At the Edinburgh International Book Fair, biographer Clare Harman, author of "Charlotte Bronte: A Life", said that some of Emily Jane Bronte's character traits - genius, nerdiness, social phobia and irritability - may indicate that she suffered from Asperger syndrome.
(Editor's note: Asperger's syndrome, also known as Asperger's syndrome or Asperger's syndrome, is an autistic spectrum disorder. Its main characteristics are social difficulties, accompanied by narrow interests and repetitive specific behaviors. However, compared with other autism spectrum disorders, language and cognitive development are still relatively preserved. People with Asperger's syndrome have normal intelligence, and many of them have high IQs. Gifted, only a very small number of people have high IQs, often suffer from physical clumsiness and abnormal speech expressions, and occasionally make strange sounds. This disorder was proposed in 1944. Due to long-term disputes about the cause and diagnostic criteria, the American Psychiatric Association decided to cancel the name Asperger's syndrome and include it as autism spectrum disorder) on December 1, 2012.
Emily had a very famous violent incident, which was recorded simultaneously by Charlotte Brontë's biographer and contemporary writer Elizabeth Gaskell. In Gaskell's autobiography in 1857, she recalled that Emily punched the family dog in the face because it soiled the laundry room. The dog was beaten "nearly half-blind and terrified," but Gaskell attributed the incident to "a demonstration of Emily's strength." “This is actually quite surprising. I think the older sister Charlotte and the others were probably frightened by Emily. "I think she has a little bit of Asperger's syndrome," Harman said. "I think she's extremely talented and has a boundless imagination." And it is the task of the whole family to surround her, protect her, and not be scared by her. Emily is certainly a very interesting person, but also very troublesome at times." Emily hated taking a step out of the house and was even more reclusive than Charlotte, Harman said, which is why the family wanted Emily to leave their West Yorkshire home to go to school, even if only for a while. During the event, Harman also denied the theory that the works of the three Brontë sisters were all written by one person. She also denied that Emily's brother Brownwell wrote some chapters of "Wuthering Heights." The reason for this statement exists, in Harman's opinion, because the novel is "too weird." "Emily Bronte is just herself, she is a complete genius." I think one of the difficulties in writing a biography of Charlotte is, 'Wait, it seems like being Emily's sister is enough to write a book about Charlotte alone, isn't it? ’” “People always like to understand Emily as sentimental. They often say their favorite love story is "Wuthering Heights," but there's so much violence in that book that I wouldn't consider it romantic. ” Emily and her father Patrick have many similar behavioral characteristics: "Patrick gives the children a great deal of freedom because his own interests are also focused on fleeting things." The children loved reading minutes by the fire. It seems like they are an extremely special family with weird mood swings. He's certainly extremely egotistical, which I think may have a bit of Asperger's influence. ” Harman rushed to complete Charlotte Brontë's biography before the 200th anniversary of her birth. She felt that a biography about Emily would be published in the next two years. "2018 is the 200th anniversary of Emily's birth. I think it may be too late to write a book about her, but I am looking forward to other people's works. After all, Emily is such an outstanding person." (Translation: Li Ruiyi)
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