon shining bright over the fields and trees, I think of Emily. Her life was evidence that no matter how many struggles you go through in life, it is possible to leave a beautiful legacy.
