Abstract：Emily Bronte (1818-1848) was a novelist and a poet in England in the 19th century. In 1847, she published her only novel, Wuthering Heights. The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing passion, yet thwarted love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Compared with her two sisters, Emily Bronte is not a prolific writer; however, her novel, Wuthering Heights, has aroused innumerable researches and controversy ever since its publication. For a long time, Emily Bronte has been considered as a mystery in English literature and different people have different attitudes toward her and her novel. As we all know, the gothic tradition has very significant influence on English and American literature, and many writers have inherited this writing tradition in their novels. This paper will analyze the gothic elements in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. In the novel, Emily applied gothic elements in many aspects, including the theme, characters, setting and plot. In addition, Emily Bronte added violent emotion, complex mentality and fresh energy into the old form and endowed the characters with complicated psychological description. Therefore, this novel maintains its unique and everlasting artistic charm in the world literature.
The thesis is composed of five chapters. Chapter one presents a brief introduction to Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights. Chapter two clarifies the origin and definition of gothic fiction and presents prominent elements in gothic fiction. Chapter three investigates the application of gothic elements in the novel. Chapter four studies and explores improvements of gothic elements from the scopes of setting, characterization and theme. Chapter five concludes that in Wuthering Heights Emily reveals her will to fight against the secular and to fight for the pursuit of freedom through the application of gothic elements.
Key words: Gothic elements Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
摘要：艾米丽·勃朗特（1818-1848），是英国19世纪著名的小说家和诗人。1847年，她出版了唯一的一部小说《呼啸山庄》。小说讲述了主人公希斯克厉夫与凯瑟琳之间一段充满激情而又结局凄惨的爱情故事。与她的两个姐妹相比，艾米丽·勃朗特并不是一个多产的作家，但是自从《呼啸山庄》这部小说面世以来，就一直备受争议。长期以来，艾米丽在英国文学史上都是一个谜，对于她的小说更是仁者见仁智者见智。众所周知，哥特传统对英国和美国文学都有着深远的影响，而且，许多作家在他们的小说中都继承了这种传统。本文主要研究小说《呼啸山庄》中的哥特元素。在这部小说中，艾米丽在许多方面，包括主题，人物，场景，以及情节等，都使用了哥特元素。此外，她还将强烈的情感，复杂的心态和新的能量注入到这种旧的形式之中，并赋予了人物复杂的心理描写。所以，这部小说保持着它在世界文学史上独特和持久的艺术魅力。
本文分为五章。第一章对作者艾米丽·勃朗特和小说《呼啸山庄》进行了简单的介绍。第二章阐述哥特小说的起源和定义。第三章研究《呼啸山庄》中哥特元素的应用与继承。第四章则从背景，人物，主题等不同的方面研究小说中哥特元素的发展与超越。第五章得出结论，艾米丽通过哥特元素的运用表达对世俗的抗争和对自由的追求。
关键词: 哥特元素；《呼啸山庄》；艾米丽•勃朗特
