Good vs. Evil in Wuthering Heights

2. “Wuthering” is descriptive of the atmospheric tumult of the novel in that it describes the violent winds that blow during storms on the moors. Wuthering Heights is removed from society. The adjective not only describes the setting itself, but the inhabitants as well, who are fierce, strong, and fervent.

The manor Wuthering Heights is described as dark and demonic. In the English moors, winter lasted three times as long as summer and the Heights and the land adjacent to it can be compared to winter, while Thrushcross Grange can be described as the summer. Bronte describes the Heights as a

It is worth, therefore, noticing the significant difference in the two major properties in the novel. Working class people inhabited Wuthering Heights, while Thrushcross Grange was inhabited by those higher on the social ladder. When Heathcliff and Catherine “peek” through their window, it shows that they aspire to be on the same level, socially. Heathcliff aquires both and this symbolises his character. He has the façade of a “gentleman” of high social rank, but has the “gypsy” like demeanour. Heathcliff resides at Wuthering Heights, a place that is constantly bombarded by the “north wind”. This stormy surround can often emulate Heathcliff’s emotional anger at the betrayal of his beloved Cathy. Heathcliff represents a typical protagonist of the Romance genre at the time; internalised in his emotions and lonely but there is hope that he will ultimately becomes much more of a typical hero with the experience of love. Heathcliff, however, as much as the reader wants him to, never becomes this typical hero and has much the adverse effect from love.

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights display of cultural and physical features of an environment affecting one’s character and moral traits is showcased through the first Catherine’s development throughout the novel. Catherine is forced to “adopt a double character”, as she lives as a rebellious, passionate woman on the turbulent Wuthering Heights, while behaving politely and courtly on the elegant Thrushcross Grange(Bronte, 48). Each of these environments also contains a love interest of Catherine’s, each man parallel with the characteristics of their environments: Heathcliff, the passionate and destructive, residing in Wuthering Heights, while the civilized and gentle Edgar inhabits Thrushcross Grange. Catherine’s development in character due to her setting significantly contributes to the theme that pursuing passionate love is dangerous, such as the love shared by Heathcliff and Catherine.

In her childhood, Wuthering Heights was what Catherine had considered her home. The heights was described as having a strong and expertly crafted design with Lockwood noting “the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow, windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones” (Bronte, 3). The strong structure was likely influenced by the cold and harsh geographic surroundings the Heights resided in, again commented on by Lockwood when he states “Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather” (Bronte, 2). Along with the secure structure, the people dwelling within the Heights created a rather mixed atmosphere with a generously kind father bringing back his children and servants presents from his trips and a friendly and

Morality is one of the most prevalent themes in Wuthering Heights. Morality, in the context of this novel, means ethical behaviors. Thus, in order to tell whether the ethical behaviors are apparent in this novel, an analysis on the characters’ behaviors is important to be made in order to come to a conclusion. In Wuthering Heights, there are many events that relate to hatred, resentment and the desire to revenge and cause pain and sufferings to the others. These unethical behaviors, the reader can immediately relate to the protagonist of the novel, Heathcliff. As Nelly begins her storytelling in chapter four, readers immediately feel sympathy for Heathcliff from the moment he is first introduced to her story, because of his innocence of being

In some pieces of literature, the concept of a story transitioning to and fro two different settings creates a polar atmosphere, and usually highlights the order and chaos between said places. One of the handful of pieces that use this type of plot include “Tale of Two Cities”, where the story revolves around England and Revolution-Era France, and sets similar tones and moods for each for each place, with England being solemn and dark, and France being restless and livid. In Emily Brontë’s novel, “Wuthering Heights”, not only does it depict two settings, the Wuthering Heights estate and Thrushcross Grange estate, which both contrast greatly, not only in the tone in which it’s described, but also in the residents that reside in the estates, but it also describes the conflicts between many of the characters within the novel, including Heathcliff, Catherine Linton, Edgar Linton, and many others too. And although Brontë highlights the petty quarrels

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

Wuthering Heights is home to Heathcliff, Catherine, Hindley, and Nelly. Wuthering Heights gives off a more rebellious, free-spirited vibe. It has a more country feel compared to Thrushcross Grange. Wuthering Heights lacks hospitality and comfort. The people in Wuthering Heights represent more wild, rebellious characters. Heathcliff and Catherine are great examples of this free-spirited, wild, and rebellious characters in how they run off together and just the way they live their lives, especially when they were younger before Catherine married Edgar and moved to Thrushcross Grange. The characters in Wuthering Heights also represent a more middle to lower class household compared to the lavish life lived at Thrushcross Grange.

Wuthering Heights is out on the moors in a barren landscape. Originally a farming household, it sits "[o]n that bleak hilltop [where] the earth was hard with a black frost" (14). Because winds constantly buffet the house, "the architect?[built] it strong; the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defend with large jutting stones" (10). Even the name suggests

As the novel Wuthering Heights progresses, Emily Bronte develops much of the story through the characters. Bronte’s use of culture, geographical, and physical surroundings, manipulate the characters’ psychological and moral standings. Especially apparent in Catherine, Emily Bronte’s use of culture and physical surroundings creates a psychological split within Catherine’s character. From the beginning of the novel, Bronte establishes a cultural paradox that directly reflects Catherine’s personality; the ambiance of Wuthering Heights as opposed to Thrushcross Grange. Wuthering Heights being wild and passionate in nature, yet Thrushcross Grange eloquent and publicly sophisticated.

In this novel, the use of contrasting places becomes a prominent role is showcasing the two opposing forces that is Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights. With both these houses being isolated to the nearest town, they both exhibit a deserted outcast aura that helps to describe the characters residing there. Throughout the story, these two houses represent the contradicting ideas and the problems that the characters go through. Both houses are located in the eye of the moors within Scotland; where storms and weather are a common threat toward the landscapes.

The description of the setting of Wuthering Heights is described so thoroughly, which emphasizes the gothic tradition in this book. It is 1801 and Mr. Lockwood, a new tenant at Thrushcross Grange, writes in his diary that he has rented a house in the Yorkshire countryside, or New England. After he arrived there, he visits his landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. Heathcliff lives

Where some have looked back to the past, while some have constantly gazed at the present condition and texture of life, and some have preferred to look beyond the past and the present to the state of life in future. Life is a bouquet of moments and every moment is a moment of discovery. Likewise Wuthering Heights is not just a love story; it is a window into the human soul, where one sees the loss, suffering, self discovery, and triumph of the characters in this novel. Catherine and Heathcliff’s passionate nature, intolerable frustration, and overwhelming loss have ruined them, and thus stripped them of their

“Is Wuthering Heights as nice a place as Thrushcross Grange?” (Brontë 329). That seems to be the question quickly answered in the start of the novel, Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, and the answer is very clearly: No. In Wuthering Heights, contrast between the two main and unique places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, helps to define and separate the lifestyles of the main characters. Wuthering Heights is distinctively more dark and chaotic and is full of troubles that make it seem a much darker place, while Thrushcross Grange is a brighter and more peaceful house. Brontë is able to use the two contrasting places to help support the drastically different character personalities, whether it be troublesome Catherine or her peaceful and calmer husband, Edgar. The use of the drastically different places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, are vital to the novel because they offer contrast in the physical houses and define the people living in them and are meaningful to the novel by providing a deep and drastic connection to each place for the reader to separate and understand the characters thoroughly.