How Emily Brontë shaped Patti Smith’s biggest hit
The world of Patti Smith is rich with literary references and artistic knowledge. From her lyricism to her books, the punk poet regularly connects to her favourite pieces of writing for inspiration. Whether it be a Beat Generation poem or a Victorian novel, Smith’s own writing is intrinsically linked to that of authors she loves.
One such author is the Victorian gothic pioneer Emily Brontë. As one of four sisters, all the Brontë girls became prominent writers of the 19th Century. Helping to lead the gothic into the modern era, novels like Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights are two of the most influential novels of the genre.
At the time, Wuthering Heights was especially controversial. Originally published under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, the restrictions placed on women in the 19th century meant that Brontë couldn’t reveal her authorship. Her family also feared that the tale of revenge, supernatural forces and mania could make their daughter a social outcast or a ruined woman.
It is Emily Brontë’s pioneering spirit and clear rebellious streak that drew Patti Smith to her. The punk described the author as the “darkest and most passionate of the gifted and ill-fated Brontë Sisters,” referencing the tragic young deaths of the authors. To Smith, amongst other readers and critics, Wuthering Heights is a “literary sensation” that provides a vast wealth of inspiration.
The novel has inspired several film adaptations, the famous Kate Bush song of the same name and many other literary works. When it comes to Patti Smith’s own work, the 1847 novel inspired one of her biggest hits.
While ‘Because The Night’ began as a Bruce Springsteen song, the second Smith got her hands on it it became a whole other beast. After Springsteen struggled to finish the track, it was passed to Smith by a mutual friend. At the time, she was in a long-distance relationship with her husband Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith. The track became an ode to longing and love, singing about pinning for someone in the middle of the night. But in the rich and literary lyricism, there are gothic hints.
Wuthering Heights is also a tale of longing. As doomed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff battle against class and death on the rugged landscape of the moors, the story unfolds into a haunted tale as Heathcliff even longs for his lover’s ghost.
When contemplating the novel, Smith’s lyricism takes on a new life as she sings; “Without you, I cannot live / Forgive, the yearning burning.” Echoing the climaxing madness of the novel, Heathcliff declares; “Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!”
While never clearly stating that Wuthering Heights inspired ‘Because The Night’, Patti Smith has made no secret of her clear love for the Brontë sister. In 2013, Smith performed a special show at the Haworth Parsonage, helping to raise money for the repairs and running of the Brontë museum. “I really was introduced to the Brontës through my sister,” Smith told the BBC at the time, “and we’re very close. She’s one year younger than I. When I married, I moved quite a bit away, and we kept almost daily correspondence by reading all of Charlotte’s books.”
In 2014, Smith was invited to write a foreword for a new special edition of Wuthering Heights, connecting the punk poet and her gothic inspirations. In her introduction, Smith writes as eloquently as ever about the call to create and the drive to write passionately on topics of love and longing. Of Emily Brontë, she says, “In the writing of Wuthering Heights she did not give what she wanted; she gave what she had.”
Clearly a major source of inspiration, ‘Because The Night’ would surely be Cathy and Heathcliff’s favourite song.
