The Big House In Wuthering Heights

Catherine was bitten and Heathcliff was sent back to Wuthering Heights. According to the Linton’s he was uncivilized and his bad behavior was not accepted in their household. Catherine was accepted into their house and welcomed even though she was not respectful. Luckily for her she knew when to turn it off and not let them see that side of her, but are polite. Thrushcross Grange is actually a house where its members of the Linton family are civilized. The Linton’s are rich and have many luxuries that Catherine is not using to but she wants to become a esteemed lady. Thrushcross is an elegant house that the Linton’s own and love to hang out in the parlor. Later on when Catherine returned home to Wuthering Heights the Linton’s came over but Edgar had spoken to Heathcliff, which was not part of the agreement. Hindley had sent Heathcliff away for his actions with Edgar. Edgar saw how Hindley treated Heathcliff and he was fearful of him. Edgar was fond of Catherine but he was not willing to visit Wuthering Heights because of Mr. Earnshaw. Edgar was eager to marry Catherine and move her to the ThrushCross Grange, which is more lavish then the callous, dreary, and desolate Wuthering

Various authors develop their stories using gothic themes and characterizations of this type to lay the foundation for their desired reader response. Although Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and Peter Taylor’s “Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time” are two completely different narratives, both of these stories share a commonality of gothic text representations. The stories take slightly different paths, with Poe’s signifying traditional gothic literature and Taylor approaching his story in a more contemporary manner.

The term “Gothic” originates from the ornate architecture created by the Germanic tribes called the Goths. This ornate and intricate style of architecture proved to be the ideal backdrop for both the physical and the psychological settings in a new literary style. This literary style coined the “gothic”, began in the mid-1700s with a story titled, The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. As such, the budding genre takes influence from an architectural movement propagated by the Goths, but so too does the term reference the gothic constitution. This to say that the gothic may also be thought of as a product of the revolutionary shock besetting the whole of 18th and 19th century Europe. These polysemous definitions for the term “gothic” can be used to examine how both Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley apply and take inspiration from these interconnected definitions and influences in their respective works. The genre of literature so-called the “gothic” developed through a type of artistic and intellectual osmosis. This to say that, while both of these authors took influence from the tradition of gothic fiction, they also provided their own contribution to the tradition.

Throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff’s actions serve as a backlash against the class culture that made Catherine reject him. His manipulative actions to acquire Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights reflect that internal frustration. Early in the novel, Catherine’s relationship with Heathcliff becomes tenuous after she visits Thrushcross Grange and experiences the posh culture of the Linton family. Catherine’s transformation into a proper lady and her growing awareness of class culture ultimately lead her to believe that “it would degrade [her] to marry Heathcliff” (Brontë 81). Indeed, Catherine’s choice to marry Edgar illustrates how wealth and power can trump true love, a notion that tragically divides Heathcliff and Catherine throughout the novel. Even when Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights with a newfound wealth and appearance, he is unable to overcome his orphan heritage and win Catherine back. As a result, Heathcliff channels his frustration into a plot of revenge against the Linton household, telling Catherine that “I meditated this plan–just to have one glimpse of your face, a stare of surprise, perhaps, and pretended pleasure” (Brontë 97). Heathcliff’s loathing of the class system motivates him to systematically take over and destroy all that has separated him from Catherine. His acquisition of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange is an act to prove to Catherine – and to

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.

Since the 19h century, American Gothic fiction started to exist independently from the British type. In fact, the latter was marked by its use of fantastic, externalized and metaphysical elements as opposed to the boundaries of American Gothic fiction in which were expressed by historical, internalized, racial and psychological characteristics. (Edwards, XVII) In Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, Fall of the House of Usher and The Tell-tale heart and The narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym and in Charles Broken Brown’s Edgar Huntly expresses a transformation of certain gothic conventions to an American setting which are the result of 19th century

Emily Brontë’s classic novel, Wuthering Heights, centers around a small neighborhood consisting of just two properties, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. The characters within this neighborhood have little to no contact with people outside their community, and despite their troubles within the neighborhood, they rarely decide to leave. Among the characters living in this enclosed society, including Heathcliff, Hindley, and Catherine Earnshaw, there is a recurring theme of the desire for power and the wish to climb their social ladder, even though they live within a two household community. As a result of their ambitions to raise their status amongst their few neighbors, the characters in the book turn to unconventional acts, which many

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.

Martha Nussbaum describes the romantic ascent of various characters in Wuthering Heights through a philosophical Christian view. She begins by describing Catherine as a lost soul searching for heaven, while in reality she longs for the love of Heathcliff. Nussbaum continues by comparing Heathcliff as the opposition of the ascent from which the Linton’s hold sacred within their Christian beliefs. Nussbaum makes use of the notion that the Christian belief in Wuthering Heights is both degenerate and way to exclude social classes.

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).

With this description, Catherine emphasizes the social values of the eighteenth century through her willingness to defy authority and reason, pitting her against the strict societal expectations of the era. However, the exposure of Catherine to Thrushcross Grange as she stays at the manor to recover from the injury to her ankle, prompts a transformation in her romanticist character that openly explores the cultural values of the Yorkshire Manors. The civility of the Lintons in Thrushcross Grange transforms the once-defiant and youthful Catherine into a mature and well-groomed lady that develops an internal conflict between her love for the well-mannered and wealthy Edgar Linton and the lowly Heathcliff. In Brontë’s novel, Catherine emphasizes her characterization in a scene where she laments this internal conflict saying, “I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him” (Brontë

Introduction Boundaries are important as they indicate a limit a person not supposed to cross, it important that people respect boundaries as once boundaries are crossed, it can affect the relationship between two people or society as a whole. Crossing boundaries come with consequences. In regards to this assignment we will be looking at consequences of challenging boundaries in the gothic novels Wuthering heights and Frankenstein. The social and cultural background of the genre gothic novel According to Mullan, (2014), gothic fiction began as a sophisticated joke Horace Walpole first applied the word gothic to a novel in the subtitle – ‘a gothic story’- of the Castle of Otranto, published in 1764. According to Tiffin (2011) the historical

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.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte takes place in England on two very contrasting estates, Wuthering Heights, owned by the Earnshaw family, and Thrushcross Grange, owned by the Linton family. Both of the estates in this novel can be considered symbolic. Wuthering Heights symbolizes the dark, cold, and gloomy nature of the circumstances around it. They even proclaim in the novel that the name of the estate is “descriptive of the atmosphere tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather”(4). The weather around Wuthering Heights also contributes to its symbolic meaning. The strong winds symbolize the tough times presented to those who live there, along with exemplifying the toughness of the inhabitants themselves. When Catherine is at Wuthering Heights she often feels as

Heathcliff and Catherine’s introduction to the Linton family acts as the point in Wuthering Heights when racialization and othering have fully proliferated throughout Heathcliff’s environment, what with Catherine’s recognition of Heathcliff’s imposed racial and class inferiority. The earliest trace of Catherine’s shifting perspective is found in her reaction to Isabella’s claim that Heathcliff looks “exactly like the son of a fortune-teller”; hearing this, Cathy laughs (50). This is the first betrayal of many in Heathcliff’s eyes. Catherine’s shift in vocabulary becomes evident after she finally returns to Wuthering Heights, the girl unabashedly telling Heathcliff how “black and cross” he looks upon entering, and how his dark demeanor stands out because she is “used to Edgar and Isabella Linton” (54). In short, a mere few weeks at Thrushcross Grange has taught Catherine to consider Heathcliff a different breed of human being altogether. When considering the growing divide between Heathcliff and Catherine across lines of class and race, then, one can see that Catherine’s perspective offers what Nelly’s does not: it illustrates a deliberate shift from a mind full of mere adoration to one poisoned with feelings of superiority. To be granted insight into Catherine’s mind as she “gaze[s] concernedly at the dusky fingers she held in her