Analysis Of The Novel ' Wuthering Heights '

Bronte illustrates the Heights as having a very blunt and intimidating appearance. It is a very strong and prominent structure, however it proves to be a very desolate and lonely place. Likewise, those who inhabit it prove to be somewhat tormented souls. Nelly describes Heathcliff after his subjection to the Heights without Catherine, “A half-civilized ferocity lurked yet in the depressed brows and eyes full of black fire, but it was subdued; and his manner was even dignified: quite divested of roughness, though too stern for grace” (Bronte, 95). Just a few miles away, the Grange represents sanity and sensibility with its refinement and pleasant appearance. The civility of its inhabitants, the Lintons, and their distinguished status stand in stark contrast to the more disturbed Wuthering Heights. Bronte takes great care to create these images of the two estates for readers because it is what they stand for that drives Catherine and Heathcliff apart in the first place. Ironically, Bronte also uses setting to reunite Catherine and Heathcliff. The moors that separate the two estates represent a sort of heaven for the two, where they used to lose themselves when they were young, the only place either of the two ever truly felt they belonged. It is here that the two roam together in the afterlife.

Wuthering Heights engages Gothic elements to strengthen the motif of entrapment, including a framed narrative, and the use of locks and closed doors. Emily Bronte’s application of a framed narrative in Wuthering Heights emphasizes the emotional and physical smothering that Catherine experiences. The usage of a story within a story, as told by multiple characters, creates confusion and chaos both internally and between characters. The internal conflicts of Catherine emphasize the power of her emotions and create a feeling of suffocation and claustrophobia. According to Catherine, her chamber, settled deep into the labyrinth of Thrushcross Grange, is a “shattered prison” (116). Confinement is partly induced by the framed narrative, however, other gothic devices also play a key role in Catherine’s deterioration.

The novel concluded with these important final words about human beings. These final words relate to the theme of the book which is the significance of your past affects your future dreams or goals. This theme is represented by the “green light”. He explains how humans’ struggle to achieve their goals or dreams because they try to re-create the past and are unable to move beyond the past by stating “the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”. He then explains that people cannot escape their dream or goal and so they continue to move towards the green light and struggle to make their dreams come true (It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther”). The people would continue

Throughout Wuthering Heights, there are multiple symbols employed to enrich the overall narrative, many of which have a multitude of meanings in order to elevate the text to a higher literary standard. One of the less obvious motifs is books. However, when reviewing their role in both Catherine and Cathy’s lives it is not clear to what degree it would be fair to claim they have a central role in the overall narrative, especially because of the “plurality” and “ambiguity” of each individual instance where the symbolism of books is introduced.

Throughout the telling of the story Miss Winter often changes points of view from third to first person, from “they” to “we” to “I”. The first time she uses “I” is in the telling of Isabelle’s death and Charlie’s disappearance (Setterfield, 204). Whilst Nelly is telling the story, she more often is telling it in third person, but the telling of the story changes to first whenever it is a scene of which she is in. The telling of Wuthering Heights is a frame story with multi-layered, first – person narration (Tomlinson). The frame narrative is Lockwood’s tale as a traveler (outsider), he is hearing the family history through Ellen Dean (aka Nelly) without any background knowledge. The interior narrative is the history reiterated by Nelly (an insider with intimate knowledge) with help of other minor first-person narrators who are players in the Interior story and who break in occasionally (Tomlinson). Parts of the story that Nelly is sharing with Lockwood she heard from other characters through tertiary narration, and then later relays them to him [Lockwood] (Tomlinson). Tertiary narration is the recounting of eyewitness narrations by people who have played some part in the narration that is now being described (Tomlinson). There are a few scenes in which Catherine is conversing with Nelly. Nelly is reiterating what Catherine shared with her during those discussions. After Isabella runs away with Heathcliff to be married she writes a letter to Nelly explaining what is

Wuthering Heights’s Catherine Earnshaw is infamous for her complex character, some arguing that she is egocentric and manipulative, others sympathizing with the difficult choices she is faced with. However, there is no doubt that she is innately childish. As Catherine grows older, her character is not changed; she remains juvenile and selfish, making everything a game that revolves around her and not empathizing with other characters and their needs - subconsciously or not. In a sense, her mindset never progresses past one of a child. As Sigmund Freud wrote in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, “What makes an infant characteristically different from every other stage of human life is that the child is polymorphously perverse” - an attribute which Catherine exemplifies throughout her lifetime. Her selfishness goes beyond the "ordinary self-centeredness" (Thormahlen 5) one might encounter in a regular adult - rather, Catherine directly affects her relationships with people through her "perverse" actions, and still does not recognize the harm in doing so. She exists in an irresponsible state, not perceiving that "she cannot have, and be, everything she wants whenever she wants it” (5) - and this is reflected in every single relationship she experiences. It is Catherine’s intrinsic immaturity and inability to progress from her childhood mindset that is the main catalyst not only in her in the other character’s

Wuthering Heights follows the Romantic Movement, a movement within literature during the late 18th century with captured intense emotion and passion within writing as opposed to rationalisation. Emily Bronte’s main focal point within the novel is the extreme emotion of love and whether it leads to the characters contentment or ultimate calamity. This confliction of love is portrayed mainly through Catherine Earnshaw, a contemptuous, spoiled beauty whose metaphysical love for the protagonist, Heathcliff, will be tested by her disillusion of Edgar Linton and the social and financial benefits he

In Emily Brontë’s book, Wuthering Heights; the vivid details, change of tone, and unique characters made it very fun to read. The book is about a man, Mr. Lockwood, and his experience in Wuthering Heights. He discovers the secrets behind Mr. Heathcliff and his wife, Catherine, who had passed away. The only people who claim to see the ghost of Catherine is Lockwood and Heathcliff that starts controversy in the house. Wuthering Heights is an intriguing book for its vivid details, unique characters and unexpected change of tone.

Emily Bronte’s work Wuthering Heights can be directly connected to Emily’s life. In fact there are direct parallel connections between Emily’s family and her characters in the story. It can be concluded that Emily Bronte used her own relationships to inspire the story of her characters in Wuthering Heights. These characters share exact characteris that Emily’s family displayed throughout her life upon publication of the story. Some examples of these direct connections would be through the characters Heathcliff, Cathy Earnshaw, Nelly, and Hindley. In summary this work by Emily Bronte is a reflection of the life she lived, and can be very closely translated.

In “Wuthering Heights”, Emily Bronte created a suspenseful setting by giving an eerie feeling to the story when Lockwood enters his new residence and it was not very welcoming to Lockwood. Bonte described snow as a dangerous thing that can kill you. “A sorrowful sight I saw; dark night coming down prematurely, and sky and hills mingled in on bitter whirl of wind and suffocating snow”, (Bonte 10). This setting gives Lockwood a life or death choice to make, does he go back to his residence or stay at his landlord’s house. He then decides and his decision causes us to learn about Heathcliff, Lockwood’s landlord. Early in the story Bonte gives us a good clue to Heathcliff which is. “The herd of possessed swine could have no worse spirits in them

Throughout the compelling conspiracy of Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, creates an inhospitable and ominous estate, known as the Heights, that mirrors the savage inhabitants’ demeanor, such as the characters, Joseph or Hindley, but it is for most part apparent with Mr. Heathcliff. In the exposition, the reader gets a clear idea that the Heights is a dim, depressing, miserable residence when Mr. Lockwood first arrives there, and he begins to describes the Heights by observing the terrain; and he thinks to himself, “[O]ne may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs… [and] by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of sun” (4 Emily Brontë d).

In her novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë uses a formal style of writing to portray the language of those used during the early 1800s. Throughout the majority of the novel, Nelly Dean is telling the story of how Wuthering Heights came to be the place that it currently is. Throughout Dean’s narration, characters are voiced differently due to their role in society. An example of this is shown when Brontë would use fragments of words to represent the speech of Hareton, one of the servants of Wuthering Heights. In contrast, Catherine, being well educated, would use sophisticated grammar and an extensive vocabulary whenever she spoke. Heathcliff was revealed as a two-sided character in this reading. On one hand, the author would use negative

In chapter twenty two Cathy takes care of Edgar because he is ill. One day Cathy went on a walk and lost her hat. Nelly came to help her find it, after looking for it they realized that it went over the gate. Nelly helped Cathy over the wall and while she was over it Heathcill saw her and basically yelled at her for writing Linton and then just stopping. Heathcliff tells Cathy that Linton is heartbroken. Cathy feels bad and goes to Wuthering Heights the next day with Nelly.

Perhaps the most influential factor is the narrative. The main narrative consists of Nelly Dean – the house keeper. When the ‘dirty ragged, black-haired child’ just arrived at Wuthering Heights, she was the only character that took to Heathcliff. When, in chapter 7, Cathy returns from her vacation at Thrushcross Grange, she jokingly calls Heathcliff ‘dirty’. Hurt by these comments, and Cathy’s ‘new look’, Heathcliff hides himself away. When Nelly goes to comfort Heathcliff, it is her speculation about his past that makes the audience wish that his father was the ‘Emperor of China’, and mother ‘an Indian queen.’ Brontë plays on the fact that the audience don’t know anything about Heathcliff’s past apart from him being found by Earnshaw in Liverpool. By touching on this topic lightly by suggesting that Heathcliff in fact has a royal and rich past, the audience is able to sympathize with this character more, as he doesn’t deserve to face to abuse that he does from the hands of Hindley. Spoken in the third person narrative, Nelly is able not only to describe to Lockwood (and us, the audience) the sequence of events to unfold at the Heights, but also pass judgement on characters and the significance of events. The audience, have no

It had, “.... a few stunted firs at the end of the house….” and, “the corners defended with large jutting stones” (Brontë 4). The ruins of Wuthering Heights made the household seem less noble and respected. A ruined home and structure compared them to the winsome Thrushcross Grange. The differences of the houses amplified the difference in class, stature, and ways of life. The ruins of Wuthering Heights made those living there have a different mindset and look as if they couldn’t reach the Thrushcross standards. Also, those who lived at Wuthering Heights had a much different attitude, this because Wuthering Heights nurtures those into whom they become. For instance, Catherine, after leaving Wuthering Heights came back Nelly describes her as, “ a very dignified person….” as opposed to, “a wild, hatless little savage” (Brontё 52). Her time at the ruined Wuthering Heights made her into a ruined and hateful girl herself. If Wuthering Heights resembled that of Thrushcross Grange then there would not be a shift in Catherine’s or anyone's character. In fact, the novel wouldn’t have a difference between the two settings, making both households equal.