Wuthering Heights

Emily  Bronte  

The Novel

Wuthering Heights is a tale of destructive love—destructive love “to the max”! It is a tale of obsession and

possession! It is a tale of tortured hearts!

Listen to Kate Bush’s song “Wuthering Heights.”

The  place  on  the  moors  that  could  have  been  the  model  for  

the  Earnshaw  house  in  Wuthering  Heights:  Top  

Withens.  

Before  reading  Wuthering  Heights,  

consider  the  following  themes  as  well  as  the  

ques?ons  that  the  novel  raises.  

Themes    Spiritual  or  metaphysical  love  versus              physical  love     Good  versus  evil     Revenge     Sin  and  retribu?on     Love  versus  hate     Intense  suffering  

   The  storm  and  the  calm  (represented              in  the  two  seGngs  as  well  as  in  the              characters)     Confinement  and  escape     Clash  of  social  classes     Abusive  patriarchy     Lack  of  communica?on     The  “Fall”     The  supernatural     Displacement  ,  dispossession  and  exile  

Questions to Ponder 1.   How  could  Emily  Bronte,  the  

daughter  of  a  poor  clergyman,  write  such  a  novel  as  Wuthering  Heights?  

2.   As  a  frame  story,  what  is  the  importance  of  the  narrators?  

3.   Was  Heathcliff  the  son  of  Mr.  Earnshaw?  

4.   Where  was  Heathcliff  during  his  three  years’  disappearance?  

5.   Why  is  this  a  tale  of  “tortured  hearts”?          6.   What  is  the  purpose  of  violence  in  the  

novel?  7.   What  impact  do  the  two  seGngs-­‐-­‐  

Wuthering  Heights  and  Thrushcross  Grange—have  on  the  characters?  

8.   How  does  the  triangle  of  love,  hate  and  revenge  work  in  the  novel?  

9.   Does  Catherine  dominate  the  novel  even  aaer  her  death,  or  is  the  novel  truly  about  Heathcliff?  

10.  What  is  the  climax  of  the  novel?  11.  Why  does  Wuthering  Heights  have  

such  a  universal  appeal?    Why  do  we  connect  with  this  story?    Is  it  because  of  the  “duality  inherent”  in  each  of  us—this  capacity  for  good  and  evil  to  reside  in  each  of  us?  

The Byronic Hero      In  his  wri?ngs,  Lord  Byron  created  a  figure  known  as  the  Byronic  Hero—a  figure  that  would  have  a  profound  influence  on  the  Roman?c  movement.    This  is  essen?ally  Byron’s  alter  ego.       “Byronic  is  characteris?c  of  Byron,  contemptuous  of  and  rebelling  against  conven?onal  morality,  or  defying  fate,  or  possessing  characteris?cs  of  Byron’s  roman?c  heroes.”       Heathcliff  is  the  ul?mate  Byronic  Hero.    Consider  the  following  Byronic  Hero  traits  that  are  manifested  in  Heathcliff  as  you  read  the  novel.  

Bryonic Hero Traits    Passionate     Moody     Restless  figure  who  has  exhausted  the            world’s  excitements     Lives  under  the  weight  of  some  past  sin     A  type  of  outcast  in  whom  there  is            much  to  love  and  much  to  hate     Known  for  defiant  individualism  

   Isola?on  and  mystery     Hatred  of  mankind  mingled  with            appearances  of  conviviality  and  mirth     Cynical,  but  soa-­‐hearted     Corrupted  by  secret  guilt     Shows  traces  of  a  noble  spirit     Inspires  love  

Archetypes    The  Journey     The  Fall     Death  and  Rebirth     Bagle  between  Good  and  Evil     The  Unhealable  Wound     The  Shadow  (darker  side  of  character)     The  Devil  Figure       The  Outcast     The  Temptress  

   The  Unfaithful  Wife     Star-­‐Crossed  Lovers     The  Mother  Figure     Light  versus  Darkness     The  Supernatural     Nature  (storms,  wind,  rocks,  etc.)     Garden  versus  Wilderness     Heaven  versus  Hell     The  Crossroads     The  Vampire  

Settings: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange

  The two houses represent polarities in the novel.   The calm and the storm are discernible in both houses.   Neither house is totally evil nor totally good.   “Wuthering” means buffeted by wild winds, turbulent and stormy.   A fireplace is always lit at Wuthering Heights, representative of passion, energy and destructive forces. Seldom is a fireplace lit at Thrushcross Grange.   Both houses become objects of possession for Heathcliff.   Catherine’s wild nature thrives at Wuthering Heights but is repressed at Thrushcross Grange.

  As you read the novel, compare and contrast the two houses.   Note how characters move between the two settings—how they enter and how they leave—and the repercussions that ensue.   As you analyze the two houses, note how they begin to take on a life of their own. One could say that Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange become “characters” in the novel.   Formulate a chart comparing and contrasting these two houses.

Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange are separated by the moors.

Three Popular Movies

  1939   Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon

Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall in the

1970 movie

Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche star in the 1993 version, where Binoche

plays both Catherine parts.

Emily Bronte’s Catherine and Heathcliff will never die. They live on in our hearts and in our dreams.