Wuthering Heights- Engaging Techniques

Question #7

Emily Bronte uses many techniques to engage her audience, some of them being quite unconventional. For example, the novel is in the first person point of view, but for the majority of the book, the story is told from the third person. Because the story contains the first person point of view, readers are interested in the same things as the narrator. Mr. Lockwood, the narrator, takes a personal interest in the affairs at Wuthering Heights, for he has found a personal attraction towards Cathy. Consequently, readers take a personal interest in the story. Nelly’s suspenseful account leaves Lockwood (and consequently, the readers) wanting more.

A second element that is found in the story is the existence of two parallel stories, which adds interest to the plot and another form of suspense for the reader. The love between Catherine and Heathcliff exists throughout the novel, intertwining itself with the new story of Cathy, Hareton, and Linton. (page 230) An intellectual aspect of the story is synonymous with the parallel plots; they force the reader to analyze the events that occurred and predict the ending based on previous events. This, in turn, adds suspense and interest to the story in a new, original way.

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Wuthering Heights- Social issues

Question #5

Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights is a clear reflection of the time period in which it was set. One of the novel’s main conflicts is that of Heathcliff’s revenge on Linton and Linton’s family. To exact his revenge, Heathcliff forces Catherine to marry his son, thereby making his way into the Linton inheritance, and secure his wealth for the rest of his life.

Laws today have been written to prevent this kind of cruelty. Catherine agreed to the marriage, but in addition, Heathcliff prevented her from tending to her dying father. In the time the novel was written, this was an easy way for Heathcliff to take his revenge on the Linton family and make some money in the process. As Cathy says to Heathcliff one day, “You have taken all of my land… and my money!” (page 268) Emily Bronte, when inventing the cruel, strained relationship between the young Cathy and Heathcliff, was criticizing their lack of law while also exposing the darker side of human nature.

If there were laws against Cathy’s captivity and Heathcliff’s abuse, the story could have ended quite differently. Social norms expected that young people marry into a position of money and comfort, however, sometimes this expectation was taken advantage of by others such as the villain Heathcliff. The book’s thematic significance corresponds directly with the message that it sends- love is more important than money, power, greed, or revenge.

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Wuthering Heights- Timeless Messages

Question #6

Wuthering Heights is timeless. Although to modern readers its characters and its characters’ customs may seem old-fashioned, the messages that the book contains are still relevant today. The interactions between the characters reveal a deeper message about the constancy- or rather, lack of constancy- when a young person is in love. As Catherine Earnshaw so precisely puts it when questioned by her nurse, “my love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!” (page 69)

When Catherine speaks to Nelly, telling of the differences in love, it is easy to discern the timeless problems with which we are presented today. Many people have suffered from the lack of constancy of love; many have dealt with the pain of separation from one who is a part of their being. Catherine Linton suffers from both of these problems, and as her story is told, readers find that they can identify with her and her spirited nature. From reading the novel, we can learn that although love is not always constant, true love does exist. True love can and will overcome all of the expectations which society places on the lovers.

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Wuthering Heights- Heroes

Question #4

The book contains two “heroes.” Both have the same name, which is Catherine. Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton have very much the same personality- they are creatures with good hearts and fiery dispositions. Both Catherines save a loved one from neglect and ignorance, which makes them the heroes of the book. In many books the hero is the male who comes in to rescue the damsel in distress from any harm that might befall her. However, Wuthering Heights demonstrates the power of the female capacity for love. Both of the Catherine’s love for their man saves the man from an unhappy future.

For example, Catherine Earnshaw saves Heathcliff from Hindley’s oppression. Her love for Heathcliff inspires him to become a better person. Catherine Linton, on the other hand, continues her mother’s legacy when she apologizes for her unkind and demeaning words towards her friend, Hareton. Sorry for the mistreatment that he has suffered at her hands, she learns to love him and she teaches him to read and write. Miss Linton comes to love him just as much as her mother loved Heathcliff. (page 2258) These “rescues” from the clutches of an unhappy future make both of the Catherines the heroes for the book. Mother and daughter both represent the quality of goodness and love- the goodness of a woman’s heart, and its ability to change a man for the better.

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Wuthering Heights- Earnshaw/Heathcliff

In the gothic novel Wuthering Heights, the plot revolves around two sets of families. Each family has a certain set of characteristics that sets it apart from the other. The Lintons and the Earnshaw/Heathcliffs could not be more different. When Catherine first confronts the Linton family, she is astonished by their kindness and genteel nature, even if they are a bit snobbish. Throughout the book, the Linton family is presented as a direct foil to the Earnshaw family. In the first few chapters of the book, readers are introduced to a violent, alcoholic man raising his children with prejudice and hatred. It was a shock to Catherine when she met the kind, social, and civilized Linton family.

When Catherine marries Edgar Linton, the passionate Earnshaw family meets the docile Linton family. Tension builds throughout the once happy marriage. Though Catherine cannot see the truth, it is clear to readers that she belongs with Heathcliff. Catherine’s encounter with the Linton family made her thirst for good society and improvement, but her heart remains with Heathcliff on the moors. These unfortunate circumstances help to establish the theme of the novel, for Catherine’s marriage to Linton is an example of what is not true love.

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Wuthering Heights- Relationships/Obligations

Question #8

Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights is written about relationships, and Miss Bronte projects her opinion that every person has an obligation to the other people in the world. For example, romance plays an important role in the novel. Both people in the relationship owe love to each other, in addition to the civility that is owed to a common person. Heathcliff and Catherine were a fine example of that love. Each character has a certain obligation, or a certain responsibility, to another. Not all of the relationships are romantic, but they are all important, or so Miss Bronte believes.

In addition, each character is obligated to civility towards the others, although this responsibility is often ignored or even thrust aside. For example, Nelly says, “Heathcliff had not the habit of bestowing a single unnecessary civility on Miss Linton, I knew.” By disregarding the simple obligation of civility, Heathcliff resigned himself to a life of loneliness. Instead of showing examples of how people should act, Emily Bronte used many examples (such as Hindley, Heathcliff, and Mr. Earnshaw) to illustrate how people should not act. For example, Miss Bronte used Heathcliff’s tragic life to set an example of what happens when the responsibility towards others is not met.

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.

Wuthering Heights- Influences

Question #8

Wuthering Heights is set in northern England in the 1700s and 1800s. Emily Bronte’s childhood home was the very same landscape that is described in her novel. She lived near the Yorkshire moors, which greatly influenced her writing. In her novel, Wuthering Heights, the moors are an ever-present figure- more than a setting, the moors actually become like a character in the book. The moods of the characters are often reflected in the description of the moors. For example, Cathy remarks, “The pleasantest manner of spending a hot July day was lying from morning ‘til evening… with the blue sky and the bright sun shining steadily and cloudlessly.” (page 209) Growing up in the moors influenced Emily’s beautiful descriptions of the landscape and changed the essence of the story.

However, the landscape was not the only element that greatly influenced Miss Bronte’s writing. One of the most dramatically influential factors was the oppression of women’s rights in the Victorian era. It is quite possible that Emily analyzed her society and drew on the injustices that she saw, using them to effectively shape her writing. Some of the concepts addressed in the novel are domestic violence, a lack of women’s rights, love versus money, and even a touch of the supernatural. Heathcliff is the great cause of many of these problems, for his love for Catherine blinds him to the distinction between right and wrong. When speaking of Linton, for example, Heathcliff says, “I despise him for himself, and hate him for the memories he revives!" (page 191) All of these issues would have been prevalent in Emily’s time, and so inspired some of her greatest work. 

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Random House, 1943. Print.