Bronte vs Austen?

I read somewhere that in life, you're either an Austen girl or a Bronte girl. And, sorry, fans of Jane Austen, I am team Bronte. Although I did like Pride and Prejudice.

Although, in prefect fairness, I haven't read all the books from either camps. It's just, what I have read has, I'm sure, been conclusive enough to allow me to form the opinion I've formed. Now, I think Jane Austen deserves her status as a classic author, because her books are elegant and graceful and have young, pretty, intelligent heroines. They're even quite witty given the time they were written in. But two of my favourite books in the entire world are Bronte's, and no amount of light hearted banter from Miss Austen could ever match the intensity of Wuthering Heights.

Jane Eyre is one of my top three books of all time (the other two being Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel and Lets Get Lost by Sarra Manning, if you're interested.) I love and adore everything about it; it combines so many elements into a riveting story, told by an intelligent, forward-thinking narrator who even shows a hint of feminism in the book. The main reason I loved Jane Eyre is because she was just like me. Plain Jane, as it were; she hasn't been gifted with any beauty, so she works damn hard to be studious instead because she wants to have something. And even when she gets the guy- the hot, fucked-up Mr Rochester- she leaves him because he already has a wife, albeit a crazy one who's locked up, and her self respect won't let her be fucked over. Then this dignity pays off; she comes back, he's a little bit deformed, they live happily ever after. It has horror, it has melodrama, it has romance, it has gritty true-life drama- it's almost like an extended copy of Grazia from the 19th century, for crying out loud!

And then there's Wuthering Heights. I know the relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy shouldn't have been romantic- it was so twisted, as full of hate as it was love, and marred by jealousy - but it really, really was. Anything that's so deep, even if it's as destructive as Heathcliff's love for Cathy turned out to be, is romantic. Even though one of the main themes of the book is cruelty and revenge, somehow the love theme wins out- because although it's short in terms of time, its intensity radiates throughout the entire novel. 'I am Heathcliff! He is always, always on my mind; not as a pleasure to me and mor than I am a pleasure to myself, but as my own being,' cries Cathy. And I, for one, would kill for that kind of love.

Now, this admission may well render me mentally ill, but both of those books made me wish with all my heart for a Byronic hero of my own. A beautiful, tortured soul with a horrible past and a heart full of passion seems so perfect to me- someone articulate and intelligent, like Mr Rochester, or cunning and all-consuming like Heathcliff to spend my days with is ideal to me. I don't mind the mood swings, the bipolar tendencies, the self hatred; because maybe I'm a Byronic heroine. I'm fucked up, maybe in a beautiful way, and I want a beautiful fucked up guy to match. So, erm, Mr Rochester? If you want my number comment me on this blog. Because I want- nay, NEED- to meet you. Both eyes preferred.