I could attempt to write a post about emotion in books. I could try to come up with words to express how to do that, and maybe an example of my own.
And it would, undoubtedly, somewhere in that post, say something along the lines of "show, don't tell" because isn't that what is always said these days?
Not that I don't agree, but...
In lieu of trying to write a "real" post, I am going to share what I think is one of the most emotional passages in any book, and it is all telling (literally, someone is saying it).
“I wish you had sincerity enough to tell me whether Catherine would suffer greatly from his loss: the fear that she would restrains me. And there you see the distinction between our feelings: had he been in my place and I in his, though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to gall, I never would have raised a hand against him. You may look incredulous, if you please! I never would have banished him from her society as long as she desired his. The moment her regard ceased, I could have torn his heart out, and drunk his blood! But, till then - if you don't believe me, you don't know me - till then, I would have died by inches before I touched a single hair of his head!”
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Can any passage better describe Heathcliff's love for Catherine? The love and the violence paired here is beautiful. Word choice is amazing, and then I could go on a rant about the character foil present, but...
Basically, I just wanted to share this magnificent, emotion-packed passage from Wuthering Heights. All that we need to know about Heathcliff's love for Catherine is in this passage--if we read nothing else about him, knew nothing more of the plot, we would know that he loves her to the point of dying rather than hurting her.
In my opinion, this is the epitome of emotion in a book.
And it would, undoubtedly, somewhere in that post, say something along the lines of "show, don't tell" because isn't that what is always said these days?
Not that I don't agree, but...
In lieu of trying to write a "real" post, I am going to share what I think is one of the most emotional passages in any book, and it is all telling (literally, someone is saying it).
“I wish you had sincerity enough to tell me whether Catherine would suffer greatly from his loss: the fear that she would restrains me. And there you see the distinction between our feelings: had he been in my place and I in his, though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to gall, I never would have raised a hand against him. You may look incredulous, if you please! I never would have banished him from her society as long as she desired his. The moment her regard ceased, I could have torn his heart out, and drunk his blood! But, till then - if you don't believe me, you don't know me - till then, I would have died by inches before I touched a single hair of his head!”
― Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights
Can any passage better describe Heathcliff's love for Catherine? The love and the violence paired here is beautiful. Word choice is amazing, and then I could go on a rant about the character foil present, but...
Basically, I just wanted to share this magnificent, emotion-packed passage from Wuthering Heights. All that we need to know about Heathcliff's love for Catherine is in this passage--if we read nothing else about him, knew nothing more of the plot, we would know that he loves her to the point of dying rather than hurting her.
In my opinion, this is the epitome of emotion in a book.
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