Wuthering Heights A New Gothic

In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte uses Mr. Lockwood to show that language is not enough to tell the truth and understand the other person. When Mr. Lockwood greets Heathcliff on their first encounter, Lockwood misjudges Heathcliff. He writes, “Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us” (Bronte 1). Also he describes Heathcliff as “a capital fellow” (Bronte 1).

Emily Bronte uses the characters, foreshadowing and the setting to create a grim, and suspenseful tone in Wuthering Heights. The first way Emily Bronte creates suspense in the book is by describing the setting of the story. "Wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather"( Emily Bronte 2). This quote describes how the weather is at the moor which is where Wuthering Heights is located.

To begin, “The term Gothic fiction refers to a style of writing that is characterized by elements of fear, horror, death and gloom, as well as romantic elements, such as nature, individuality, and very high emotion. These emotions can include fear and suspense.”. (Greaver, 1). This specific style of writing began in the late seventeen hundreds. Gothic fiction was created in order to keep a narrower set of viewers or readers more intrigued and interested. “The term Gothic actually originated as a term belittling the architecture and art of the period, which was dark, decaying, and dismal. The settings were often old, dilapidated buildings or houses in gloomy, lifeless, fear inducing landscapes.” (Greaver, 1). Gothic literature is often explained as an illusion that is unexplainable. “Gothic fiction hovers between the uncanny and the marvelous, offering little

Gothic literature is a literary genre that began in england in the late 1700’s that “Gothic” refers to medieval buildings, such as castles that were seen typically as dark, dreary, gloomy and mysterious which inspired a mood for many books. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” is a good of example of gothic literature because it had a gloomy tone commonly found in most gothic literature. This can be found in the first paragraph when the narrator says “ a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit”. This shows“The Fall of the House of Usher” is gothic literature because it sets up a gothic tone in the first paragraph.

Gothic literature is a style of writing dating back to 1764, some of the most important elements of this writing style are of an eerie setting and mental decay, stories that made great use of these elements are: “The Raven”, “Black Cat”, “The House of Usher”, and “The Devil and Tom Walker”. The authors use the gothic element of eerie setting so that they can enhance the mood of the story and of mental decay to highlight what the conflict in the characters’ lives is causing.

In this excerpt from Emily Brönte’s poem “How Clear She Shines” the elements of Gothicism are displayed clearly. The overall cynical mood sets the scene for a gothic style of writing; the contrasts between truth and treachery, joy and pain, peace and grief, bring out a feeling of unease that is Gothicism. Emily Bronte expounded on these themes in her novel Wuthering Heights, a classic work of gothic fiction. This novel portrays two lovers with a very unhealthy relationship in which they are very passionate but take their passion to the extreme. The lengths they go for their love can initially be classified as traditional romanticism, but love turns into obsession and quickly grows grotesque. This transformation marks the transition from Romanticism into Gothicism. Gothicism is a style of writing that is characterized by fear, horror, and death, but can also include Romantic qualities like nature, individualism, and emotion. Romanticism is known for its emphasis on emotion and imagination; Gothicism takes these themes and twists them into something dark and disturbing. In Gothicism, elements of Romanticism are taken too far to the absolute extreme, resulting in grotesque outcomes instead of the predictable plot generated by most romantic novels. Emily Brönte uses the Gothic themes of doppelgänger, sublimity, and revenge to stress the surreal and outrageous actions and thought of the main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights.

One of the spookiest experiences was when I was at the beach and the waves took me under. I got held under for a while and the force of the water made me hit my head on the ocean floor. Then it finally took me to shore. This scenario is related is related to the traits of Gothic Literature and Magical Realism because the ocean was violent and dangerous. These two genres are similar because they also have Realistic setting and details. However, Edgar Allen Poe’s “Where is Here”, is an example of Gothic Literature because there are many times that there is horror, or suspense in the article. When they describe how the stranger is around the house, or when they explain how he reacted when he went to the room, this is all Gothic Literature. (Hailey)

There is a psychological theory which states that the whole is only as good as the sum of its parts. This is the basis for any novel or book, as it is important to acknowledge and utilize the various components of literature in order to write a cohesive novel. Gothic literature, which was especially prevalent during the early 1800’s, has many elements which make it a distinct genre. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley utilizes many Gothic literature components. These elements include characters who bridge the gap between the mortal and the supernatural; a constant sense of decay; and an isolated protagonist.

     The term Gothic refers to a genre that came about in the late eighteenth century. It can be a type of story, clothing, or music nowadays. In this paper it will refer to a style of literature. A very good example of this type of literature is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. There is a sense of foreboding throughout the whole novel, which is one of the basic necessities of the Gothic. This theme of the Gothic has different characteristics that all fit into the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster and make this one of the first horror stories every told.

The meaning of the term gothic literature has changed over the years. While many people today associate gothic with horror, the word actually refers to stories that fuse together elements of both horror and romanticism. It has been stated that "gothic writers have always held the colonial fringes to be particularly potent sources of horror for the English imagination, particularly those areas deemed part of the Celtic world" (Killeen). Gothic literature is usually associated with a dark, gloomy setting, such as a haunted house or castle. Often, there is a supernatural being such as a ghost, vampire, or zombie along with a curse or prophecy tied to the story's setting. Earlier depictions of gothic literature also tended to weave a romantic element between the male lead character and a damsel in distress into the story. Modern gothic literature puts a spin on these traditional ideas of storytelling. "The Gothic, in other words, mutates across historical, national, and generic boundaries as it reworks images drawn from different ages and places" (Smith).

Gothic literature includes elements of style that is usually portrayed in tales and deals with horror, despair, the grotesque, and mysteries. In the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there are many elements of gothic literature that is found throughout the book. The term gothic is very broad in literature, and gothic can mean many different things from characteristics of people, feelings and reactions of a specific setting, mood, actions that happen being people, and so much more. All of this thrived in the 19th century. Gothic is categorized by an emphasis on the dark, gloomy, and mysterious. Ideas such as magic, hidden passages, wind, ghosts, and other supernatural elements, love, etc were all elements in the Gothic movement during the 19th century. Specifically, the descriptions of the settings, both outside and inside, in the novel, the actions of the main protagonists in the novel, and the love between Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights all add on to this idea of a gothic literature or tradition.

The gothic and often disturbing Wuthering Heights is Emily Bronte’s classic novel that contains undeniably powerful writing that created her timeless love story. Andrea Arnold transformed her masterpiece into a cinematic rendition to recreate the wild and passionate story of the deep and destructive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff.

Many authors use the setting of a novel to illuminate certain values and principles in their writing. In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte utilizes this technique to enhance the theme of the work. The novel is set in a harsh environment in Northern England, highlighting two specific estates, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, as the main places of action. The dreary landscape and houses not only serve as the primary setting, but also as major symbols that aide in establishing the tone and enhancing the novel's theme of good versus evil.

Gothic literature is a form of literature that combines fiction, horror, death, and sometimes romance. Gothic novels combine elements of medieval romance with the modern novel because Horace Walpole; the first known gothic author, deemed medieval romance as too fanciful and modern novels too realistic. The stories traditionally include a threatening mystery and numerous clues and dramatic irony. There is also a trend of a monstrosity or monster figure to appear. They do not exude obvious sources of danger, but the horrors are internalized and discreet. The monster might perhaps live with its victim, invading domestic spaces and increases the levels of terror. Another trait of gothic literature includes the psychological traits and ailments that can be attributed to the characters. The psychologic aspect adds layers of complexity and depth, enhancing the plots in Gothic literature from a two dimensional horror story to a multi dimensional exposé on the human condition. Additionally, lead characters often represent the “zeitgeist,” the spirit of the time, with their occupations, familial structures, and personality traits. Psychology offers insights towards the scope of cultural change.

Gothic horror started in 1764, by a man named Horace Walpole, he wrote the novel The castle of Otranto. Gothic fiction is a combination of death, horror and some romance.