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I have to remind myself to breathe — almost to remind my heart to beat!

Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights

Literature

The story behind the card

Heathcliff says this to the housekeeper Nelly Dean, who narrates most of the novel, in chapter 33 of Wuthering Heights (1847); he dies in the next chapter. Almost eighteen years after Catherine Earnshaw's death, he has stopped eating and sleeping properly and feels her presence everywhere. He tells Nelly he does not fear death, yet cannot go on as he is. Emily Brontë (1818–1848) published the novel under the pen name Ellis Bell. In 1850, after Emily and Anne had both died, their sister Charlotte revealed who the 'Bell' authors really were.

Türkçe oku
Kendime nefes almayı hatırlatmam gerekiyor; neredeyse kalbime atmasını bile!
Emily Brontë, Uğultulu Tepeler

Heathcliff bu sözleri, Uğultulu Tepeler'in (1847) 33. bölümünde, romanın büyük bölümünü anlatan kâhya Nelly Dean'e söyler; bir sonraki bölümde ölecektir. Catherine Earnshaw'un ölümünün üzerinden on sekiz yıla yakın zaman geçmiştir; Heathcliff doğru dürüst yiyip uyumaz olmuştur ve onun varlığını her yerde hisseder. Nelly'ye ölümden korkmadığını, ama bu hâlde de devam edemeyeceğini anlatır. Emily Brontë (1818–1848) romanı Ellis Bell takma adıyla yayımladı. Emily ve Anne öldükten sonra, 1850'de ablaları Charlotte “Bell” adlı yazarların aslında kim olduğunu açıkladı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Emily Brontë
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