This is the blog -- the electronic home -- for Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition for the class of two-thousand eleven at Gloucester (MA) High School.
Before starting to read Wuthering Heights, I decided that I really wanted to know more about the Bronte sisters childhood. One of the first things I learned and related to the book was that, after their mother died, they were raised by their religious fanatic aunt. I believe that the scripture-spewing evangelical Joseph deeply reflects that aunt and her impact on Emily's childhood.
Another thing that I learned about and ended up relating to the book was that Emily was supposedly anorexic. The way that I eventually related that to Wuthering Heights was that after Edgar's ultimatum to Catherine of being unable to ever see Heathcliff, Catherine stopped eating and her health continued to fail. Another instance in which it relates is that in the end, as he dies, Heathcliff too stops eating.
“'Look!' she cried eagerly, 'that's my room with the candle in it, and the trees swaying before it; and the other candle is in Joseph's garret. Joseph sits up late, doesn't he? He's waiting till I come home that he may lock the gate. Well, he'll wait a while yet. It's a rough journey, and a sad heart to travel it; and we must pass by Gimmerton Kirk to go that journey! We've braved its ghosts often together, and dared each other to stand among the graves and ask them to come. But, Heathcliff, if I dare you now, will you venture? If you do, I'll keep you. I'll not lie there by myself: they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but I won't rest till you are with me. I never will!'” Chapter 12, Wuthering Heights
This section HUGELY reminds me of the part of Jane Eyre where Jane hears Rochester's voice calling to her from miles away. I know that Catherine is delirious, but it deeply reflects her undeniable feelings for Heathcliff. It’s sort of heartwarming how deeply in love with him she is, but also quite chilling when you think of the crazy revenge stuff going on inside Heathcliff because of her. Their love is a very strange one. Both characters are not very likeable. Neither have any redeeming qualities. Catherine is selfish and majorly crazy, and Heathcliff is constantly seeking revenge and is overall creepy. But I think that the great thing about this book is that their love is their only redeeming quality. It adds a more human feel to the whole thing.
“I cannot look down to this floor, but her features are shaped in 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!" Chapter 33, Wuthering Heights
This only reinforces what I speculated earlier. Heathcliff’s only redeeming quality is his intense love for Catherine. It is really heartbreaking. He is such a nasty person, that you hate to feel for him after all the terrible things he has done to everyone. But it really is unavoidable at a time like this. He is so visibly broken by his loss that it’s almost hard to read at points. Passages like this really make me wonder what exactly Emily Bronte’s motivation was for making Heathcliff like this. He would be a much more enjoyable character if he had even any nice characteristics, but I suppose that he doesn’t is the beauty of it all.
Like Kara, I was interested to find out the Emily Bronte was supposedly anorexic. Noticing how specific characters stopped eating made me wonder if Bronte was showing some form of self reflection through those characters. The characters who suffered from not eating were going through very difficult times when they stopped feeding themselves. Perhaps Bronte anorexia could have been partially due to tumultuous times in her life as well.
The much of the story of Catherine, Heathcliff, and the others was told to Lockwood from Nelly’s view of the events. This outsider perspective gave an interesting outlook of what was going on. The plot would have been very different if told through the eyes of Heathcliff or one of the Linton siblings. I think Emily Bronte used Nelly’s view to avoid limiting the reader’s ability to see into the complexity of the character’s thoughts. For example, if Heathcliff had been telling Lockwood the story we wouldn’t be able to see the difficulty of the choices that Catherine made and her inner conflict throughout her life.
The point in the novel when Cathy and Hareton left Wuthering Heights for Thrushcross Grange seemed particularly significant. I’m not sure what Emily Bronte meant by this move but I can speculate that she is marking a new generation, showing how they are defying class boundaries by leaving Wuthering Heights forever. They are not leaving just the place behind, but are also stepping out of their societal rank by rebelling. This reminds me a lot of Jane Eyre, she seemed to personify class rebellion in certain parts of the book including running away, and by being with Rochester. Class defiance seems to be a common theme in the Bronte sisters’ work so far, I will be interested to see if it appears again in other novels.
Heathcliff is an obviously troubled character throughout the novel. His relationship with Catherine is very complex and the insanity he suffers after her death is due to the choices that both of them made. Some of these choices, including Catherine’s decision to marry Edgar Linton are based on class. Seeing Heathcliff suffer in this way due to decisions made about class may have been a major cause of what I mentioned early about Hareton and Cathy choosing to leave Wuthering Heights for good. Heathcliff’s death was not only significant in its effect on the younger generation, Cathy and Hareton, but also in showing how guilt can drive one to insanity. He blamed himself for much of the events with Catherine, living the rest of his life dwelling in guilt. This is particularly evident when he sees Catherine’s ghost. I think that Emily Bronte may have chosen to have Heathcliff so obsessed with his guilt and anger to possibly show some of her own, or someone closer to her, feelings of guilt from a time in her life.
I’d also like to relate the book Wuthering Heights back to the biography of the Bronte sisters, but in a different way. From what I read, their father was a cold and violent man, and with the death of their mother when they were young, they were left only with their father. He had very strict rules, including no meat, they had to keep quiet at all times and they had a dress code, only plain clothes. He also had a furious temper. I have a hunch that the character of Heathcliff may have been inspired by their father, especially Heathcliff’s character after Catherine’s death. Another part of their childhood that resembles something in the book is that the Bronte children used to wander about the moors around their house, just like Catherine. A common theme the Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre share is the early deaths of young characters. The two oldest Bronte sisters, Maria and Elizabeth both died at young ages. I think that it’s important to look at the background of the Bronte sisters, especially when comparing their novels. It’s interesting to see common themes that resemble things in their childhood.
Something that I noticed about Wuthering Heights is that it is filled with all different types of irony that ultimately shapes the way the plot line ends up. One example of irony is that Heathcliff trapped Nelly and Cathy as slaves in Wuthering Heights, even though his brother Hindley treated him like a slave. There are also examples of dramatic irony. When Catherine confides in Nelly that she could never marry Heathcliff because he is more herself than she is and that she loved him immensely. But the ironic part is that Heathcliff stormed of after only hearing the part where she said she couldn’t marry him. After he heard that, Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights for 3 years, and came back to a married Catherine. If this irony hadn’t happen, the course of the plot would have changed completely and the book would have a whole different ending. I think the irony also adds to the pain and anguish felt by Heathcliff and Catherine and the readers. When I read this, I was thinking, “If only he heard the whole conversation, they would be happy together!” Bronte uses irony in the novel to show the intensity of the plot events.
While it has a great deal of romance, revenge is also a huge theme in Wuthering Heights, and they almost seem to go hand and hand. It doesn’t seem like Bronte wanted to stick to the guidelines of a typical romance novel. She wanted to add an element to make it more of a dissatisfied love story. That’s why she adds an intense plot for revenge in Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff seems to be the center of attention when it comes to revenge, considering he takes it on more than one character in the course of the plot. Heathcliff never forgets how his adoptive brother Hindley tortured him as a child, and he vows to take his revenge on him. “I'm trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do” (Bronte 53). He encourages Hindley to drink and gamble excessively, and aided by the feelings of grief he had for his deceased wife, he goes down easily. Heathcliff also seeks revenge toward Edgar Linton, who stole Catherine’s heart from him. Heathcliff married his sister, Isabella Linton, even though there is no love between them, just so he could have ownership of the estate the Linton’s owned called Thrushcross Grange. He also knows how much it pains Edgar to see his sister marrying his enemy. Heathcliff also forces Cathy to marry his son Linton, to furthermore insure his ownership of the Grange. After this, Heathcliff sees no use for his son anymore. “His life is not worth a farthing, and I won't spend a farthing on him” (Bronte 251). All of this harshness from Heathcliff seems to come from the emotional turmoil that he went through. He lost his love, Catherine, and never stopped loving her. It is only when Heathcliff gives up on revenge right before his death that he can be with Catherine and truly be happy.
Emily Bronte’s tone in Wuthering Heights is one that is lyrical and poetic, which is understandable because she composed quite a bit of poetry. Bronte often draws inspiration from nature, and some of the most cheerful descriptions are of things in nature. Even in times of sadness and darkness in the novel, she seems to add in a hint of hope and balance, like in the last sentence “I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth” (Bronte 288). This quote really shows how graceful and elegant Bronte can be in describing something so dark like graves. Bronte’s style brings out the gothic moments and the peaceful and romantic moments in the novel.
Kara, Leila, Emily C,
Before starting to read Wuthering Heights, I decided that I really wanted to know more about the Bronte sisters childhood. One of the first things I learned and related to the book was that, after their mother died, they were raised by their religious fanatic aunt. I believe that the scripture-spewing evangelical Joseph deeply reflects that aunt and her impact on Emily's childhood.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that I learned about and ended up relating to the book was that Emily was supposedly anorexic. The way that I eventually related that to Wuthering Heights was that after Edgar's ultimatum to Catherine of being unable to ever see Heathcliff, Catherine stopped eating and her health continued to fail. Another instance in which it relates is that in the end, as he dies, Heathcliff too stops eating.
ReplyDelete“'Look!' she cried eagerly, 'that's my room with the candle in it, and the trees swaying before it; and the other candle is in Joseph's garret. Joseph sits up late, doesn't he? He's waiting till I come home that he may lock the gate. Well, he'll wait a while yet. It's a rough journey, and a sad heart to travel it; and we must pass by Gimmerton Kirk to go that journey! We've braved its ghosts often together, and dared each other to stand among the graves and ask them to come. But, Heathcliff, if I dare you now, will you venture? If you do, I'll keep you. I'll not lie there by myself: they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but I won't rest till you are with me. I never will!'” Chapter 12, Wuthering Heights
ReplyDeleteThis section HUGELY reminds me of the part of Jane Eyre where Jane hears Rochester's voice calling to her from miles away. I know that Catherine is delirious, but it deeply reflects her undeniable feelings for Heathcliff. It’s sort of heartwarming how deeply in love with him she is, but also quite chilling when you think of the crazy revenge stuff going on inside Heathcliff because of her. Their love is a very strange one. Both characters are not very likeable. Neither have any redeeming qualities. Catherine is selfish and majorly crazy, and Heathcliff is constantly seeking revenge and is overall creepy. But I think that the great thing about this book is that their love is their only redeeming quality. It adds a more human feel to the whole thing.
“I cannot look down to this floor, but her features are shaped in 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!" Chapter 33, Wuthering Heights
ReplyDeleteThis only reinforces what I speculated earlier. Heathcliff’s only redeeming quality is his intense love for Catherine. It is really heartbreaking. He is such a nasty person, that you hate to feel for him after all the terrible things he has done to everyone. But it really is unavoidable at a time like this. He is so visibly broken by his loss that it’s almost hard to read at points. Passages like this really make me wonder what exactly Emily Bronte’s motivation was for making Heathcliff like this. He would be a much more enjoyable character if he had even any nice characteristics, but I suppose that he doesn’t is the beauty of it all.
Like Kara, I was interested to find out the Emily Bronte was supposedly anorexic. Noticing how specific characters stopped eating made me wonder if Bronte was showing some form of self reflection through those characters. The characters who suffered from not eating were going through very difficult times when they stopped feeding themselves. Perhaps Bronte anorexia could have been partially due to tumultuous times in her life as well.
ReplyDeleteThe much of the story of Catherine, Heathcliff, and the others was told to Lockwood from Nelly’s view of the events. This outsider perspective gave an interesting outlook of what was going on. The plot would have been very different if told through the eyes of Heathcliff or one of the Linton siblings. I think Emily Bronte used Nelly’s view to avoid limiting the reader’s ability to see into the complexity of the character’s thoughts. For example, if Heathcliff had been telling Lockwood the story we wouldn’t be able to see the difficulty of the choices that Catherine made and her inner conflict throughout her life.
ReplyDeleteThe point in the novel when Cathy and Hareton left Wuthering Heights for Thrushcross Grange seemed particularly significant. I’m not sure what Emily Bronte meant by this move but I can speculate that she is marking a new generation, showing how they are defying class boundaries by leaving Wuthering Heights forever. They are not leaving just the place behind, but are also stepping out of their societal rank by rebelling. This reminds me a lot of Jane Eyre, she seemed to personify class rebellion in certain parts of the book including running away, and by being with Rochester. Class defiance seems to be a common theme in the Bronte sisters’ work so far, I will be interested to see if it appears again in other novels.
ReplyDeleteHeathcliff is an obviously troubled character throughout the novel. His relationship with Catherine is very complex and the insanity he suffers after her death is due to the choices that both of them made. Some of these choices, including Catherine’s decision to marry Edgar Linton are based on class. Seeing Heathcliff suffer in this way due to decisions made about class may have been a major cause of what I mentioned early about Hareton and Cathy choosing to leave Wuthering Heights for good. Heathcliff’s death was not only significant in its effect on the younger generation, Cathy and Hareton, but also in showing how guilt can drive one to insanity. He blamed himself for much of the events with Catherine, living the rest of his life dwelling in guilt. This is particularly evident when he sees Catherine’s ghost. I think that Emily Bronte may have chosen to have Heathcliff so obsessed with his guilt and anger to possibly show some of her own, or someone closer to her, feelings of guilt from a time in her life.
ReplyDeleteI’d also like to relate the book Wuthering Heights back to the biography of the Bronte sisters, but in a different way. From what I read, their father was a cold and violent man, and with the death of their mother when they were young, they were left only with their father. He had very strict rules, including no meat, they had to keep quiet at all times and they had a dress code, only plain clothes. He also had a furious temper. I have a hunch that the character of Heathcliff may have been inspired by their father, especially Heathcliff’s character after Catherine’s death. Another part of their childhood that resembles something in the book is that the Bronte children used to wander about the moors around their house, just like Catherine. A common theme the Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre share is the early deaths of young characters. The two oldest Bronte sisters, Maria and Elizabeth both died at young ages. I think that it’s important to look at the background of the Bronte sisters, especially when comparing their novels. It’s interesting to see common themes that resemble things in their childhood.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I noticed about Wuthering Heights is that it is filled with all different types of irony that ultimately shapes the way the plot line ends up. One example of irony is that Heathcliff trapped Nelly and Cathy as slaves in Wuthering Heights, even though his brother Hindley treated him like a slave. There are also examples of dramatic irony. When Catherine confides in Nelly that she could never marry Heathcliff because he is more herself than she is and that she loved him immensely. But the ironic part is that Heathcliff stormed of after only hearing the part where she said she couldn’t marry him. After he heard that, Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights for 3 years, and came back to a married Catherine. If this irony hadn’t happen, the course of the plot would have changed completely and the book would have a whole different ending. I think the irony also adds to the pain and anguish felt by Heathcliff and Catherine and the readers. When I read this, I was thinking, “If only he heard the whole conversation, they would be happy together!” Bronte uses irony in the novel to show the intensity of the plot events.
ReplyDeleteWhile it has a great deal of romance, revenge is also a huge theme in Wuthering Heights, and they almost seem to go hand and hand. It doesn’t seem like Bronte wanted to stick to the guidelines of a typical romance novel. She wanted to add an element to make it more of a dissatisfied love story. That’s why she adds an intense plot for revenge in Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff seems to be the center of attention when it comes to revenge, considering he takes it on more than one character in the course of the plot. Heathcliff never forgets how his adoptive brother Hindley tortured him as a child, and he vows to take his revenge on him. “I'm trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do” (Bronte 53). He encourages Hindley to drink and gamble excessively, and aided by the feelings of grief he had for his deceased wife, he goes down easily. Heathcliff also seeks revenge toward Edgar Linton, who stole Catherine’s heart from him. Heathcliff married his sister, Isabella Linton, even though there is no love between them, just so he could have ownership of the estate the Linton’s owned called Thrushcross Grange. He also knows how much it pains Edgar to see his sister marrying his enemy. Heathcliff also forces Cathy to marry his son Linton, to furthermore insure his ownership of the Grange. After this, Heathcliff sees no use for his son anymore. “His life is not worth a farthing, and I won't spend a farthing on him” (Bronte 251). All of this harshness from Heathcliff seems to come from the emotional turmoil that he went through. He lost his love, Catherine, and never stopped loving her. It is only when Heathcliff gives up on revenge right before his death that he can be with Catherine and truly be happy.
ReplyDeleteEmily Bronte’s tone in Wuthering Heights is one that is lyrical and poetic, which is understandable because she composed quite a bit of poetry. Bronte often draws inspiration from nature, and some of the most cheerful descriptions are of things in nature. Even in times of sadness and darkness in the novel, she seems to add in a hint of hope and balance, like in the last sentence “I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth” (Bronte 288). This quote really shows how graceful and elegant Bronte can be in describing something so dark like graves. Bronte’s style brings out the gothic moments and the peaceful and romantic moments in the novel.
ReplyDelete