Jane Austen vs. Emily Brontë

So I recently watched an Intelligence Squared debate in which they attempted to decide who was the better author: Jane Austen or Emily Brontë. Now while I have always loved Austen and regarded her as my favourite author, I have to say that this debate (combined with studying Wuthering Heights in English) has made me consider the prowess of Emily Brontë as an author as well, and although I am not sure that I can usurp Austen with her just yet, I have come to realise how much I love her as an author as well.

Jane Austen was the first eighteenth/nineteenth-century author I ever read at 13 years old and of course, I fell in love with her Pride and Prejudice, and then went on to read all of her other books straight away. My passion for her novels was so great that it even made it into my English report with my teacher asking that I perhaps consider some other novels to read other than hers! I think what drew me in so much was her wit, but also her ability to immerse me into her society and completely understand the

characters' thought processes without having learned much about that time period before. Her novels almost seem to be elevated versions of fairy tales but in 19th-century Britain and there is something in that which caught me completely. What I also love is the fact that every time I read one of her books again, I discover something new that I'd forgotten, or never noticed before, so I really don't believe that there will ever be a time to stop reading her books. Not only this but she was a pioneer writer for her time, being a female, so she sheds a different light on society from all the other male writers of her time which is obviously another reason why she is so great.

On the other hand, my first experience with Emily Brontë was not good. And when I say not good, I mean really atrocious. After having read all of Austen's novels, and then Jane Eyre, I moved onto Wuthering Heights. I will say now that (in my opinion) 13 is way too young to read and enjoy this novel. I read it and absolutely hated it because I just didn't understand the complex structures and ideas that form the basis of this book. Moving from the nice, comfortable circles of middle-class women searching for husbands (which I know is a huge generalization of Austen's masterpieces) to the rugged, hostile, mysterious moors was just too big a jump,

leaving me so confused at the end of the novel. This of course meant that I entered my first English A-level lesson with a great sense of trepidation, worrying that I would absolutely hate re-reading the book that had rendered me so puzzled. How wrong was I! Literally after reading and analysing the first few pages, I absolutely fell in love with the novel! There is so much to write about due to the sheer complexity, leaving me quite in awe of Emily Brontë's capabilities of constructing such an amazing, complicated piece of writing. Like Austen, Brontë was also a pioneering female writer, breaking societal conventions of what could and could not be said. And, perhaps a controversial opinion, but at the moment (bearing in mind it has been a few years since I last read Jane Eyre), I would happily argue that Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights is better than her sister Charlotte's Jane Eyre.

So, where does that leave the two authors? Austen's prowess is obviously her extreme wit, and ability to construct phenomenal dialogue, whilst Brontë has this capability to form an elaborate, highly descriptive, and thrilling piece of writing. In the debate, there was one comment that I disagreed with: someone said that they had to be in the correct mood to read Austen, whereas Brontë would force them to be in the right mood anyway; however, I have to disagree. For me, Austen is (and maybe will always be) my go-to author in whatever mood, whereas I have to feel in the correct mood to read Wuthering Heights - that could just be me though, let me know your thoughts! Yes, Brontë is a forceful writer, but I need to be in the mood to be 'forced' to read her novel, whereas I could read Austen whenever. Anyway, I highly encourage you all to go and have a watch of the debate (link at end of the article) - it's long but it's so worth the time as it gives you much to think about. If you do watch it, please share your opinions about these two wonderful authors (still share your ideas even if you don't!), and perhaps at the end, you'll be like me: needing to re-read Emma again to find out what on earth the pianos mean...!

Link to the debate: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/jane-austen-vs-emily-bronte/