Wuthering Heights book report
SCOPE
INTRODUCTION
Wuthering Heights is a classic novel written by Emily Brontë and published in 1847. It was her first and the only novel to be published. She died a year after it was published, totally unaware of the popularity of the book.
Wuthering Heights is not your typical love story where the boy gets the girl and they live happily ever after. This is a dark and heavyhearted novel. It is a story of passionate love, revenge, jealousy and misjudgments. The story is about the love between Heathcliff and Catherine. But love doesn't come alone. It brings with it hatred, social interruptions, grief and revenge. Heathcliff, in the urge of seeking revenge, destroys his own lover and family members. He mistreats a lot of people just for the sake of revenge. At last the love between two people destroys his every need for further revenge. Heathcliff and Catherine don't unite when they live but maybe they would unite when they die.
SETTING
The story has been set in two time periods. Firstly, in 1801, when Mr Lockwood arrived in Yorkshire and secondly, in late 1700s when Nelly Dean narrated the story. It is set in Yorkshire, England at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
1.Heathcliff
Heathcliff is the protagonist of the novel. He is rescued by Mr.Earnshaw in Liverpool. When he first arrives at Wuthering Heights in Yorkshire with Mr.Earnshaw, he is described as a 'dirty ragged' child with black hair and must have been older than Catherine. Mrs.Earnshaw considers him a 'gypsy brat'.
Heathcliff's personality changes through the story. He exposes three prominent personalities. At first, he appears to be forbearing and tolerant towards the harassments by Hindley. Hindley and his sister Catherine Earnshaw detest him originally. Catherine takes a liking towards him soon after her brother's departure to college. He must have been harassed by someone in the past which is why he was so hardened against the beatings. After Mr.Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is forced to serve as a servant at Wuthering Heights.
When Heathcliff returns back after his escape from Wuthering Heights, he is completely altered. His personality and his appearance completely change. He transforms into a 'tall, athletic well formed man'. Nelly draws that he might have served in an army due to his upright posture. His manners were improved, and his appearance seems to be rough and tough. Slowly the readers understand that he has turned out to be a 'hypocrite' and has some devilish agenda. As the story proceeds readers comprehend that their hypothesis about Heathcliff turns out to be true. He gradually starts to seek revenge which becomes the contributing factor for his lover's death. Readers precisely understand the level of his vengeance when Nelly reads out the old letter from Isabella, his wife.
In the letter she calls him a 'fiend' and also writes 'Is Mr.Heathcliff a man? If so is he mad? And if not is he a devil?' and 'he is ingenious and uninteresting and seeking to gain my abhorrence!'. He never loved her but married her just for vengeance. Later he abuses Linton, his son. Before Linton's death he forces him to marry young Cathy. Further, he harasses Hareton and young Cathy. In a nutshell he turns out to be the incarnation of a devil.
In the end Heathcliff's countenance changes completely. He stops eating and starts to act queer. Nelly Dean describes him as 'a ghoul or a vampire'. His cheeks sink and his eyes appear deadly. He kept staring at things with a pleasant look on his face and a sparkle in his eyes l. He starts murmuring as if talking to someone. He then gives up as he no longer drives fun and content out of revenge. He says ,"I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing." The love between Cathy and Hareton destroys his urge to seek revenge because they both together often reminded him of his deceased lover.
2. Catherine
The readers are first introduced to Catherine in chapter 3, through Mr Lockwood's nightmare and an old diary. Though we don't get a precise idea about the character, our curiosity rises to the top level. We as readers get curious like Mr.Lockwood to know about her role in Heathcliff's life.
In her childhood days, Catherine Earnshaw seemed to be a mischievous girl, very talkative and laughed a lot and always danced in her own world. But her wicked mind vexes the servants all the time.
She is a girl with big eyes, sweet smile and 'lightest foot in the parish'. Even though she is a mischievous girl, she has a great heart.
Later, as the story proceeds, Catherine is stuck, where she is constantly faced with a situation to choose how her life must be like and with - Heathcliff or Edgar Linton? She faces a lot of difficulties to choose between love and pride. Due to the social parameters, she is compelled to choose Edgar over Heathcliff. She chooses to marry him just for he was handsome and rich. She never loved him as much as he did. Nelly very wisely guides Catherine by saying,"he won't always be handsome, and young and may not always be rich." Catherine unknowingly insults Heathcliff while having a conversation with Nelly that it would 'degrade' her if she ever married Heathcliff. Later, she suffers from trauma to which Heathcliff is the main reason. She never fully recovers from her illness and finally dies giving birth to her daughter, Catherine also known as Cathy, named after her.
3. Edgar Linton
Edgar Linton is first introduced to the readers in chapter 5 who is the old owner of Thrushcross Grange. As a child he is a handsome boy and much civilized in his manners. His character is completely different from that of Heathcliff. He is rich and cheerful. He bestows all his love first, to Catherine, his wife and then to young Cathy, his daughter till the last breath of his life.
4. Nelly Dean
Nelly Dean is the narrator of the stories from the past who is narrating it to Mr.Lockwood. She has served as a servant to both the houses, Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights. She nurses Hareton in hais early years of life and young Cathy for a longer stretch of time. She is of the same age as Hindley's. Both old Catherine and young Cathy share their deepest secrets with her. Also, Isabella finds her trustworthy enough to send a secret letter. Brontë has painted her a trustworthy character of the novel.
5. Hindley Earnshaw
Hindley Earnshaw is Mr. Earnshaw's son. Originally when Heathcliff arrives at Wuthering Heights, Hindley harasses him to great extent. His father's love towards a random 'gypsy brat' infuriates him more to despise the boy. After his wife's death, he gets completely wasted and thus, harassesHeathcliff even more. He starts drinking more and ignores his son, Hareton. He dies six months after his sister's death.
6. Catherine Linton
Also known as Cathy, Miss Linton is pictured as a beautiful girl. She inherits her mother's large brown eyes and her father's fair skin. Her tiny features resemble her father's. In some ways she is like her mother but, in other ways she is totally different from her. Her affectionate nature is the same as her mother's. But, unlike her mother she is gentle, soft spoken and sensitive. If she ever loved someone, she would love them deeply, the way she loved her father. Her anger was as gentle as her heart. Anybody could win her heart. She falls in love with her cousin, Linton. It was rather one sided love than mutual. After Linton dies, she falls in love with Hareton, her other cousin, a perfect match for her as stated by Nelly Dean. Their mutual love defeats Heathcliff's every wish of his to seek any further revenge.
7. Hareton Earnshaw
Hareton, son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw is a sweet boy in his early days of life when Nelly acts as his guardian. Soon when Nelly is compelled to leave Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff raises him in an unpleasant manner. He is kept aloof of any basic knowledge to read and write. Later, after his father's death, he is forced to serve as a servant at Wuthering Heights. He looks more like old Cathy than her daughter Cathy does. Young Cathy takes on the task to teach him to read and write and soon they fall in love with each other.
8. Linton Heathcliff
Linton, the son of Heathcliff and Isabella is a 'pale, delicate, effeminate boy'. He has always been weak. His facial features appear to be similar to those of his mother which is why he looks like Edgar's younger brother. He has a fretful disposition. Heathcliff threatens him to marry Cathy. At Wuthering Heights he is usually abused by his father. After his marriage he grows into the worst of his health and soon dies at an early age.
9. Mr. Lockwood
Mr. Lockwood is the first narrator of the novel. He is a tenant at Thrushcross Grange. He is an anti-social man. But, he considers himself more social than Mr. Heathcliff.At Wuthering Heights he discovers a diary and some carvings which compel him dive into their past story.
10. Isabella Linton
Isabella, Edgar's sister, falls in love with Heathcliff and elopes with him to marry him. Later she realises her husband never loved her. He just wanted to seek his revenge. Isabella runs off to London and dies twelve years later after her departure from Wuthering Heights.
12. Joseph
Joseph is a very old servant at Wuthering Heights. He is a Christian but never imparted kindness and humanity in his whole life. He has a habit of criticizing others on every matter. He never ever speaks gently and kindly.
THEMES
1. Mysterious Love
The main theme of the story is love and passion. Throughout the story, Brontë very brilliantly reveals contrasting or diverse romantic relationships.
The love shared between Heathcliff and Catherine is that of a passionate kind. This passionate love destroys both of them. Their love results in conflicts throughout the story. Even the main conflict of the whole plot is fully based on their ardent love for each other. Their intense love is revealed to the readers many times, most particularly, when Cadherins reveals her feeling about Heathcliff to Nelly Dean:
"he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he is handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made up of his and mine is the same."
The love shared between Catherine and Edgar, her husband is that of a tranquil type. This pacific type of love is usually the love that society is used to. It is an ordinary kind of love But, Catherine surely doesn't love Edgar as much as he loves her.
The romantic relationship between young Cathy (Catherine's daughter) and Linton (Heathcliff's Son) is quite queer. It appears to be one sided rather than a mutual. He is threatened by Heathcliff to meet Cathy. Also, Cathy loves him more out of sympathy and not for the sake of love.
Young Cathy and Hareton's love for each other seems to be just perfect and precise. They both emerge to be made for each other. The love that they share is neither passionate nor calm. It appears to be one sided rather than a mutual. It is totally ideal and flawless. Their love and unification remind Heathcliff of his deceased lover, Catherine. Their union destroys him to a walking dead body and gradually he loses every wish to live and soon dies.
2. Social class.
The way Brontë has depicted the social class in the story is quite bizarre, at least, for the time when it was set in and written in.
Firstly, we see a lot of discrimination based on the social class taking place. We see Hindley abusing Heathcliff for being a 'gypsy'. He is constantly harassed by Hindley. Catherine also says that it would 'degrade' her if she ever marries Heathcliff which shouts social discrimination.
Contrastingly, we see the social classes changing. We witness Heathcliff shifting to an upper class and Hindley being decreased to a lower class. Also, Hareton, who must have been the heir to Wuthering Heights after his father's death, decreases to a servant. This was impossible and unacceptable in the time it was set in. Maybe it could be one of the reasons why many people detested the novel.
3.Revenge
In my opinion this could be ranked as the second most important theme of the story. The whole story is filled with revenge.In my opinion this could be ranked as the second most important theme of the story.
Originally, Hindley being vexed by Heathcliff being his father's favourite, he starts abusing Heathcliff and thus fulfilling his needs for revenge. This also results in the separation of Heathcliff from Catherine which further annoys Heathcliff.
Heathcliff fulfills his urge for vengeance by gradually taking over Wuthering Heights by means of money.
He also decreases Hareton, Hindley's son, to a servant. He keeps Hareton aloof from basic education which makes the boy unable to read and write. He also further abuses Hareton just the way his father abused Heathcliff.
Heathcliff, infuriated by Catherine and Edgar's marriage, seeks revenge from Edgar. He enters their tranquil life and destroys it which might be the reason for his lover's death. Unsatisfied with his vengeance, he plans to continue revenging Edgar by forcefully marrying Catherine to Linton. But his trial of last revenge leads him to the grave.
4. Apparition.
From the commencement stage itself, the presence of ghosts is perceived. In the beginning when Mr. Lockwood stays at Wuthering Heights, he claims to have seen the girl, Catherine. Later, at the end, a boy claims to have seen a man and woman waking near the burial place of Heathcliff and Catherine.
But, Brontë has penned down the incidents very wisely that it appears to be self explaining
Mr. Lockwood's sight can be explained as a nightmare The sight of a man and a woman claimed by the boy could be explained as an illusion because nobody other than these two people experienced such a thing ever.
Plot in a nutshell
In 1801, Mr. Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, visits Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights where he meets a widow, Catherine, Hareton, an uneducated man, Joseph the servant and Heathcliff the landlord. Due to some unfavourable climatic conditions, he is left with no other choice than to stay for the night. At Night he gets some inklings and experiences a nightmare which instills suspicion about a girl, Catherine. Earnshaw.
He approaches Nelly Dean, the servant at Thrushcross Grange to narrate the story about Wuthering Heights and the people in it. From this part, Nelly takes over the narration.
Mr. Earnshaw lived with his wife and two kids, Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw. In 1771, he rescues a 'gypsy' boy, Heathcliff and brings him back home to Wuthering Heights. Everyone in the family despises him, but Mr. Earnshaw is the only one who cares for him. Hindley starts abusing Heathcliff. But Heathcliff doesn't protest back.
Some years later, Mrs. Earnshaw dies, and Hindley is sent to college by his father.
Gradually Catherine and Heathcliff become close friends. They start spending a lot of time together. After some months, Mr. Earnshaw dies, and Hindley returns with a wife. He starts abusing and harassing Heathcliff. The little boy is forced to work as a servant at Wuthering Heights.
One day, Catherine gets bit by a dog of the Linton family at Thrushcross Grange. She is asked to stay back until she recovers but Heathcliff is shooed away due to his appearance and social status Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights after five weeks but she has changed. After her visit at Thrushcross Grange she appears to be more civilized. She befriends Edgar and Isabella Linton The special bond starts to lose between Heathcliff and Catherine because of her new friends.
Frances, Hindley's wife, dies after giving birth to Haneton. Depressed, due to the loss of his wife, Hindley starts drinking a lot. He doesn't even pay any attention to Hareton. Instead, he abuses him.
One day, Catherine reveals to Nelly Dean her love for Heathcliff but also concludes that she mustn't marry him due to his social status. According to her, marrying Heathcliff would degrade her. Heathcliff overhears this conversation and runs away. Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Linton die, and Catherine marries Edgar. Three years later Heathcliff returns and meets Catherine. Gradually, Heathcliff takes over Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff's arrival becomes the contributing factor to Catherine's illness. In order to seek revenge, he marries Isabella Linton.
Catherine de soon dies giving birth to her daughter, Catherine, named after her.
Isabella Linton, vexed by the conditions of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights runs off to London. Six months later after his sister's death. Hindley Earnshaw dies.
When Cathy, Edgar's daughter, turns twelve, she visits Wuthering Height unintentionally. There she meets her cousin, Hareton. Isabella dies, and Edgar brings back her son, Linton from London to Thrushcross Grange. On his father's request, Linton is sent off to Wuthering Heights forever.
Instead of her father's orders, Cathy visits Wuthering Heights multiple times. She gradually falls in love with Linton. In that case, Linton is forced and threatened by Heathcliff to meet Cathy and make her fall in love with him. This plan was just to acquire Thrushcross Grange.
Linton's health appears to weaken at Wuthering lights. Edgar grows out to be a weak old man at the same time.
On their one visit to meet Linton, Nelly and Cathy get captivated and Cathy is then forced to marry Linton. Edgar dies and soon after that Linton dies as well.
Mr Lockwood goes back to London. He returns to Wuthering Heights in September and gets the news of Heathcliff's death. Nelly takes oven the narration again:
Catherine and Hareton fall in love with each other. Their unification reminds Heathcliff of his deceased lover, Catherine. Their love destroys his will to seek revenge and surprisingly he starts fasting and then finally dies. His dead body is then buried beside Catherine's. They didn't unite when they were alive. But, they finally unite after their death.
CRITICAL APPRECIATION
Wuthering Heights is a very mysterious novel. Emily Brontë's writing proves to be very impressive. The story is written in such a way that the readers get engrossed in it. If you like a dark and gothic type of novel, this one's for you. It is totally different from your classic love story. In the beginning, the readers might get confused in the names of the character due to similar names and last names. But as the story proceeds the readers figure out those different names and get used to it. According to me, this was different but a wonderful read.
CRITICAL APPRECIATION
Wuthering Heights is a very mysterious novel. Emily Brontë's writing proves to be very impressive. The story is written in such a way that the readers get engrossed in it. If you like a dark and gothic type of novel, this one's for you. It is totally different from your classic love story. In the beginning, the readers might get confused in the names of the character due to similar names and last names. But as the story proceeds the readers figure out those different names and get used to it. According to me, this was different but a wonderful read.
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