{"title":"‘Of Spirits so Lost and Fallen’: The Violent Byronic Hero in Miserrimus and Wuthering Heights","authors":"Lydia Craig","doi":"10.1080/14748932.2022.2148838","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Key thematic parallels between Frederic Mansel Reynolds’ controversial Miserrimus: A Tale (1833) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847) indicate an intertextual connection between these novels in their suggestive portrayal of the Byronic hero as demonic entity. Crafted by Reynolds to explore the realised violent potential of Lord Byron’s heroes, Miserrimus risks becoming inhuman and spiritually damned under the influence of unrestrained passion and revels in committing acts of cruelty. Similarly moulding Heathcliff in the Byronic tradition, Emily takes inspiration from Miserrimus’ demonic violence to add mystery to her character’s all-absorbing desire for revenge. Knowingly, each man faces the prospect of eternal damnation but cannot spiritually recover from the consequences of selfish fury. With Heathcliff’s death, Wuthering Heights eliminates the threat of the violent Byronic hero to restore a more hopeful future prospect, unlike Miserrimus, which concludes only with expressions of misery and regret.","PeriodicalId":42344,"journal":{"name":"Bronte Studies","volume":"48 1","pages":"33 - 45"},"PeriodicalIF":0.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Bronte Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14748932.2022.2148838","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LITERATURE, BRITISH ISLES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract Key thematic parallels between Frederic Mansel Reynolds’ controversial Miserrimus: A Tale (1833) and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847) indicate an intertextual connection between these novels in their suggestive portrayal of the Byronic hero as demonic entity. Crafted by Reynolds to explore the realised violent potential of Lord Byron’s heroes, Miserrimus risks becoming inhuman and spiritually damned under the influence of unrestrained passion and revels in committing acts of cruelty. Similarly moulding Heathcliff in the Byronic tradition, Emily takes inspiration from Miserrimus’ demonic violence to add mystery to her character’s all-absorbing desire for revenge. Knowingly, each man faces the prospect of eternal damnation but cannot spiritually recover from the consequences of selfish fury. With Heathcliff’s death, Wuthering Heights eliminates the threat of the violent Byronic hero to restore a more hopeful future prospect, unlike Miserrimus, which concludes only with expressions of misery and regret.
期刊介绍：
Brontë Studies is the only journal solely dedicated to research on the Brontë family. Published continuously since 1895, it aims to encourage further study and research on all matters relating to the Brontë family, their background and writings, and their place in literary and cultural history. Original, peer-reviewed articles are published as well as papers delivered at conferences, notes on matters of interest, short notices reporting research activities and correspondence arising from items previously published in the journal. The journal also provides an official record of the Brontë Society and reports new accessions to the Brontë Parsonage Museum and its research library.
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