The life of Emily Bronte and her mirror image in Wuthering Heights As we look to the past for clues about certain authors and their works, we might find clues as to why they might have written some of these great works of art into their life stories. Life and the questions about it might have some effect on what some lyricists put on paper. If you carefully consider Emily Bronte's past life, the novel Wuthering Heights can be seen as a kind of mirror of her life. Much of his life is shrouded in mystery, but there is evidence that can and should be considered similar to the lives of many of the characters in this great novel. According to Juliet Barker, "Emily Jane Bronte was born July 30, 1818" (Barker 1). In the same article, Barker points out that Emily's mother, Maria, died when she "was only three years old" (1). Emily therefore grew up without a mother. Maria's sister and Emily's aunt, Elizabeth, came to the family's aid to "live as a governess and was responsible for training the girls in the domestic arts" (Emily's web page). Here we may have a clue about the origin of the character Nelly. This rather expert narrator of our story may be based, at least in part, on Emily's aunt, Elizabeth. Our author's aunt could have been an authoritative personality in his life. Nelly seemed to take on characteristics we might associate with a caring aunt in a young woman's life. Victor A Neufeldt writes that, "in 1835 Emily went to Roe Head School, where Charlotte, her sister, had recently been appointed assistant teacher" (Neufeldt 2). Emily only stayed at school three months before returning home. It seems she missed the wildness of her moors and couldn't stay away... middle of paper...rt, but we could always search for meaning because of her long literary life. Works cited and consulted Barker, Juliet. The Brontes. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994. Online: "Emily 'The Strange' Bronte, 1818-1848." [Rpt. The Brontes, by Juliet Barker. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.]IncompeTech British Author Series: Emily Bronte: http://incompetech.com/authors/ebronteBronte, Charlotte. "Poems from Wuthering Heights of 1850." Wuthering Heights. Ed. William M. Sale, Jr. New York: Norton, 1990. (WH pp. 267-288). Emily Jane Bronte web page http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/1380emily.htm Neufeldt, Victor A. "Emily Bronte." Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 32: Victorian Poets Before 1850. Ed. William E. Fredeman. [City of publication?]: University of British Columbia, 1984. 46-52.