Wuthering Heights

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Wuthering Heights  
Wuthering.jpg
Title page of the first edition
Author Emily Brontë
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Gothic novel[1]
Publisher Thomas Cautley Newby
Publication date 1847
Published in
English		 1847
Media type Print (Hardback)
Pages 260 (Penguin classics 1994 edition)
ISBN ISBN 9781932535143 (facsimile edition, Washington [D.C.] : Orchises, 2007), ISBN 0140430016 (Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1965), ISBN 9780140620122 (London : Penguin 1994)
OCLC Number 71126926
Dewey Decimal 823/.8 22
LC Classification PR4172 .W7 2007

Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel, first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. A posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte.

The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centers (as an adjective, Wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them.

Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights met with mixed reviews by critics when it first appeared, mainly because of the narrative's stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty.[2][3] Though Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was originally considered the best of the Brontë sisters' works, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that its originality and achievement made it superior.[4] Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, a musical by Bernard J. Taylor, ballet, opera, and song (notably the Kate Bush hit "Wuthering Heights").

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The novel opens in 1801 with the arrival of Mr. Lockwood, the first narrator,[a] to Thrushcross Grange, a grand house on the Yorkshire moors that he is renting from the unsociable Heathcliff, also master of nearby Wuthering Heights. Visiting the Heights to greet Heathcliff, Lockwood is treated rudely and coldly by its inhabitants, whose relationships with one another he does not understand. After attempting to leave and being attacked by the household's dogs, he is forced to stay overnight. In his overnight room he finds the diary of a girl named Catherine Earnshaw, and learns that she was a close childhood friend of Heathcliff. After falling asleep, Lockwood has a terrifying dream of Catherine's ghost appearing at his window and begging to be let in. As he struggles to keep her out of the room, Heathcliff, awakened by Lockwood's shouts, enters. Upon hearing of Catherine's ghost, Heathcliff asks Mr. Lockwood to leave the room and Lockwood hears him sobbing outside the door saying, "Oh Cathy, please come in."

The next morning, after returning to Thrushcross Grange, Lockwood asks the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to tell the story of Heathcliff, Catherine, and Wuthering Heights. Nelly (Ellen) Dean takes over the narration and begins her story thirty years earlier, when Heathcliff, a "gypsy" from the streets of Liverpool, is brought to Wuthering Heights by the then-owner, Mr. Earnshaw, and raised as his own. Both Earnshaw children, Catherine and Hindley, initially resent Heathcliff, however Catherine and Heathcliff become inseparable. Her brother Hindley continues to hate and physically abuse him seeing him as an interloper and rival for his father's attention. When Mr. Earnshaw dies three years later, Hindley, by this time married to a woman named Frances, inherits the estate. He brutalises Heathcliff, forcing him to work as a hired hand. Catherine becomes friends with the neighbouring Linton family who live at Thrushcross Grange, who mellow her wild personality. She is attracted to the refined and mild young Edgar Linton, whom Heathcliff instantly dislikes.

A year later, Hindley's wife dies, apparently of "consumption", shortly after giving birth to a son, Hareton. Hindley takes to drinking and becomes dangerous, at one point dropping Hareton from the stairs into the unassuming arms of Heathcliff. Some two years, Catherine agrees to marry Edgar. Nelly knows that this will crush Heathcliff, and Heathcliff overhears Catherine's explanation that it would be "degrading" to marry him. Heathcliff storms out and leaves Wuthering Heights, not hearing Catherine declaring her love for him: "I am Heathcliff". After realizing Heathcliff has left her, Catherine becomes desperate and is struck down by a fever. Edgar's attentions slowly return Catherine back to health, and some years later she marries him. She lives in apparent happiness for a few months, until Heathcliff returns, intent on destroying those who prevent him from being with Catherine. He has, mysteriously, become very wealthy. Through loans he has made to the drunken and dissipated Hindley that Hindley cannot repay, Heathcliff takes ownership of Wuthering Heights upon Hindley's death. Intent on ruining Edgar, Heathcliff elopes with Edgar's sister Isabella, which places him in a position to inherit Thrushcross Grange upon Edgar's death.

Catherine is initially very happy at seeing Heathcliff again, but then becomes very ill after a harsh argument with Heathcliff regarding Isabella. They reconcile a few hours before her death, however, reaffirming their feelings for one another. Catherine dies after giving birth to a daughter also named Catherine, or Cathy. Heathcliff becomes more bitter and vengeful towards those around him. Isabella flees her abusive marriage a month later and subsequently gives birth to a boy, Linton. At around the same time, Hindley dies. Heathcliff takes ownership of Wuthering Heights and vows to raise Hindley's son Hareton with as much neglect as he had suffered at Hindley's hands years earlier. Heathcliff chooses to ignore paternal emotions so that he might continue to degrade Hareton as Hindley degraded him, thereby achieving his revenge.

Twelve years later, the dying Isabella asks Edgar to raise her and Heathcliff's son, Linton. However, Heathcliff finds out about this and takes the sickly, spoiled child to Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff has nothing but contempt for his son, but delights in the idea of him ruling the property of his enemies. Cathy, accompanied by Nelly, and Linton, accompanied by Hareton, meet while Cathy is riding on the moors. Linton treats Hareton, who is illiterate, with equal disrespect and contempt as his father does, believing Hareton to be an imbecile. Nelly is appalled by the state of Hareton, remembering him as a bright, loving toddler. Cathy feels sorry for Linton, who knows his father despises him and is utterly miserable. Heathcliff uses his son to issue Cathy invitations to Wuthering Heights, but Edgar senses a trap and refuses to let Cathy go. Cathy's nature is much sweeter than her mother's and she reluctantly obeys her father. But when she receives news that Linton has fallen ill, she refuses to stay at home and hurries to Wuthering Heights to see if she can be of help. Heathcliff attempts to persuade her to marry Linton. With Linton's health diminishing swiftly, he puts Cathy under house arrest and forces the two to marry. Soon after, Edgar Linton dies, followed shortly by Linton Heathcliff. This leaves Cathy a widow and a virtual prisoner at Wuthering Heights, as Heathcliff has gained complete control of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. It is at this point in the narrative that Lockwood arrives, renting Thrushcross Grange from Heathcliff, and hearing Nelly Dean's story. Shocked, Lockwood leaves for London.

During Lockwood's absence, events, described to him by Nelly upon returning, reach a climax; Cathy gradually softens toward her rough, uneducated cousin Hareton, just as her mother was tender towards Heathcliff. She teaches him to read and he allows her to open up again after becoming so bitter from Heathcliff's brutal treatment. When Heathcliff is confronted by Cathy and Hareton's love, notably Hareton's determination to protect the defiant Cathy from Heathcliff's attacks, he seems to suffer a mental breakdown and begins to see Catherine's ghost. He seemingly abandons his life-long vendetta and dies, having "swallowed nothing for four days". Nelly describes finding Heathcliff's corpse as lying on the bed, stiff with rigor mortis, with the window open and rain pouring in through it, soaking Heathcliff's body. Only Hareton mourns Heathcliff's death. He is buried, according to his wishes, next to Catherine in the graveyard, with Edgar's grave on the other side of Catherine's. Lockwood hastily leaves Nelly and on his walk home visits the graves, noting the peacefulness of the spot, which contrasts sharply with the turbulent lives of the characters.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Timeline

1757: Hindley born (summer); Nelly born
1762: Edgar Linton born
1765: Catherine Earnshaw born (summer); Isabella Linton born (late 1765)
1771: Heathcliff brought to Wuthering Heights by Mr Earnshaw (late summer)
1773: Mrs Earnshaw dies (spring)
1774: Hindley sent off to college
1777: Hindley marries Frances; Mr Earnshaw dies and Hindley comes back (October); Heathcliff and Cathy visit Thrushcross Grange for the first time; Cathy remains behind (November), and then returns to Wuthering Heights (Christmas Eve)
1778: Hareton born (June); Frances dies
1780: Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights; Mr and Mrs Linton both die
1783: Catherine has married Edgar (March); Heathcliff comes back (September)
1784: Heathcliff marries Isabella (February); Catherine dies and Cathy born (20 March); Hindley dies; Linton born (September)
1797: Isabella dies; Cathy visits Wuthering Heights and meets Hareton; Linton brought to Thrushcross Grange and then taken to Wuthering Heights
1800: Cathy meets Heathcliff and sees Linton again (20 March)
1801: Cathy and Linton are married (August); Edgar dies (August); Linton dies (September); Mr Lockwood goes to Thrushcross Grange and visits Wuthering Heights, beginning his narrative
1802: Mr Lockwood goes back to London (January); Heathcliff dies (April); Mr Lockwood comes back to Thrushcross Grange (September)
1803: Cathy plans to marry Hareton (1 January)

[edit] Development history

There are several theories as to which building was the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. One is Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse, that is located in a isolated area near the Haworth Parsonage. Yet, its structure does not match that of the farmhouse decribed in the novel, and is therefore considered less likely to be the model. [5] Top Withens was first suggested as the model for the fictious farmhouse by Ellen Nussey, a friend of Charlotte Brontë's, to Edward Morison Wimperis, a commissioned artist for the Brontë sisters' novels in 1872.[6]

The second option is the now demolished High Sunderland Hall, near Halifax, West Yorkshire. [5] This Gothic edifice is located near Law Hill, and was where Emily worked briefly as a governess in 1838. While very grand for the farmhouse of Wuthering Heights, the hall had grotesque embellishments of griffins and misshapen nude men similar to those described by Lockwood of Wuthering Heights in chapter one of the novel:

"Before passing the threshold, I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especially about the principal door, above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins and shameless little boys, I detected the date '1500'".

The inspiration for Thrushcross Grange has been traditionally connected to Ponden Hall, near Haworth, although very small. More likely is Shibden Hall, near Halifax.[7][8]

[edit] Literary allusions

 This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (February 2009)

Traditionally, this novel has been seen as a unique piece of work written by a woman confined to the lonesome heath, detached from the literary movements of the time. However, Emily Brontë received literary training at the Pensionnat Héger in Brussels by imitating and analyzing the styles of classic writers. She also learned German and was able to read the German Romantics in the original. The work of Lord Byron was also admired by all three Brontë sisters. The brother-sister relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy is reminiscent of the brother-sister couples in Byron's epics. The character of Heathcliff is reminiscent of the Byronic hero.

[edit] Gothic and supernatural elements

The novel contains many Gothic and supernatural elements. The mystery of Heathcliff's parentage is never solved. Film interpretations fail in accurately depicting Heathcliff's appearance. He is described as "a dark skinned gypsy in appearance," with black hair and black eyes. It is assumed that he is a gypsy; there were, from what Mr. Earnshaw said, no people in the town who knew him or claimed him; he belonged to no one. In literature, the smoky, threatening, miserable factory-towns were often represented in religious terms and compared to hell. The poet William Blake, writing near the turn of the nineteenth century, speaks of England’s "dark Satanic Mills." Heathcliff is described by Hindley as an "imp of Satan" in chapter four. Near the end of the novel, Nelly Dean wonders if Heathcliff is a ghoul or vampire, but then remembers how they grew up together and dismisses the thought. The awesome but unseen presence of Satan is also alluded to at several points in the novel, and it is noted in chapter three that "no clergyman will undertake the duties of pastor" at the local chapel, which has fallen into dereliction. Heathcliff is constantly described as a devil or demon by many different characters throughout the course of the book. His wife, Isabella Linton, asks Nelly if Heathcliff is a man at all, after she marries him and is exposed to his true nature.

Ghosts also play a role in the novel. Lockwood has a horrible vision of Catherine (the elder) as a child, appearing at the window of her old chamber at Wuthering Heights and begging to be allowed in; terrified for some reason he cannot explain, he resorts to an act of shocking violence to drive her away. Heathcliff believes this story of Catherine's ghostly return and late in the novel behaves as though he has seen her ghost himself. When Heathcliff dies, he is found in the bedroom with the window open, raising the possibility that Catherine's ghost entered Wuthering Heights as Lockwood visualized in his dream. At the end of the novel, Nelly Dean reports that various superstitious locals claimed to see Catherine and Heathcliff's ghosts roaming the moors. Lockwood, however, discounts the idea of "unquiet slumbers for those sleepers in that quiet earth."

[edit] References in culture

Main article: List of Wuthering Heights references

[edit] Adaptations

Main article: List of Wuthering Heights adaptations

The earliest known film adaptation of Wuthering Heights was filmed in England and directed by A. V. Bramble. It is unknown if any prints still exist.[9] The most famous was 1939's Wuthering Heights, starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon and directed by William Wyler. This adaptation, like many others, eliminated the second generation's story (young Cathy, Linton and Hareton). It won the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film and was nominated for the 1939 Academy Award for Best Picture.

The 1970 film with Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff is notable for emphasizing that Heathcliff may be Cathy's illegitimate half-brother. This is the first color version of the novel, and gained acceptance over the years though it was initially poorly received. The character of Hindley is portrayed much more sympathetically, and his story-arc is altered.
The 1992 film Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche is notable for including the oft-omitted second generation story of the children of Cathy, Hindley, and Heathcilff.

Adaptations which reset the story in a new setting include the 1954 adaptation by Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel set in Catholic Mexico, with Heathcliff and Cathy renamed Alejandro and Catalina. In 2003, MTV produced a poorly reviewed version set in a modern California with the characters as high school students.

The novel has been popular in opera and theatre, including an opera written by Bernard Herrmann and a musical by Bernard J. Taylor, as well as a song by Kate Bush.

In autumn of 2008, Mark Ryan launched a dramatic musical adaptation of the novel, narrated by Beowulf and Sexy Beast star Ray Winstone. He composed, sang and produced the tracks with Robb Vallier who also worked on Spamalot. He also directed the video for the song "Women" filmed especially for the website and featuring Jennifer Korbee, Jessica Keenan Wynn and Katie Boeck.

In August 2009 ITV aired a two part drama series starring Tom Hardy, Charlotte Riley, Sarah Lancashire, and Andrew Lincoln.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sparknotes.com
  2. ^ Excerpts from Contemporary Reviews
  3. ^ Wuthering Heights: Publication & Contemporary Critical Reception
  4. ^ Later Critical Response to Wuthering Heights
  5. ^ a b Paul Thompson (June 2009). "Wuthering Heights: the home of the Earnshaws". http://www.wuthering-heights.co.uk/locations/wutheringheights.htm#inspirations. Retrieved 11/10/09. 
  6. ^ Paul Thompson (June 2009). "The inspiration for the Wuthering Height's farmhouse?". http://www.wuthering-heights.co.uk/locations/topwithens.htm. Retrieved 11/10/09. 
  7. ^ Robert Barnard (2000) Emily Brontë
  8. ^ Ian Jack (1995) Explanatory Notes in Oxford World's Classics edition of Wuthering Heights
  9. ^ Wuthering Heights (1920) at the Internet Movie Database
  10. ^ Wuthering Heights (2009(TV)) at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] External links

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Brontë sisters
Charlotte

The Green Dwarf (1833) · Jane Eyre (1847) · Shirley (1849) · Villette (1853) · The Professor (1857)
Emily

Wuthering Heights (1847)
Anne
Collaborative work
See also
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Emily Brontë 's Wuthering Heights
Characters
Film Adaptations
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