1 Tristen Ragsdale Mrs. Cogburn Independent Novel #2 11 December 2023 Wuthering Heights: Analysis Emily Brontë’s singular novel, Wuthering Heights, discusses the complex denizens of Wuthering Heights and the passion, love, and cycles of revenge they share. This novel was originally published in 1847 under the pseudonym of Ellis Bell, so Brontë could avoid publicity and have a chance at fair reception, in a time where female authors were not taken as seriously. Wuthering Heights portrays an array of intense human emotions along with elements of disease, death, and even the supernatural, making it a genre-defining novel. Brontë’s novel is now considered a pillar of the English literary world, and has produced significant controversy for its intimate examples of mental and physical brutality, such as domestic abuse, and challenges to the morality, class system, and religion common in the Victorian era. Emily Jane Brontë was an acclaimed novelist and poet, most popular for her only novel, Wuthering Heights. In her youth, Brontë faced multiple deaths in her immediate family, abuse, and disease. Due to her reclusive nature, her closest friend was her sister Anne, whom she shared a wild imagination and strong companionship with. She was known to love nature, which is evident in her plentiful descriptions of the moors in Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë was a very shy, unconventional woman, and after her death, her sister, Charlotte Brontë presented her as one of a “quiet maternal savior”, instead of the passionate, brave, and devoted woman she was in actuality. Dying of tuberculosis at the age of 30, only a year after Wuthering Heights’ publication, she never knew the fame and influence her only novel produced (“Emily Brontë”).
2 Wuthering Heights begins, and ends, in the perspective of Mr. Lockwood, a newfound tenant of Thrushcross Grange. Upon getting caught in a nasty snowstorm, he stays at Wuthering Heights, a dark, neighboring manor where his landlord, Heathcliff, and a few other unique individuals, reside. His curiosity piqued, Mr. Lockwood then asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, for information regarding Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights, and everyone else living there. The majority of this novel recalls the extensive history between Heathcliff, his star-crossed lover, Catherine, and other characters who got in the way of their relationship, such as the man Catherine marries instead of Heathcliff, Edgar Linton. Cyclical patterns of revenge are present throughout Wuthering Heights, as Heathcliff refuses to take the higher road, scheming against any and every person who he believes has wronged him or his beloved Catherine. Pictures of domestic abuse, neglect, and brutality plague these characters’ lives, making this seemingly romantic novel darker, with one of its main characters fueled by undying obsession and vengeance. Upon Nelly’s completion of the convoluted history of these neighbors, Mr. Lockwood decides to take a 6-month leave from his stay. That being said, he later pays a visit back to Wuthering Heights and learns that Heathcliff has passed away, and with that, the drama surrounding Catherine Earnshaw, the Lintons, and Heathcliff himself settles once and for all. The characters in Wuthering Heights are complex, each with their own comprehensive personalities and negative traits. There are multiple main characters that direct the plot, and a few minor characters that relieve the novel’s intensity and represent certain values held during the Victorian period Brontë wrote in. One of the most significant characters in Wuthering Heights is Heathcliff, a scheming, cruel, and disreputable man. He is described as a darker-skinned person with dark hair and dark eyes, and with, in his youth, a messy appearance that is frowned upon. This novel covers Heathcliff’s life from a young boy to a gentleman, at
3 least in appearance, and his death occurs approximately in his late 30s. He plays a large role in furthering the story’s plot line, as his seeking revenge affects the people around him until the conclusion, his death. “… a most diabolical man, delighting to wrong and ruin those he hates, if they give him the slightest opportunity” (Brontë 222). He is a static character, harboring an unchanging obsession with Catherine, yet round in a sense that his emotions have depth and he acts with intention. Another main character is Catherine Earnshaw, or Catherine Linton, Heathcliff’s spoiled, mischievous, 18-year-old lover. She is a significantly more static character than her daughter Cathy, with her insolent and immature behavior following her to the grave. “She stamped her foot, wavered a moment, and then, irresistibly impelled by the naughty spirit within her, slapped me on the cheek…” (Brontë 71). Her blonde hair and attractive features took her some length in life, as some characters, such as Edgar, could not help but pity her. Without Catherine, however, this story would be nonexistent, as Heathcliff would never have met her and acted accordingly, and her children would have never existed to further the novel. Nelly Dean, who narrated most of the story, is a crucial character as well. She was a devout housekeeper, and acted as an outspoken moral compass, there to guide the young people she loved. She is an older woman, presenting traits a reader could anticipate a person such as her to have, maintaining traditional values, with an emphasis on politeness and respect. “Honest people don’t hide their deeds” (Brontë 103). Nelly witnessed almost everything that happened at Wuthering Heights in her early life, and later at Thrushcross Grange; without her, the story could not be told so comprehensively to a curious Mr. Lockwood and reader. Additionally, Cathy Linton is a very significant character in Wuthering Heights. She is a beautiful, young, dynamic woman and is a shining pillar of hope and growth in these stagnant families. She contrasts her mother significantly; although she begins with a version of Catherine’s same haughty attitude, her
4 relationship with Hareton exemplifies just how different she is than her mother. “Her spirit was high, though not rough, and qualified by a heart sensitive and lively to excess in its affections. That capacity for intense attachments reminded me of her mother: still she did not resemble her” (Brontë 189). She matures and learns to appreciate Hareton for who he is as a person, so much so that she falls in love with him. She grows, although in a different manner, in tandem with him, and gives hope to the reader that not every person in these families is too “far gone”. The setting of this novel is significant. The manors are located in the windy Yorkshire Moors of Northern England; the weather is unpredictable, similar to the nature of its residents. Thrushcross Grange is a nice manor that neighbors and contrasts the darker, looming Wuthering Heights. This exemplifies the nature of each family: the Lintons are generally more down-to-earth, fragile, pretty, and less violent, and the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights appear more unapproachable, harsh, and mysterious. This stormy environment adds more intensity to the story, and due to taking place around 1770-1802, lacks modern elements that would make everything appear less threatening and dramatic. There are multiple overarching, and often overlapping, themes present in Wuthering Heights; one of the most memorable and poignant is love and passion. There are two main romantic relationships in this novel, Catherine and Heathcliff, primarily in the first half of the book, and Cathy and Hareton, manifesting romantically towards the end. Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship is plagued with an unwillingness to change; their love is rooted in their childhood memories and, as Catherine marries another man and her lifestyle inevitably changes, she does not, still vying for Heathcliff and being unable to commit herself to a genteel life with Edgar. Heathcliff enables this, as his obsession with her never ceases, and their relationship ends only with the passage of time, and not of a change of heart from either party. This unhealthy
5 relationship causes problems all throughout their lives and the lives of their families, and even after Catherine’s death, Heathcliff seeks revenge on the people he believed to have “killed” Catherine and “ruined” their relationship. In contrast to this, Cathy and Hareton’s relationship is forged by growth and acceptance, as Cathy originally had great distaste for whom she considered an illiterate, brutish boy, but with time and patience, they grew together in understanding and maturity and fell in love. Brontë subtly aligns these relationships with the passage of time to compare not only the differences in character but, likely, their generational abilities to be more open-minded and adapt to the circumstances, and people, around them. I would recommend Wuthering Heights to a variety of readers. If they typically enjoy reading novels with intense drama and complex relationships, I would definitely encourage them to read Wuthering Heights. I loved this novel and thought that Brontë executed difficult topics such as domestic violence with grace and forethought. I also enjoyed Brontë’s incorporation of very clear negative personality traits into her characters; it is not very typical for a “protagonist” to be so unlikable and have outwardly bad qualities. Reading this novel made me reconsider how lingering on past relationships, especially toxic ones, can be unhelpful and lead to personal ruin, like Heathcliff experienced. In contrast, kindness, open-mindedness, and patience, some of the qualities Cathy exhibited, are much more beneficial for a person to spend mental energy on. All in all, Wuthering Heights was a great book filled with tragedy, love, cyclical revenge, and passion, and I will definitely be suggesting others to read it.
6 Works Cited Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. Penguin UK, 2012. “Emily Brontë.” Wikipedia, 4 Dec. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emily_Bront%C3%AB&oldid=1188350096.