Wuthering Heights

When Wuthering Heights was published, it could only be accepted as a horror story but not aclassic. It
was often compared with Jane Eyre, but regarded far worse that the latter. Until lastcentury, Wutherin
g Heights came to be regarded as one of the greatest novels in westernliterature. When we read the no
vel carefully, we can find a special relationship betweencharacters and the settings. It seems that all th
ese elements are plotted deliberately to realize thefemale writer's idea, a broader theme than that of Ja
ne Eyre's. In the following text, a discussionwill be made around the relationship among characters, se
ttings and the theme.

The story took place in two manors: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. The other day,Mr. E
amshaw, the master of Wuthering Heights came back home with a homeless little boy. Heregarded the
boy as his adopted son and called him Heathcliff who became the best friend of hisdaughter Catherin
e's but received mistreatment from his son Hindley. Catherine and Heathcliffspent their happy but
wild childhood. In fact, sometimes they just behaved like gypsies. Once thetwo teenagers happened to
come to the nearest manor Thrushcross Grange and received the besttreatment from the host of the m
anor, the Lintons. The young master fell in love with beautifulCatherine who finally married him. Hea
thcliff disappeared from the family but returned manyyears later with money and hatred. He took mad
revenge on the two families. Almost all thepeople involved died sadly but the union of the young gen
eration brought some hope to the ending.

Wuthering Heights Chronology

The novel is not presented to us in chronological order so it may be helpful to see the actual
chronology of events:

1757 Hindley born

1762 Edgar born

1764 Heathcliff born

1765 Catherine and Isabella born

1170 Heathcliff arrives at Wuthering Heights

1773 Mrs. Earnshaw dies

1777 Mr. Earnshaw dies

Hindley marries Frances

1778 Hareton born

Frances dies

1780 Mr. Linton dies

1783 Catherine and Edgar marry

1784 Catherine dies

Cathy born
Isabella and Heathcliff marry

Hindley dies

Linton born

1797 Isabella dies

1801 Edgar dies

Cathy marries Linton

Linton dies

Lockwood arrives at Wuthering Heights

1802 Heathcliff dies

1803 Cathy marries Hareton

1. CHARACTERS

There are three main characters in the first generation of the story and Heathcliff is the absolutehero o
f the novel. He was found on the street as an orphan, poor and homeless, and then adoptedby the good
Mr. Eamshaw. Later, he fell in passionate love with Catherine, who had alwaystreated him as a boso
m friend. But after he happened to overhear a conversation betweenCatherine and her maid servant N
elly that she was to marry Mr. Linton, the young master ofThrushcross Grange in spite of her devoted
love to Heathcliff, he fled away from home. Whenreturning to the house many years later, he had mad
e rich mysteriously and Catherine hadbecome Mrs. Linton. He took mad and cruel revenge on Hindle
y, the elder brother of Catherine,who had treated him badly when the latter was still a boy. He snatche
d Wuthering Heights underhis own hand by gambling with Hindley who died later miserably. He won
the heart of Mr.Linton's younger sister Isabella and eloped with her, but he changed soon after and tre
ated herrudely. After Catherine's death, he cheated her daughter Cathy into his house, confined the gir
l inWuthering Heights, now Heathcliff's house already, and forced her to marry his dying son. At thee
nd of the novel, after all the involved people had died, Heathcliff seemed to get tired of life anddied so
on. Little Cathy and her cousin, Hindley's son, got married and the story came to a happyending in spi
te of all the sufferings before. In the story, Heathcliff behave just like a devil, cruelbut powerful.

Catherine is the heroine of the story although she died in the first half of the novel. Somehow shehad
a hysteric character and seemed always to struggle on the verge of self- contradictions. Sheloved Heat
hcliff so passionately that she did not want to give him up even after she got married.She met him aga
in and again despite her married status. She described her unreasonable love toher maid servant Nelly
about this.

But surely you and everybody have a notion that there is, or should be, an existence of yoursbeyond y
ou. What were the use of my creation, if I were entirely contained here? My greatmiseries in this worl
d have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I watched and felt each from thebeginning: My great thought in
living is himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I shouldstill continue to be; and if all else rema
ined, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn toa mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of
it. My love for Linton is like the foliage in thewoods: Time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter c
hanges the trees. My love for Heathcliffresembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible d
elight, but necessary. Nelly, I amHeathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any m
ore than I am always apleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don't talk of our separation again: I
t isimpracticable... (Bronte, 1981)

In spite of such wild love, she betrayed Heathcliff and herself, and chose Mr. Linton as herhusband fo
r the sake of money and social status. Finally she could not endure the sufferings fromthe heart and di
ed young after giving birth to a baby girl.

Mr. Linton is the poorest victim of the love story. In contrast to wild Heathcliff, he is gentle,generous
and easy-
going. His wealth and social status helped him to win a beloved wife but notlove. After the marriage,
he had to endure his wife's spiritual betrayal. Faced with the madrevenge from Heathcliff, he seemed
helpless and powerless. He had to suffer the pains of losingsister, wife and finally even daughter. Afte
r having had continuous spiritual attacks, he died sadlyand quietly.

No doubt Heathcliff is the soul of the novel. From the beginning to the end, it seems that henever atte
mpted to control himself. He loved passionately just as he hated wildly, and evenCatherine called him
"an unreclaimed creature, without refinement, without cultivation: and aridwilderness of furze and w
hinstone". (Ibid) Because of his selfishness and paranoia, so manypeople ended with sadness and mise
ry. After reading the novel, we should have hated such adevil, but somehow we cannot. Something fro
m his inner heart has made us attracted andfascinated. At the end of the novel, the narrator expressed
his puzzlement, "But where did hecome from, the little dark thing, harbored by a good man to his ban
e?" (Ibid) Likewise theinscription for his monument also made people bewildered, "as he had no surna
me, and we couldnot tell his age, we were obliged to content ourselves with the single word, "Heathcli
ff". Thatcame true: We were. If you enter the kirkyard, you'll read on his headstone, only that, and the
date of his death." (Ibid) In fact, the man who hasn't a certain identity symbolizes a universalityof the
problem. This man is not you, not me, but everybody among us. In him, we can findsomething that ev
eryone has, which is the impulsive and irrational side of human beings. Theword "Heathcliff" made u
p of "heath" and "cliff" reveals the wild but true side of human nature.Human beings create civilizatio
n which is the great improvements that they have made. Yet whilehuman beings enjoy the fruits of mo
dem civilization, they also lose the natural gaiety they havehad. The fetters made of laws and moral di
sciplines sometimes suffocated human beings. In thenovel, Mr. Linton is the embodiment of modem h
uman who has been sighing under the shadowsof modem civilization while the library where he often
stayed is the symbol of modemcivilization.

If Heathcliff represents the irrational side of human while Mr. Linton represents his rationalside, Cath
erine is the miniature of modem human who has been stmggling on the verge ofrationality and irration
ality. Love represents her irrational side while marriage represents herrational side. Her unreasonable l
ove towards Heathcliff reveals her passionate longing for thereturn of nature. So when she fell serious
ly ill, she said to Nelly, "I'm burning! I wish I were outof doors! I wish I were a girl again, half savage
and hardy, and free... and laughing at injuries, notmaddening under them! Why am I so changed? Wh
y does my blood rush into a hell of tumult ata few words? I'm sure I should be myself were I once am
ong the heather on those hills." (Ibid) Ather deathbed, what she longed for is in fact, not just the child
hood life, but the one nearest tonature and most faithful to herself. When she passionately loved Heath
cliff, the one she loved somuch is actually her tme self. The struggle between rationality and irrational
ity really shortenedher life and made her die at such a young age.

When we pay much attention to the names of the characters in the novel, we can find aninteresting ph
enomenon. Before getting married, Catherine's full name is Catherine Eamshaw.After she got married
, her name became Catherine Linton which was just the name of herdaughter. After marrying Hareton
Eamshaw, little Cathy will have a name Catherine Eamshawwhich was just the name of her mother. T
he strange coincidence may reveal a fact that life is justlike a circle while the struggle of human natur
e will be eternal as long as the human race exists.

Heathcliff

 Origins are a mystery; only has one name, given to him by the ‘master’, Earnshaw. First
meeting he is described as ‘it’, ‘gipsy brat and that ‘not a soul knew to whom it belonged’
 Subsequent to the death of Mr Earnshaw, Hindley is able to treat Heathcliff in any way he
desires and therefore relegates him to the status of servant and seems to encourage others to
do the same. Whilst Heathcliff wishes (if only temporarily) that he ‘”was dressed and behaved
as well”’ as Edgar, he cannot avoid acting out his violent nature when Edgar is rude to him.
Heathcliff seems to have learnt some of his bad behaviour from Hindley whose ‘bad ways and
bad companions formed a pretty example for Catherine and Heathcliff’ after the death of
Frances.
 Whilst the treatment meted out to Heathcliff by these characters is obvious prejudice, it does
not particularly affect him. It is only when Catherine declares that ‘”It would degrade me to
marry [Heathcliff] now”’ that he fully appreciates the fact that his social position is a
hindrance to his progression in life. Leaving the area, he goes away for three years and
returns, having tried to better himself. This does not, however, alter the fact that certain
people still refer to him as ‘the plough boy’. It seems, therefore, that he cannot escape from
his origins, or rather the lack of them.
 Powerful, amoral, worldly, profoundly romantic; a paradox perhaps. He recognises drive,
personality and passion rather than class.
 Heathcliff takes romantic conventions and manifests them into a new form with Cathy. His
love is all consuming and in the end, it does indeed consume him, but this is apparent
throughout the novel e.g. Ch29, ‘Heathcliff paused and wiped his forehead; his hair clung to
it, wet with perspiration... a painful appearance of mental tension towards one absorbing
subject.’
 Heathcliff often presented using savage animal imagery representing his untamed side,
particularly where his love for Catherine is concerned (‘he gnashed at me and foamed like a
mad dog, and gathered him to her in greedy jealousy...I [was not] in the company of a
creature of my own species.’)
 The main point of sympathy is perhaps after the death of Cathy. One of the most noticeable is
the way in which his speech is presented within the text. In order to demonstrate the fact that
he is confused and lacking in concentration, Brontë has him speaking in an extremely
fractured manner, using short sentences with many pauses, for example: “Be with me always
– take any form – drive me mad!” This suggests to the reader a deep sense of loss – he cannot
even formulate complete sentences, such is his despair.
 Negative points include: He destroys Hindley. He doesn’t care that his wife has died and does
not feel any guilt about having a part to play in Hindley’s premature death.
 He uses Isabella as a vehicle for his revenge. He does not treat her as a human being.
 He treats Linton and Hareton badly and is glad when Edgar is dead
 He hangs Isabella’s dog (chapter 12) and this is a warning of the violence that exists between
the two families and clearly shows the Gothic side to his character.

Catherine Earnshaw
  When we first hear about Cathy as a child (although we have already met her as a ghost) we
hear of her ‘wild, wicked’ side. Her childish, perverse character is revealed through her initial
response to Heathcliff.
 As a child, she is always ‘in mischief’ but she is also manipulative and manipulates people to
be the same (‘plaguing everybody who would not do the same.’). The contrast between this
‘wicked’ nature and her ‘sweetest smile’ and ‘meaning no harm’, Brontë allows us to see how
her character develops after events with Heathcliff and Edgar.
 Cathy’s early childhood rebellion against religion and her elders would have been highly
condemned during the Victorian period and could reflect Brontë’s own childhood where she
and her siblings were always trying to escape her dogmatic aunt.
 During childhood, Nelly’s language suggests how fond she was of her (‘she had the bonniest
smile’) however when she spends time with Heathcliff her rougher side is emphasised and
when she visits the Lintons, this contrast between her two sides becomes more apparent.
(‘instead of a wild, hatless little savage jumping into the house... there lighted from a black
pony a very dignified person, with brown ringlets.’
 Juxtaposition and binary oppositions form a large part of how the reader perceives Cathy.
Nelly’s descriptions of her seem conflicted from the time she meets Edgar onwards. The
deterioration of Cathy is perhaps due to this psychological turmoil inflicted by a clash
between civilisation and nature. The fact that she is buried between the two on the moors is
representative of this; however, it is significant that after death, it is WH not TG she tries to
return to. In death, she longs for union with the wildness of the Heights and indeed, with
Heathcliff. Perhaps this because in death she is free from social restraints.

Ellen Dean/ Nelly

 Various critical views of Nelly; Gossip, confidante, villain, sentimental Puritan, local
historian, servant, story teller.
 Active narrator; her narrative is largely unfolded through the words of other character. Sense
of actuality is conveyed through her use of concrete detail.
 Brings us close to the action of the stories/events she describes. Arguably, she is reliable
because she has lived there her whole life.
 However, she is emotionally attached to character, so possibly biased. She can also choose
which event to omit, or elaborate on. Brontë’s inclusion of lot of dialogue from the principal
characters however, ensures that a sense of objectivity is not lost.
 Narrator reports past from present so has the benefit of hindsight.
 Take great pride in housework and has respect for social conventions (‘an elderly woman and
a servant merely’)
 Despite her assertions that it is not her place to moralise, she often passes judgement
throughout with her sayings/ Yorkshire born values (‘proud people breed sad sorrows for
themselves’/ ‘a good heart will help you to a bonny face’). She also offers a glimpse of the
differences between rural and urban life through both her values and her speech- particularly
when compared to Lockwood’s narration.
 Not always honest (‘I invented and reiterated at intervals throughout the way’)
 Surprisingly knowledgeable for a servant; ‘You could not open a book in this library that I
have not looked into,’ she tells Lockwood. This serves to establish our trust in her as a
narrator.
  Immersion in reality of day-to-day events leaves her unable to comprehend the love of Cathy
and Heathcliff.

Edgar Linton

 As a child Edgar can be seen as in opposition to Heathcliff; however in the second part of the
novel, his subsequent care for his daughter reveals a different side to him.
 Descriptions of Edgar emphasise his ‘doll’ like appearance next to Heathcliff as well as his
‘light hair and fair skin’. The focus on appearance by Nelly at an early stage may suggest he
lacks depth, however it is important to remember that at this point in the novel, Nelly is very
much on Heathcliff’s side (think how she helps him to dress up when the Lintons come to
visit and encourages him to pursue his affections for Cathy)
 His behaviour as a child is unappealing; he ‘cried for mama at every turn and trembled if a
country lad heaved his fist against you’ and the effeminate/melodramatic language used about
and by him also reflects this. Brontë/Nelly ensures the reader will prefer Heathcliff.
 Later in the novel, Nelly’s presentation of Edgar is far more sympathetic, perhaps because he
is her ‘master’ now.
 The profound sense of grief at Catherine’s death represents a turning point in our perception
of Edgar; similarly his passion for new born daughter demonstrates his ever-present capacity
to love- a quality Catherine inherits as shown through her love for Linton in spite of his
weakness.
 His conventional, solitary love for his wife after her death contrasts with Heathcliff. He pays
‘solitary visits’ to her grave and ‘recalled her memory with ardent, tender love’. Victorian
readers would have appreciated this, as it was seen as the ‘proper’ way to mourn and indeed,
love.

Lockwood

 Frame narrator; we quickly become aware of his limited point of view.

 Brontë would be aware that many of her readers would have sympathised with Lockwood
being young, wealthy, educated and from the south of England but it becomes clear that he is
a parody of the typical fictional 19th century hero. The three opening chapters are subversive
social comedy, arguably on a par with Jane Austen.
 Brontë’s imitation of his stilted middle class speech is incredibly effective; language is used
as a shield by him to protect himself from the cruel, inhospitable nature of the Heights. For
instance:
 ‘inspecting the penetralium’; going indoors
 ‘atmospheric tumult’; storm
 ‘Bracing ventilation’; strong wind
 ‘Constrained to demand assistance’; called for help
 ‘With vexatious phlegm’; angrily
 ‘A lusty dame’; fat
 ‘She turned her vocal artillery’; she shouted
 Presents himself as a Romantic hero; sensitive, disillusioned. Compared to the Byronic hero
that is Heathcliff, he is a shallow parody. He is searching for a ‘hero and heroine’, to the
point he hijacks the narrative to tell what he considers to be the point of high romance in the
novel when Cathy and Heathcliff unite as she lies dying. - He compares himself to Heathcliff
(both ‘misanthropists’), which is ironic as he is clearly the opposite. When he ‘realises’ this
 when he leaves Yorkshire, proclaiming it ‘godforsaken’ and miserable, it is amusing.
Misinterprets events throughout the novel
 He emphasises the power of Nelly’s narrative. Even his responses to the story are bland and
unemotional; ‘In truth, I felt rather disposed to defer the sequel of the narrative myself’,
emphasising the ‘style’ and ‘manner’ of the story, rather than connecting with the
emotions/characters.
 His lack of interpretation forces the reader to take responsibility; we listen when he does, but
we have cannot help but correct the perception he lacks. He even notes, ‘What a realisation of
something more romantic that a fairy-tale it would have been for Mrs Linton Heathcliff had
she and I struck up an attachment.’ - He finished the tale unable to imagine ‘unquiet slumbers
for those sleepers in that quiet earth’, which is arguably ridiculous when the reader has
experienced the emotional turmoil of the past few hundred pages.

Hindley

 ‘Rightful heir’ of Wuthering Heights but is soon usurped by Heathcliff when it is clear when
that his father prefers him. Earnshaw ‘took to Heathcliff strangely’.
 Hindley’s childhood jealousy of Heathcliff turns far more sinister when he returns with
Frances. He becomes the landlord/master who treats him vindictively. Brontë represents this
change physically; he has ‘grown sparer, and lost his colour, and spoke and dressed very
different.
 However, he also reflects 19th century attitudes; most readers would have understood his
actions/attitudes in banishing the servants, Heathlcliff included, to the ‘backquarters’ of the
house.
 Nelly does not allow us to feel sympathy for Hindley, comparing his attitude towards his son
after his wife’s death to Edgar’s. - Descriptions of Hindley become increasingly
dehumanised; he is the ‘worse and weaker man’. Perhaps because he rejects religion/Christian
values.
 The difference between Hindley and Edgar emphasises the spiritual divide between the two
houses; they are ‘so opposite in similar circumstances’ She illustrates the evil of Hindley by
balancing it up against the good of Edgar. The concept of men taking a certain path seems
spiritual, something Victorian readers would have been able to relate to; ‘they chose their own
lots and were righteously doomed to endure them’
 The violence inflicted upon Hindley in Chapter 17 removes all sympathy for Heathcliff and
although it is ‘revenge’ fulfilled, we cannot help but pity Hindley, whom modern audiences
may recognise as a depressed alcoholic. Even sadder is that Heathcliff continues to exact his
revenge on Hindley long after he is dead.

Frances Earnshaw

 Frances described as young, ‘rather thin’ and ‘so afraid of dying’; strong suggestion she will
die soon through descriptions of ill health. Strong sense of foreboding created around her.
Supports Nelly as a ‘storyteller’ with hints of what is to come
 Nelly thinks her ‘half silly’ and long list given describing her hyperactive personality she
would ‘express such joy’ at the merest trifle, ‘kissed’, ‘ran about’ and ‘prattled with Cathy’.
She reflects the stark differences between more childlike, innocent characters and the wiser,
wordly ones.
 Her birth/origins also unexplained; compare to Heathcliff.
  She dislikes Heathcliff (perhaps because she is similar in status to him?) but she is the reason
Hindley becomes increasingly cruel to him.
 ‘We don’t in general take to foreigners here’ is said with reference to Frances and again, is
indicative of the insular, elemental world of Wuthering Heights.
 Frances’s death sparks the deterioration of Hindley, the abuse of Heathcliff and the rejection
of Hareton. Facilitates the plot and the events that follow.

Isabella

 Sister of Edgar and initially presented as ‘shrieking’ with Edgar. It would be easy to condemn
her as shallow/superficial. She is described as ‘terrified and repelled’ at Cathy’s passion.
 She is drawn to Heathcliff’s uncivilised, rugged appearance; perhaps comparable to
Lockwood’s perception of the Romantic hero.
 She however, does not allow social prejudice to ruin her love for Heathcliff as Cathy does;
she elopes and is isolated from her family, home comforts, social protection.
 Isabella’s letter after she has married Heathcliff and the intervention of her dialogue in
Chapter 17 before she leaves Heathcliff add a varying viewpoint to Nelly’s narrative and
reassure us that Heathcliff is as monstrous as Nelly suggests.
 She draws attention to the wild uncivilised nature of the Heights, offering another outsider’s
perspective. She asks Nelly, ‘How did you preserve the common sympathies of human nature
when you resided here?’
 She can be viewed as a strong female character. She leaves Heathcliff, which in the Victorian
period would have been unheard of. She brings her son up alone and unsupported.

Hareton

 Raised by Heathcliff as an uneducated savage and is used by him to gain revenge on Hindley.
 Hareton is illiterate and quick tempered but easily humiliated, yet shows a good heart and
desire to better himself, culminating in his marriage to Catherine Linton.
 In Chapter 11, he is described as an ‘apparition’ of Hindley; ‘elf locked...brown eyed...ruddy
countenance’. Despite Nelly’s attempt to embrace him (after all, she did raise him), he rejects
her, moving out of ‘arms way’ and picks up a ‘large flint’ to throw at her, demonstrating his
degradation at the hands of Heathcliff.
 Hareton can be seen as a symbol of the suffering Heathcliff endured as a child. He is directly
compared to Heathcliff as a man- full of ‘malignity’. A Victorian audience would have been
incredibly shocked by a child behaving in this way.
 Hareton refers to Heathcliff as ‘devil daddy’ and is surprisingly attached to him. He weeps
when he dies and in spite of the treatment meted out to him by Heathcliff, does not reject or
him, or seek revenge.
 It is Catherine Linton who begins to penetrate Hareton’s persona. He attempts to improve
himself for her sake. The final image of Hareton is ‘civilised’ and he is presented as a
‘softened man’ who is ‘respectfully dressed’- even to the point that Lockwood doesn’t
recognise him. He can finally gain his rightful inheritance.

Catherine Linton

 Arguably, she has inherited the best qualities of her parents

 First description appears in Chapter 2; she is inhospitable towards Lockwood, although the
fact that she holds her own in such a male dominated environment may be seen as admirable
 by the reader. Harsh language emphasises her mannerisms with adverbs/adjectives such as
‘scornfully’ and ‘snapped’. There is also irony in initial presentation as Lockwood describes
her as an ‘amiable hostess’. Reader realises she is unhappy though; in her eyes is a ‘kind of
desperation’.
 Much of Catherine’s positive qualities are filtered through Nelly’s narrative; biased motherly
perspective perhaps?
 She has the capacity to love deeply/ unconditionally, much like her father Edgar. She loves
Linton despite the fact the reader cannot help but despise him. She says of her father also, ‘I
love him better than myself’, offering a contrast to Heathcliff and Cathy’s selfish, all-
consuming love.
 She stands up to Heathcliff (‘you have nobody to love you; and, however miserable you
make us, we will still have the revenge of thinking that your cruelty arises from your greater
misery’) and reconciles her apparent hatred for Hareton because of his status by educating
him. Arguably succeeds where her mother fails.

Linton

 Son of Heathcliff and Isabella and presented by Nelly as a sickly, whining ‘effeminate’ man.
He cannot survive Wuthering Heights and is constantly described as ill (‘languid, and his
form extremely slight’)
 Linton mocks Hareton for his inability to read and ‘giggles’. He also tries to play Master,
remarking, ‘You can’t open your mouth without me. Do try to behave like a gentleman, now
do!’
 Brontë presents him as extremely self-pitying and almost gently satirising his weakness. April
Van Angelis’s production in 2008, presented him as a comic figure in fact. It is also clear that
Nelly does not like him so this influences the reader’s level of sympathy for him (‘the invalid
complained of being covered in ashes’).
 Heathcliff rejects him completely: ‘a pitiful, shuffling, worthless thing.’ He is increasingly
wicked as the novel progresses, particularly towards Catherine Linton who as Nelly reminds
him, has done nothing but love him. Very little time is given by Nelly to his death which
suggests how she feels about him.

Joseph

 An elderly man nay an old man, very old perhaps though hale and sinewy’
 Inhospitable, unwelcoming: ‘vinegar faced’ Joseph
 His first words are ‘Lord help us’ suggesting his dogmatic attitude to religion we see later in
the book.
 Comical element/ stock Gothic character also. He often comments upon the action and
instances such as when he attempts to set the dog on Lockwood are amusing.
 Part of the landscape of WH; Cathy’s diary reveals he has been there for many years.
 Has very traditional religious values, reflecting period of time. When H and C can’t go to
church he spends hours preaching to them. Bronte grew up in a parsonage so this may be
reflective of the conventional attitudes and social expectations she struggled against.
 Joseph’s religion is a direct contrast with the more natural elemental beliefs of Heathcliff and
Cathy. His views and opinions on the events at WH mirror typical Victorian views and
perhaps, anticipated critical reviews of the novel at the time of publication.
  Joseph’s Yorkshire accent/dialect remind us of the setting and contrast Lockwood’s,
reminding us he is an outsider. Josephs also reminds us ‘we don’t in general take to foreigners
here’ reminding us of the isolated and insular world of the moors.
 Joseph cannot accept Cathy and Hareton’s relationship (‘he’s witched’) and can’t accept they
have a relationship based on love and trust. At the end he is still focused on his ‘blessed
book’.
 Provides novel with continuity; he has a biblical saying for every situation throughout. Along
with other characters such as Zillah, Dr Kenneth and Nelly, he provides the book with some
reality as the reader can believe in the unlikeliness of events because these normal, everyday
characters are included.

Zillah

 Servant at Wuthering Heights during the banishment of Nelly to Thrushcross. She is

introduced in Chapter 2 as the only person in WH that is civil and helpful to Lockwood. By
highlighting this, Brontë emphasises how uncivil and introverted the other inhabitants of the
house are.
 It is Zillah who leads Lockwood to the haunted bedroom, instigating the supernatural turn of
events.

She speaks in the provincial Yorkshire accent dialect, reminding of setting and contributing to the
reality of the story

SETTINGS

In the novel, the figures' activities are confined to two manors: Wuthering Heights andThrushcross Gr
ange. The two manors are so near that the two teenagers Heathcliff and Catherinecan run to the other
manor easily. However, the descriptions are quite different from the twosettings. In Wuthering Height
s, it was always gloomy, full of storms, heavy rains. There livedbad-
tempered people: the little uncontrollable Catherine who spent her childhood here, thedrunk Hindley
who indulged himself in gambling, cruel Heathcliff who tried every means totorture his rivals and tak
e revenge, tough servant who seemed always to be cursing, uncivilizedlittle Hareton. Even some gentl
e people who came here would change their temper, such asIsabella and little Cathy. Before they cam
e here, they were ladies indeed. However, after theybecame the hostess of the manor, they learned to c
urse, to be indifferent towards others'sufferings. Not only people, the animals and plants were differen
t, too. The furious dog was readyto attack any people. The trees were twisted and strange. Anyhow, it
is a place where some gothicstories would take place.

Although Thrushcross Grange lay very near to Wuthering Heights, the weather seemed to bequite diff
erent. It seemed that it was always mild and sunny in Thrushcross Grange. When littleCatherine happe
ned to come here, she found that the Lintons were hospitable and civilized. Aftershe lived here for a ti
me, she has turned from a gypsy-
like girl into a gentle and beautiful lady.The servant was considerate and polite, and the life was quiet
here.

Why are so different between the two manors? Just as Heathcliff represents the irrational side ofhuma
n nature while Mr. Linton represents the rational side, so are the two manors. The title ofthe novel is "
Wuthering Heights" which hints that the female writer focuses her attention on theirrationality of hum
an nature. She seems deliberately to plot such a special setting where peoplecould do anything at their
pleasure. It is a place where reason does not work and laws nevertread. People living here could murd
er, take revenge, kidnap innocent girls. However, in thestruggle between rationality and irrationality, r
ationality seemed to get upper hand just for awhile because at the end of the novel everything came to
a peaceful end.

SETTING

 Emily Bronte has positioned the houses in opposition to each other. She achieves this by
using dissimilar settings.
 WH is the epitome of the storm as can be seen in the description given by Lockwood in
Chapter 1. He says that the name comes from a local word which is “descriptive of the
atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather”. So WH is
representative of that which is wild and uncivilised.
 Lockwood also describes the surrounding vegetation of this house – “by the excessive slant of
a few stunted firs at the end of the house and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their
limbs one way as if carving alms of the sun.” The stunted plants reflect the inability of
anything to grow or flourish at WH, just as characters find it difficult to fulfil their own strong
passions and seek aid from outside sources to realise their needs.
 When Lockwood sees the interior of the house for the first time, he notes that the “corners
[were] defended with large jutting stones” , that the “kitchen [was] forced to retreat altogether
into another quarter” and that “the chairs [were], high-backed, primitive structures … one or
two heavy black ones lurking in the shade”
 Bronte gives the house human characteristics (personification) using detailed descriptions to
give the impression of a defensive and unwelcoming environment. Therefore, the protagonists
themselves can be seen in this way.
 Bronte’s language gives WH the powerful impression of a passionate human pulsating with
the same energies as its inhabitants.
 Thrushcross Grange on the other hand is more enclosed and surrounded by hills. In a deeper
sense, the walls of the Grange protect the Lintons and Catherine from the dangerous
influences of Heathcliff and the Heights itself.
 It is also described as being “buried in trees” - the plants flourishing in a more welcoming
environment, just as the characters are more able to grow beyond their initial differences
which impeded their neighbours.
 Really this is pointing at Heathcliff as he hasn’t been able to grow due to the tragedies in his
life, so he prevents the other characters in his household from growing themselves.
 The natural setting of garden and flowers which brings forth the sense of cheerfulness, beauty
and hopes that is lacking in WH.
 The Grange was first seen by Heathcliff and Catherine exudes a more luxurious and pleasant
atmosphere – “… a splendid place carpeted with crimson, … a shower of glass drops hanging
in silver from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers.” (chapter 6) This description
shows a warm, wealthy household which is a complete contrast to WH, just as the characters
are more sedate and cultured.
 Further on in the book, it is clear that this cultured background is all a façade and the reader is
able to see the shallowness and even brutal violence that emerges.
 The Grange lures Catherine and Heathcliff in but once inside, they cannot escape from its
influences.
 The characters in the Grange are in complete contrast to those at WH.

3. THEME
Emily Bronte chooses a broader theme than her sister does in Jane Eyre which mainly deals withfemi
nism. In Wuthering Heights, she discusses the problem of human nature, a struggle betweenrationality
and irrationality. She takes the example of a woman, Catherine's choice in love andmarriage to expres
s modem human's contradiction. Under her pen, human beings in modemcivilization are miserable be
cause they have lost their true self. The longing for the true self andnature is so earnest that the female
writer invents such a place as Wuthering Heights to vent. Atthe end of the novel, little Cathy taught h
er tough cousin Hareton to read, who is anotherHeathcliff indeed. Yet reading is the process of receivi
ng civilization. The union of the couple hasbrought hope to the story. However, at the end of the novel
, the shepherd boy cried and said thathe had seen the ghosts of Heathcliff and Catherine. This maybe h
ints that the struggle betweenrationality and irrationality will be everlasting. The temporarily controlle
d rationality is just likea dormant volcano which may erupt at any time in the far future. The greatest
enemy of human is himself.

LOVE

 Different types of love presented throughout the novel. The Greeks classified different types
of love to include agape (altruistic, charitable love), ludus (the playful affection of children
and lovers), pragma (the understanding that exists between a long married couple, storge (the
love that develops between comrade or sibling after they have been through much together)
and finally mania (obsession) which was strongly linked with eros (sexual passion)
 Book is structured around two parallel love stories
 Separation of those who should be together brings havoc and misery. Love presented as one-
ness and inseparability, rather than two separate people caring for each other.
 Emotions verge between passionate love and hatred/rage. Arguably the two are
interdependent, hence the extremity of the language and actions of protagonists and
vivid/forceful imagery.
 Catherine and Heathcliff’s passion seemingly the centre of novel. Passion condemned as
immoral by Nelly and Victorian readers but could interpret as a love that transcends social
boundaries and idealise them as romantic hero/heroine.
 Catherine and Hareton’s love is less dramatic but restores harmony and equilibrium. It is
based on growth, change and mutual improvement. Love denies difference and is perhaps
asexual. However, Lockwood is forced to recognise the strength of their love: ‘Together, they
were afraid of nothing...Together they would brave Satan and all his legions.’

SOCIAL CLASS

 Earnshaws and Lintons members of gentry. In late 18th/19th century, gentry’s position is
precarious (underneath royalty and aristocracy), as it is unestablished and fluid. Lockwood for
instance, is puzzled by their position.
 Considerations of class status inform much of the characters’ decisions. Catherine marries
Edgar so she can be ‘the greatest woman in the neigbourhood’.
 Heathcliff represent shifting status making transition from homeless waif to gentleman,
although Lockwood remarks that he is similar only to a gentleman in ‘dress and manners,’

NATURE V CULTURE

 Nature represented by Earnshaw (Cathy and Heathcliff in particular) and culture represented
by Lintons.
 ‘Nature’ governed by passions/ wildness
  ‘Culture’ governed by convention, civility, refinement and ideals.
 In ways, nature corrupts culture in this novel as the world of WH dominates that of TG.
Similarly, Brontë reverses expectations when the ‘cultured’ characters are often presented as
silly and shallow. However, we cannot define the novel as an allegory for either side winning;
it defies social expectations. Could be compared to Jane Eyre where the heroine seeks her
own personal/moral code, although it depends whether you view the ending as
reconciliation/compromise with the uniting of Cathy and Hareton.

RELIGION

 Religion is more personal and related to ‘this world’ than the next (see Cathy’s speech to
Nelly about her idea of heaven)
 Characters have variety of outlooks: Joseph; emphasis on hell/damnation/sin which is a
possible parody of evangelical attitudes prevalent in Victorian period Edgar; representative of
conventional morality/ reunion of souls after death Nelly; believes in higher power, perhaps
because of her social position. She constantly reminds that it is not our place to
judge/moralise/ take revenge as it is God’s privilege.
 Catherine and Heathcliff; heaven is within the moors and within each other, hence their
longing for death so they can be together.

POWER AND REVENGE

 Both explored through social view of novel; close knit community where hierarchy is firmly
established.
 2 houses symbolise the sheltered and protected world of the upper class and the exposure of
the Earnshaws is brought about by decline of household. Heathcliff however, corrupts
Thrushcross Grange and slowly erodes it.
 Heathcliff’s status as ‘gypsy’ lacking in social status or a name changes to owner/heir of both
TG and WH.
 Money/power essential to survival.
 Heathcliff’s revenge for thwarted passion is based upon acquiring social status and power.
This is perhaps reflective of Victorian society where status is all. Heathcliff presented
throughout as an outside, forcing his way in literally and symbolically. His power represented
by association with fire/storms; fierce love and implacable hatred. He is even described as
devilish/ vampire/ it/ ghoul suggesting he is outside humanity altogether.
 Narrators are also socially placed despite the fact they are in control of the story; they anchor
the wildness of the story itself.

Other aspects to consider:

 Good versus evil

 Crime and punishment
 Passion versus rationality
 Selfishness, division and reconciliation
 Chaos and order
 Health and sickness
 Rebellion and conformity
 The conflicting nature of love: it can destroy and rebuild.
  Parent and child
 Nature v Nature

THE FEATURES OF GOTHIC NOVEL

Gothic novel is quite different from other novels and it has its special features. The following
paragraphs will discuss its origins and features in detail.

The Origins of Gothic Novel

Gothic novel is one of the most fabulous types of novels in western literature which is prevalent from
the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, especially in England.
"The gothic novel is a liberating phenomenon, which expands the range of possibilities for novelistic
expression" (qtd. in Chen, 1986, p.260), and it is a kind of novel full of terrible and ghost-like things.
"Gothic novel emphasizes the grotesque, mysterious, and desolate" (Shao, 2002, p.11).

The Features of Gothic Novel

After reading gothic novels, readers are to find the following features. First, there are deserted castles
on a lonely bleak mountain, either top or deep in an isolated valley or on an island-nobody can locate
the place on the map or in the mind. For example, in William Beckford's Vathek and Other Stories,
when the protagonist Vathek goes along a mountain and enters into a valley, ladders appear. By
climbing the ladders, he enters into a supernatural place. Second, in gothic novels, there is always an
unconventional secret in the castle. For example, in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Howard imprisons
his crazy wife in an attic without being noticed by anyone until he is to get married with Jane Eyre.
Third, super-natural things become natural in gothic novels. For example, in Jane Eyre, Jane hears
Howard's cry although they live far away from each other. Fourth, the main character in gothic novels
is usually a woman and she is always saved through a reunion with a loved one in the end. For
example, in Ann Radcliff's The Mysteries of Udolepho, the protagonist, Emily, cannot escape her evil
uncle's castle-Udolepho without the help of a suitor. Fifth, the male character is usually dark and
gloomy, when referring to Heathcliffin Wuthering Heights, this point can be easily gained. And last,
the atmosphere in gothic novels is depressing, and this can also be gained from Wuthering Heights. In
Wuthering Heights, there are always heavy rains, roaring thunder and so on. To speak in a general
way, a gothic novel usually contains a grotesque plot, which can be learned from the following three
points. First, human being has some kind of relationship with ghost. Second, reality and super-natural
things are usually mixed together. Third, those who are dead may become alive again. And last, a
gothic novel usually contains characters who act as tyranny, innocent young lady and apparition.

MANIFESTATIONS OF EMILY'S GOTHIC COMPLEX

From what have been stated above, it is obvious that Wuthering Heights can be analyzed from the
viewpoint of gothic novels and readers can also see that this novel shows Emily Bronte's gothic
complex. In the following paragraphs, manifestations of Emily Bronte's gothic complex will be
discussed from the descriptions of the natural circumstances and settings, from the portrayals of the
main characters, and from the profound love between the two main characters-Heathcliff and
Catherine.

Descriptions of Natural Circumstances and Settings

After reading Wuthering Heights, readers may remember clearly the wild and stormy weather there.
From what have been stated above-both wild weather and ancient, deserted castles are elements of
gothic novels, Emily's gothic complex can be got from the descriptions in this novel.

Wuthering Heights is the main place where the story happens and it is located in the wild and isolated
high moorland of Yorkshire in North England. Outside the manor is the endless moor without vitality;
wild wind and heavy snow are common here in winter; and the inside of it, "the narrow windows are
deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones" (Bronte, 1994, p.46). And
"a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front...I detected the date '1500' " (Bronte, 1994,
p.46). These descriptions make the readers feel that the place is grotesque and mysterious. The
following paragraphs will explain this in detail.

At the very beginning, Mr. Lockwood tells the readers that, "Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr.
Heathcliff's dwelling...descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which stone is exposed in stormy
weather" (Bronte, 1994, p.46). From this narration, readers can guess the power of the north wind
there, and have a general idea about the weather in that place. Not only the weather, the interior
design of the manor and the inside circumstances are also wild, dark and gloomy for "The floor was
of smooth, white stone...and other dogs haunted other recesses" (Bronte, 1994, p.47). And there, "wild
dogs prowl on the carved front and low-bowed lattices where straggling gooseberry bushes seen at a
distance" (Bronte, 1994, p.56). Everything described here is depressing and gloomy. As the readers go
on reading, they can also find gothic descriptions of the settings. First, the light in the bedroom where
Catherine once lives is dusky. Second, the bed of her looks like a coffin in the darkness. Third, when
old Earnshaw died, "All day had been flooding with rain" (Bronte, 1994, p.62). Fourth, the day when
Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights, "It was a very dark evening for summer, the clouds
appeared inclined to thunder" and "About midnight...sending a clatter of stones and soot into the
kitchen fire" (Bronte, 1994, p.124-125). And last, when Heathcliff dies, "The following evening was
very wet; indeed, it poured down, till day-down" (Bronte, 1994, p.364). The dark evening, the wild
storm, the roaring thunder, and the heavy rain and snow-all these natural phenomena are so vividly
described that they show the author's familiarity with gothic writing skills and show her gothic
complex. These descriptions are not only grotesque, but also terrible. And such descriptions of the
natural circumstances lay the dark and gloomy foundations of the whole novel. Meanwhile, the
descriptions of the settings make the gloomy atmosphere filled in the novel. Throughout the novel,
readers can find many other such kind of descriptions. For example, in chapter ten, Nelly states, "Four
weeks' torture...the terrible intimation of Kenneth that I need not expect to be out of doors until
spring" (Bronte, 1994, p.130); and "the wind shifted from south to north-east...and snow" (Bronte,
1994, p.206) .

Portrayals of the Main Characters

The portrayals of the main characters-Heathcliff and Catherine also show Emily Bronte's gothic
complex. Emily depicts Heathcliff as dark and destructive force and she endows Heathclifft he
characteristics of the villain heroes in gothic novels. Heathcliff is a gipsy waif and no one knows who
his real parents are. That is to say, he is a person of unknown parentage. And this point remains a
riddle throughout the novel. As villain hero in gothic novels usually has unknown parentage or some
other secrets which cannot be explained, Heathcliff has the feature of gothic hero. Heathcliff is a dark-
shinned boy, and Mr. Earnshaw, who picks him up on the streets of Liverpool and brings him up in
Wuthering Heights, once says to his wife that although the boy looks as if he comes from the devil,
they should treat him as the gift of God. The author does not tell why Heathcliff is so attractive to Mr.
Earnshaw, and this also makes Heathcliff a mysterious person who has the characteristic of villain
hero- having unknown power to attract others and this is also a gothic depiction. Heathcliff is well
treated when Mr. Earnshaw is alive and things go to the contrary when Mr. Earnshaw dies. He is
maltreated by Hindley-the old Earnshaw's son, a person who is jealous of Earnshaw's fondness for
Heathcliff. Even the maid Nelly often beats him severely. Perhaps the maltreatment is one of the
reasons why Heathcliff has a distorted character when he is grown up and why he treats Hareton-the
son of Hindley so brutally, and why he dislikes and scolds Nelly usually-he seeks revenge. Heathcliff
falls in love with Catherine-Hindley's younger sister, a charming girl who has similar characteristics
with him. Though Catherine loves Heathcliff deeply, Heathcliff does not seem to realize this; so,
when he overhears Catherine's words that if she marries him that would degrade her, he leaves
Wuthering Heights secretly. Three years later, he comes back and behaves as a gentleman. No one
knows where he has been. Meanwhile, he has a large sum of money, and still no one knows how he
becomes such a wealthy man. He takes every means to seek revenge on those who he thinks have
maltreated him and finally he becomes the landlord of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross
Grange.

Throughout the above process, Heathcliff becomes more and more dark and cruel. Heathclifflures
Isabella-Edgar's younger sister- through his handsome figure and his pleasant manner although he
does not like her at all. He pretends that he loves Isabella so deeply that Isabella falls in love with him
and decides to marry him. However, innocent Isabella does not know all of this is a trick and she is
trapped into an unhappy marriage. Heathcliff hangs Isabella's beloved dog before they get married.
And soon after their marriage, Isabella learns about his cruelty and has a quarrel with him. Heathcliff
seizes, and thrusts her from the room, and mutters, "I have no pity! I have no pity! The more the
worm's withes, the more I yearn to crush out their entails! It is a moral teething, and I grind with
greater energy, in proportion to the increase of pain" (Bronte, 1994, p.189). Heathcliff's destructive
nature destroys Isabella, and even he himself points out that his abuse of Isabella is purely sadistic.
Emily depicts Heathcliff not only through his cruel behaviors but also from his authentic while
ruthless words; this gives the readers a vivid impression of his brutality.

Heathcliff encourages Hindley to gamble and he plays cunning tricks in the games and this makes
Hindley become a habitual gambler and spends all his time gambling in the casino. Finally, Hindley
loses everything he owns to Heathcliff and dies. This shows Heathcliff's learned while cunning
characteristics which are also the features of gothic villain heroes. Emily's gothic complex again is
perceived from this process. When Hindley is dead, Heathcliff lifts little Hareton on to a table and
mutters with peculiar enthusiasm, "now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't
grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it" (Bronte, 1994, p.222). Perhaps from the
time, Heathcliff has already lost his mentality. He stops Hareton's education and encourages him to
curse others and he uses all kinds of means to brutalize Hareton. Through this way, he destroys a
talented boy. Meanwhile, Heathcliff manages to marry little Cathy to his own "peevish ailing" son-
Linton by forcing Linton to write sweet letters to Cathy and kidnapping Cathy (Bronte, 1994, p.56).
Through this he can inherit Edgar Linton's property. Meanwhile, little Cathy, little Hareton, and little
Linton all become the victims of Heathcliff's revenge. All these portrayals give a vivid description of
a crazy, cruel and ferocious image of Heathcliff. Since the image of Heathcliffis so vivid that it seems
that he is living among the readers. Emily successfully portrays a male character that is dark and
gloomy and has the characteristics of the gothic villain heroes in gothic novels. In other words, the
image of Heathcliff shows her gothic complex.

When referring to the heroine, Catherine, Emily's gothic complex can also be learned from the
portrayal of her. Catherine is no doubt a beauty. However, under her beautiful face conceals the wild
spirit. To some extent, she has similar characteristics with young Heathcliff. Meanwhile, she has a
vanity heart and she wants to be regarded as a graceful young lady by members in her community.
She and Heathcliff soon grow inseparable and they spend their days playing on the moors. They rebel
against Hindley's cruelty together. And only with Heathcliff can she behave as herself. However, an
incident changes everything. When Catherine is bitten by the dog Skulker of Mr. Linton-landlord of
Thrushcross Grange, she is forced to stay at Thrushcross Grange to recover from the bite. During
those days, she is taught to behave as a lady. Five weeks later, when she returns back home, she
behaves a little bit graceful, and she is praised by her brother. The praise makes her very proud and
her vanity swells. Therefore, the relationship between her and Heathcliff becomes complicated. As
Heathcliff is sensitive, he perceives the subtle change and becomes more sensitive. However,
Catherine does not realize this and when one day she tells Nelly that, "it would degrade me to marry
Heathcliff..." (Bronte, 1994, p.121), Heathcliff leaves her with a broken-heart. Although she knows
she loves Heathcliff in her deep heart, she marries Edgar Linton considering her brother's
encouragement and her vanity heart eventually. Therefore, it can also say that the tragedy of little
Cathy and little Hareton is also due to Catherine's mistaken choice. The deep love in her inner heart
and the betrayal of her soul show Catherine's conflicts. Emily Bronte purposely uses this way to show
the conflicts and when Heathcliff returns, Catherine's conflicts come to the highest point. When she
gets a high fever, she refuses to see the doctor. And it seems that only through this way can she feel a
little better. Catherine thinks that if she dies, she would no longer suffer from the torture of the spirit.
Finally, she dies. Catherine has dual personalities, which destroy both Heathcliff and her. In fact, at
the very beginning of this novel, Mr. Lockwood finds a book of Catherine and in that book, there
"was nothing but a name repeated in all kinds of characters...and then again to Catherine Linton"
(Bronte, 1994, p.61). This shows Catherine's different identities and it also hints Catherine's different
characteristics. After her death, her soul wanders around the moor-at least Heathcliff thinks so, and
this also gives a terrible feeling.

When referring to Isabella, the portrayal of her also shows Emily Bronte's gothic complex. Isabella is
born in a rich family and she is taught to behave gracefully when she is still a young girl. As she lives
in such a courteous family, she is innocent and naïve. Therefore, she is easily cheated by Heathcliff.
Under Heathcliff's torture, she experiences both physical and mental sufferings. She becomes bad-
tempered and finally dies. The tragedy of Isabella is typical of innocent young ladies in gothic novels.

Depiction of the Profound Love

The depiction of the love affair between Heathcliff and Catherine perfectly manifests Emily Bronte's
gothic complex. Under Emily's writing, they two love each other so deeply, and the love between
them is so profound that it seems only they themselves are capable of understanding it. The love
Emily depicts is completely a crazy one. Heathcliff and Catherine grow up together and the love
between them has a solid root. They become inseparable even when they are still young. They play on
the moors without considering others' scold and critics. Although Catherine betrays her soul and
marries Edgar Linton, she never forgets Heathcliff, and they still love each other. Catherine once tells
Nelly that, Heathcliff shall never know how she loves him; and the reason she loves Heathcliff is not
his handsome appearance, but his spirit. She says that Heathcliff is more herself than she is, and she
also says that no matter what their souls are made of, his and hers are the same. And later she
expresses her deep love for Heathcliff to Nelly:

I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is, or should be an existence
of yours beyond you. What was the use of my creation if I were entirely contained here? My great
miseries in this world have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I watched and felt each from the
beginning; my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished, and he were annihilated, the
universe would turn to a mighty stranger. I should not seem such a part of it...My love for Heathcliff
resembles the eternal rocks beneath-a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am
Heathcliff-he's always, always in my mind-not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to
myself-but as my own being... (Bronte, 1994, p.122)

The expression Catherine has made above shows her deep love for Heathcliff, and it is also the
author- Emily Bronte's attitude towards love. That is, one should be capable of finding oneself from
one's lover, and the two lovers are one to some extent. In other words, the author pursues a spiritual
love. In the novel, Emily uses an extreme way to express the spiritual love; and from Heathcliff's
behavior readers can have a better idea about this. When Heathcliff learns that Catherine is dead, "he
cried with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of
ungovernable passion", with the words "be with me always-take any form- drive me mad...oh, God! It
is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul" (Bronte, 1994, p.204).
After that, he dashes his head against the knotted trunk and his hands and forehead bleed! From this it
can be learned that Heathcliff also considers Catherine as his life and soul. She is his spirit! Now that
Catherine is dead, Heathcliff loses his life and soul. As time goes by, Heathcliff becomes more and
more obsessed with Catherine and without her existence, he feels like he is staying in the abyss. He
wonders around the moors to find Catherine, even her ghost. Later, he refuses to eat and everything he
sees reminds him of her. Before he dies, he tells Nelly how Catherine occupies his consciousness:

...for what is not connected with her to me? And what does not recall her? I cannot look down to this
floor, but her features are shaped on the flags! In every cloud, in every tree-filling the air at night, and
caught by glimpses in every object, by day I am surrounded with her image! The most ordinary faces
of men, and women-my own features mock me with a resemblance. The entire world is a dreadful
collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her (Bronte, 1994, p.353)

Later, after spending nights walking on the moors, he dies lying in the bed that Catherine has once
slept on. Although Heathcliff lives the life of a devil and dies "with an almost diabolical sneer" upon
his "savage face" as if "he were grinning at death" (Bronte, 1994, p.365), his profound love to
Catherine lessens his evil behaviors and leaves the readers the strong feeling of the astonishing and
wild love. After Heathcliff's death, a little boy sees their apparitions roaming the moors-even when
they die, their spirits are together, and nothing will separate their spirits. In fact, both Heathcliff and
Catherine use different kinds of ways to torture themselves in order to set their spirits free, and gain
the emancipation.

All these portrayals give the writing the features of gothic novels, and show Emily Bronte's gothic
complex. Mr. Lockwood's dream-that Catherine's ghost tells him that she has wandered around the
moors for nearly twenty years and they two fight violently when Catherine tries to enter into the room
through the window; and Heathcliff's dig of Catherine's tomb in a stormy night to have a look at
Catherine and lie beside her corpse also enhances the development of gothic action and makes the
novel more shocking and exciting.

However, Emily does not merely inherit gothic traditions, she develops it. This can be learned from
the subtle portrayals of the conflicts in the characters' deep heart. For example, when Catherine is
forced to choose one from Linton and Heathcliff, she does not sleep for three days. And during these
days, she imagines she is playing with Heathcliffin Wuthering Heights for a while, and then she
imagines that she is forced to marry Linton and be called as Mrs. Linton. She cannot distinguish the
imagination and the reality, and she is nearly mad. Such descriptions cannot be found in the former
gothic novels. Therefore, Emily does develop gothic traditions.
Aspects of the Gothic

Knowledge:

Wuthering Heights is essentially a novel about the revelation of secrets. We, with Lockwood, work
our way gradually into the heart of the microcosm Brontë’s created based around Wuthering Heights
and Thrushcross Grange. Some secrets remain unresolved throughout – for example, the manner in
which Heathcliff made his money and this sense of other stories remaining untold adds to the
brooding atmosphere of the text.

Title:

Of the two houses in the text, Wuthering Heights is intrinsically more Gothic in sound and subsequent
description. By giving the book this title, Brontë is emphasising the importance of this very particular
place in the narrative. The gloom and threat associated with ‘wuthering’ captures the dark mood that
pervades much of the text, while ‘heights’ brings connotations not only of the heights of passion that,
for instance, Heathcliff feels in his love for Cathy, but also reminds us of the heights from which
families can fall. It is interesting to note that many other Gothic texts have high locations in them

The Night:

Many key events occur at night in the narrative – most strikingly, perhaps, the visitation by Cathy that
Lockwood receives early in the text. Night time also adds danger to the already threatening moors,
making them even more treacherous to cross than usual: the night brings imprisonment and isolation.

Violence Horror and Terror:

Brontë makes selective use of horror in the text, the most horrific elements being perhaps Lockwood’s
desperate grinding of Cathy’s arm on the broken window and Heathcliff’s interference with her grave.
Terror is less clearly definable in the text; what terror is developed tends to aggregate around the
character of Heathcliff who is, after all, so unknowable as to only have one name; the sense of
desperate nihilism and destruction he brings may well have proved more terrifying to Brontë’s
original readership than they do to us today, although paradoxically this also accounts, perhaps, for
the attractiveness of the character to female readers.

Supernatural:

Leaving aside the visit of the ghost of Cathy – something which is never entirely categorised as to
whether it was real or just a dream – there is nothing of the conventionally supernatural in the text.
Joseph’s determined religiosity may be seen as a way of maintaining a supernatural element within
the text (although the gulf between his outward piety and his actual failure to refuse to work for the
morally corrupt landowners suggests Brontë was rather using this to reveal hypocrisy than to reflecton
the role of salvation in any of the characters’ lives). A more potent force is perhaps that of the natural,
rather than the supernatural: the sublime, the sense of awe engendered by and in both the beauty and
danger of nature pervades the text, and links closely to the characters of Cathy and Heathcliff, both of
whom are described almost as forces of nature.

Transgressive Females:

Cathy’s childhood friendship with Heathcliff was socially transgressive, while the emotional bond
between them may be argued to border on something approaching incestuous – both of them had the
same father-figure (and some critics have argued that Heathcliff’s mysterious arrival at Wuthering
Heights is indicative that he was actually Cathy’s illegitimate half-brother). However, Cathy is not the
only transgressive female; Isabella ignores her brother’s warnings and is ultimately socially ostracised
due to her fascination with Heathcliff. Even Nellie can be read as something of a transgressive
character, given her experience of learning through the library at the Heights; the two conflicting sides
of her personality are reflected in the duality of her name – Ellen is much more refined than Nellie,
although both are used depending on context.

Narrative:

Form / Structure. The multi-layered narration draws us in but also acts as a brake on our
understanding, enabling Brontë to control the pace at which she reveals – or fails to reveal – key
information. The ambiguity about who is speaking at times adds to the text’s underlying feelings of
confusion and uncertainty.

Blood:

The image of Lockwood grating the ghost’s hand on the broken window until the blood runs down
onto the counterpane is about as physically gruesome as Wuthering Heights gets, but the scarceness of
blood elsewhere in the text makes this passage particularly memorable. There are, of course, plenty of
instances of violence throughout the text – usually involving Heathcliff as either victim or instigator –
but they seem largely to be bloodless. There is perhaps an irony in only a ghost bleeding...

Revenge:

Heathcliff blames the world for the loss of Cathy – he blames his experiences at the hands of Hindley
for limiting him in his youth; he blames Edgar’s marriage to her for ruining their relationship when he
returns. He sets out to exact a revenge on the world, raising Hareton in the same conditions as he
suffered at Hindley’s hands, and marrying Isabella to spite her brother (Edgar). In contrast to Macduff
in Macbeth, whose quest for vengeance is presented sympathetically and raises him to the status of a
hero, Heathcliff’s revenge is a destructive and consuming force. However, it does – as with Satan in
Paradise Lost – provide him with the energy to continue to exist.

Structure:

Brontë makes the most of the opportunities presented by having two narrative voices; she carefully
controls the release of plot information and can deflate the development of tension by, for example,
having Lockwood interrupt Nellie’s narrative. The narrative is presented as deliberately non-linear
but, all the events of Wuthering Heights can be unravelled and reconstructed against a fixed time-line.
There are certain significant jumps in the narrative, and substantial elements are not filled in at all (for
example Heathcliff’s activities outside the text) but, because of the nature of the structure, these are
less strikingly obvious than may otherwise have been the case.

Brontë deliberately makes use of mirroring within the text. In part this is driven by plot – Heathcliff
suffered at the hands of Hindley, so Hindley’s son suffers at the hands of Heathcliff – but there is also
a sense of things going in a cyclical manner: by the end of the text Hareton and Catherine, whose
social stations echo those previously of Heathcliff and Cathy, are married – in some way, perhaps,
providing a happy ending, echoed in the report of Heathcliff and Cathy’s ghosts being united at last.

The resolved ending is something of a Gothic trope –there is a degree of ambiguity in Wuthering
Heights: will the future really be happier than the past, given how damaged the characters have been?
Form:

Brontë’s earlier foray into poetry suggests that she was determined to find literary success, but how
far this shaped her construction of the text is debatable. At its heart Wuthering Heights is a
combination of two popular forms of fiction – the Gothic novel and the Romance – rather than overtly
literary. It may be that her shade is looking on with wry surprise at how far her tale of ordinary
Yorkshire folk has become an established literary text.

As with Dracula, the opportunities for multiple narrative voices (beyond Lockwood and Nellie’s
narration we have Cathy’s diary entries and assorted letters) broadened the palette available to Brontë.
However, the two core narratives do rely on the traditional suspension of disbelief associated with
first person narration – that is to say, no ‘real’ story could be conveyed in such authorative detail,
remembering clearly precise turns of phrase which were said, in some cases, decades previously. This
tension in the reliability of the narrators adds to the tension throughout the text.