Always Emily

Rev. Brontë carries a pistol for self-defense and shoots at an intruder in his home. He teaches Emily how to use it, and she surreptitiously borrows it. In the climactic scenes, both Emily and Charlotte wield the pistol -- but only Emily actually fires it. Women's status as secondary citizens in the early 19th century gets prominent treatment, including references to domestic violence, the shame of having an illegitimate child, and condescending attitudes. Emily cauterizes a wound with a hot flatiron. Charlotte's struck by an assailant, and another character's terribly burned and disfigured in a fire. The girls grieve the loss of their two eldest sisters, who died of tuberculosis blamed on poor conditions at boarding school.

Emily shares a passionate kiss straight out of a Harlequin romance and is caught in the act by Charlotte, who scolds her for her behavior. Charlotte, at times distracted by the lure of romance, is dismissed from her teaching job for writing a romantic tale her employer describes as "obscenities" and "filth." The plot centers on a woman who fell out with her family for getting herself "in trouble" by bearing a child out of wedlock.

An illegitimate child is referred to as a "bastard" (its literal meaning). The word "damnation" appears twice as an oath.

Branwell drinks heavily, to the point of vomiting, and his drinking and gambling habits contribute to his disconnection from his family. A woman's given opiates as means to control and subdue her, and Emily gives her a dose of the drugs to calm her down.