Wuthering Heights, written in the 19th century by Emily Bronte, is a novel that is told through the use of a flashback. It relays the events that happened that led a man named Heathcliff to become who he is. Wuthering Heights starts off with a man, Lockwood, who is the new tenant at Thrushcross Grange and he meets his landlord, Heathcliff. During a stormy night, Lockwood questions the housekeeper, Nelly, about Healthcliff and Wuther Heights. Nelly goes off to tell the story of Heathcliff, the Earnshaws, and the Lintons.
Heathcliff was taken in by Mr.Earnshaw as an orphan. Mr.Earnshaw’s children, Catherine and Hindley, in the start detested him but Catherine grows to love him. Time passes by, Mrs.Earnshaw passes away and her husband begins to show favoritism towards Heathcliff rather than his own son, resulting in Hindley being sent abroad to college. Three years pass by, and Hindley inherits Wuthering Heights after the death of his father. He begins to treat Heathcliff like a servant and forces him to work in the fields. Throughout this time, Catherine continues to be close with Heathcliff, but one day she wanders into Thrushcross Grange and gets injured. She stays there for a few weeks and during that time she was taught how to be proper. As a result, she develops the need to ascend the social ladder, leading to her crush on Edgar Linton despite her love for Heathcliff. Catherine becomes engaged to Edgar, which causes Heathcliff to run away and come back after their marriage. Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights to avenge the people that hurt him starting with Hindley. He lends Hindley money which increases his despondency and when he dies, Heathcliff inherits the manor. Then, Heathcliff marries Isabella Linton, whom he mistreats. Shortly after, Catherine gives birth to a daughter, Young Catherine, and passes away, causing Heathcliff to go crazy because of his love for her. Not long after, Isabella gives birth to Linton in London. Thirteen years go by and young Catherine becomes friends with Hareton, Hindley’s son. Linton returns from London after the death of his mother, whom began an affair with Young Catherine through letters because of his father’s order. Linton falls ill shortly after. Heathcliff tricks Nelly and Catherine to his manor and holds them prisoner until Young Catherine marries Linton, thus achieving his goal of avenging Edgar Linton. After the death of Linton, Young Catherine is forced to become a servant for Heathcliff. Even after many years, Heathcliff’s obsession for Catherine grows to the extent where he speaks to her ghost. When Heathcliff passes away, his grave is next to Catherine’s, thus ending the story of the tragic lovers.
Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar are the main characters since the novel revolves around their love triangle. Heathcliff is an orphan that Catherine’s father brought home. During his stay, he falls immensely in love with Catherine. Heathcliff becomes a resentful man because of Hindley’s abusiveness towards him and his heartbreak caused by Catherine by marrying another man. Because of the misery cast upon him, he becomes a powerful and cruel man who spends the rest of his life seeking revenge on those that inflicted pain on him. Catherine is the daughter of Mr.Earnshaw and she falls madly in love with the boy that her father had brought home. She’s independent, beautiful, spoiled, and prideful. Her love for Heathcliff is so intense that she believes they’re one and the same but her selfishness led her to marry Edgar Linton instead. Catherine’s heart is torn between her passion for Heathcliff and the social benefits that Edgar brings. She’s selfish because in the end she hurts both, the man that she marries and the man that she’s madly in love with. Edgar Linton is an upper class, spoiled boy. He’s cowardly and tender but also a gentleman. He’s the ideal man for a woman to marry because of his wealth, looks, and attitude. No matter how great Edgar is, he still isn’t comparable to Heathcliff who overpowers him in the end. Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar are the ones that created the plot of the book due to their complex relationships.
Wuthering Heights is a book based off of a one-sided love and a man that ends up being bitter for revenge. I found this book really tragic and depressing because of how none of the three main characters got a happy ending. Heathcliff was so bitter and hurt to the point where he planned a revenge that took many years to complete, yet in the end he ended up miserable and sorrowful. He got what he wanted but he wasn’t happy, and in a way he hurt the one he loved and lost her, leading him to feel regret. In the end, misery consumes Heathcliff causing him to commit suicide. After Edgar’s death, his estate goes to the one man he hates and his daughter becomes a servant for him too. Catherine marries a man that she does not love for who he is but the amount of money he has even though she was in love with Heathcliff. She did not even want him to ever know about her love for him as she once stated, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him”(Bronte). I found this quote to be extremely powerful because it made me feel anger, sadness, and sympathy because of how selfish her actions were. It also made me question how much love really meant to her since she was so willing to give it up for a social status. The author’s choice to put Heathcliff and Catherine’s graves next to eachother conveys that even though the two star-crossed lovers could not be together in reality, they could be together after death. It gave me a different perspective of unrequited love. Though this book was full of afflictions, the plot was powerful and really absorbed the reader into finding out what happens in the end of the book.
Wuthering Heights is a classic that definitely should be read. It is a fine novel filled with passion, tragedy, alcoholism, and seduction, making it interesting. Wuthering Heights is a well written, complex book that requires an open-mind when reading it because of the immoral actions of Heathcliff. This book illustrates the power of love and how it affects others. It’s not a typical cliché book about two lovers that go through a few bumps on the road and have their happily ever after, and that’s what I love about it. I not only find this book worth spending my time reading, but it’s one that I would recommend to those would love romances even if they end in catastrophe.
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