On my wall, as I write this article is a poster. The face of the great Emily Bronte looks out into the distance and at once I am reassured.
Throughout my professional life, before and now during my time as an MP, the poster has been a constant and an inspiration to me. The poster is taken from original artwork by Branwell Bronte and shows Emily together with her 2 sisters. At the heart of the picture is a ghostly presence, where Branwell has painted out himself, deeming himself not worthy to be in the same picture as his illustrious siblings.
Within this one image, I see a metaphor for life and even politics. The turmoil of human existence, family, addiction, and mental health challenges but also hope, ambition, determination and in this unique group of individuals, genius.
How is it that 3 sisters, from an isolated, Yorkshire village high on the moors in the 1830s were able to produce some of the greatest works of literature ever written?
I have no answer to this but can only speculate as so many have done over the years.
Hope for the future is what powers us all and how we face the challenges put in front of us defines the futures we have. The first quotation I ever read from Emily was, “No coward soul is mine.” Certainly, the most powerful literary statement I have ever come across, blunt in its assertion but powerful in meaning. This is not a statement on physical bravery but an assertion of how one individual is to live their life.
I also believe Emily’s interaction with the moors that surrounded her home in Haworth shaped both her personality and writings, “Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” A passion for the environment and wildlife was at the heart of who Emily Bronte was, the countryside meant freedom, firing her imagination and inspiring her work.
Finally, when I look at the poster I see a practical person who was concerned with outcomes, not mere words, “If I could, I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.”
In politics, people will often disagree but the politicians I have met in Parliament of all parties have something of Emily Bronte in them. Duty, a defining purpose, great passions and I will say hopefully that many want to be judged by the results of their actions not merely the actions themselves.
Outside of our family and friends, we all need heroines and heroes. People we have never met but for some imperceptible reason join us on life’s journey.
My first village to the Parsonage in Haworth many years ago played a very small part in my journey to becoming an MP. Emily Bronte will always have my vote.
