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The themes of evil and revenge in Wuthering Heights
Theme of class,women and patriarchy in wuthering heights
Theme of class,women and patriarchy in wuthering heights
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Recommended: The themes of evil and revenge in Wuthering Heights
Opposing forces have always been a part of life since the earliest of humans. Yin and Yang is illustrated very frequently in everything: sun and moon, light and dark, heaven and hell. The yin-yang philosophy explains how the two forces are connected and how they exist within each other and can not exist without each other. This idea can also be applied to the two houses that make up the setting of Wuthering Heights, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Wuthering Heights tends to be more negative, having more of the action and irrational characters, whereas Thrushcross Grange tends to be much more positive with its aesthetic appearance and civil characters. Opposing parallelism is exhibited throughout Brontë’s Wuthering Heights by the decisions made by the characters in each house and the two houses themselves, however, they don’t act as opposites in every situation. …show more content…
In the first chapter, Lockwood describes the house as having an unkempt lawn, damage to the house due to its high elevation and exposure to wind, and furniture he would expect from a farmer, which he attributes to lack of servants, being that there is only one (Bronte 5). The first impression the house gives him supports the rundown condition of the house. Later in the novel, Nelly tells Lockwood the story of his tyrannical landlord and the actions Heathcliff has committed throughout his life, such as how he threatened to kill Linton if he didn’t marry Cathy, and how he locked Nelly and Cathy in the house until Cathy married Linton (Bronte 258). These actions support the idea of Wuthering Heights being very unlike Thrushcross Grange and eventually cause Lockwood to leave for London. Wuthering Heights repetitively proves to be much less domestic than Thrushcross
Martha Nussbaum describes the romantic ascent of various characters in Wuthering Heights through a philosophical Christian view. She begins by describing Catherine as a lost soul searching for heaven, while in reality she longs for the love of Heathcliff. Nussbaum continues by comparing Heathcliff as the opposition of the ascent from which the Linton’s hold sacred within their Christian beliefs. Nussbaum makes use of the notion that the Christian belief in Wuthering Heights is both degenerate and way to exclude social classes.
Wuthering Heights went through its own transformation throughout the novel. Wuthering Heights is a good novel to show that everyone and everything has the ability to change. Almost every character’s appearance or personality is altered in some way.
"Wuthering" meaning subject to persistent blustery or noisy winds and"Heights"referring to the hill on top of which it resides. There are physical storms described in the book that "[rattle] over the Heights in a full fury"(p. 248), that have "growling thunder, and great drops" (p. 248) . On the night of Mr.Earnshaw 's death "a high wind blustered round the house [...] it sounded wild and stormy" (p. 43). The house is described by the author as cruel one, the "narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners are defended with large jutting stones" (p. 4). Furthermore, there are in the house cruel dogs that bite Mr. Lockwood upon his arrival. These dogs are said to be "robbing [the] wood of pheasants" (p. 328). The vegetation also illustrates the misery of the house, there are "a few stunted firs at the end of the house" (Chapter I) and "a range of gaunt thorns" (p. 4), the word "gaunt" demonstrates effectively the coldness of the house. The physical description of the house makes the reader believe that Wuthering Heights is not a calm
'Wuthering Heights' was originally written by Emily Bronte. She lived on the moors and she enjoyed wandering through the moors, which is where she got her inspiration to write the story 'Wuthering Heights'. In 1992, Peter Kosminksy directed the film version of 'Wuthering Heights,' he used camera angles/shots, sound, composition, lighting and character gesture/facial expressions to make the opening as effective as possible. To begin with, Emily Bronte is walking through the moors heading to a castle. When she enters the castle it shows her opinion and imagination of what might have happened there. It begins with Lockwood who lives nearby Wuthering Heights and gets caught up in a raging storm so he enters the suspicious castle away from the raging storm, which is building up very quickly behind him. He is soon told to leave by the occupants, although he stubbornly refuses and after he is offered a room by the woman, he is shocked by someone just outside his window.
The initial downward spiral of Heathcliff’s life was predominantly caused by harsh influences in the environment in which he was raised. Heathcliff, an adopted child, grew up in Wuthering Heights, a desolate and dystopian estate when compared to the beauty of the neighboring Thrushcross Grange. In childhood, Heathcliff displayed evidence of a sympathetic personality through his emotional attachment to Catherine and kind attitude towards Nelly. At the time of Mr. Earnshaw’s death, Nelly describes a scene where, “Miss Cathy had been sick, and that made her still; she
The setting used throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, helps to set the mood to describe the characters. We find two households separated by the cold, muddy, and barren moors, one by the name of Wuthering Heights, and the other Thrushcross Grange. Each house stands alone, in the mist of the dreary land, and the atmosphere creates a mood of isolation. These two places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange differ greatly in appearance and mood. These differences reflect the universal conflict between storm and calm that Emily Bronte develops as the theme.
The basic conflict of the novel that drives Heathcliff and Catherine apart is social. Written after the Industrial Revolution, Wuthering Heights is influenced by the rise of new fortunes and the middle class in England. Money becomes a new criterion to challenge the traditional criterias of class and family in judging a gentleman’s background. Just as Walpole who portrays the tyrannies of the father figure Manfred and the struggles of the Matilda who wants to marry the peasant Theodore, as depicted in the quote “(…) improbability that either father would consent to bestow his heiress on so poor a man, though nobly born”(p. 89), Brontë depicts a brutal bully Hindley who torments Heathcliff and separates Catherine from him. Heathcliff, a gypsy outcast picked u...
“Wuthering Heights is a strange, inartistic story”(Atlas, WH p. 299). “Wuthering Heights is a strange sort of book” (Douglas, WH p.301). “This is a strange book” (Examiner, WH p.302). “His work [Wuthering Heights] is strangely original” (Britannia, WH p.305). These brief quotes show that early critics of Emily Bronte’s first edition of Wuthering Heights, found the novel baffling in its meaning - they each agreed separately, that no moral existed within the story therefore it was deemed to have no real literary value. The original critical reviews had very little in the way of praise for the unknown author or the novel. The critics begrudgingly acknowledged elements of Wuthering Heights that could be considered strengths – such as, “rugged power” and “unconscious strength” (Atlas, WH p.299), “purposeless power” (Douglas, WH p.301), “evidences of considerable power” (Examiner), “power and originality” (Britannia, WH p.305). Strange and Powerful are two recurring critical interpretations of the novel. The critics did not attempt to provide in depth analysis of the work, simply because they felt that the meaning or moral of the story was either entirely absent or seriously confused.
Wuthering Heights is a novel which deviates from the standard of Victorian literature. The novels of the Victorian Era were often works of social criticism. They generally had a moral purpose and promoted ideals of love and brotherhood. Wuthering Heights is more of a Victorian Gothic novel; it contains passion, violence, and supernatural elements (Mitchell 119). The world of Wuthering Heights seems to be a world without morals. In Wuthering Heights, Brontë does not idealize love; she presents it realistically, with all its faults and merits. She shows that love is a powerful force which can be destructive or redemptive. Heathcliff has an all-consuming passion for Catherine. When she chooses to marry Edgar, his spurned love turns into a destructive force, motivating him to enact revenge and wreak misery. The power of Heathcliff’s destructive love is conquered by the influence of another kind of love. Young Cathy’s love for Hareton is a redemptive force. It is her love that brings an end to the reign of Heathcliff.
Emily Bronte, on the surface, appeared to be a very withdrawn woman and is said to be reclusive throughout her entire life. She was even incredibly embarrassed when her sister, Charlotte Bronte, found her book of poetry, even though Charlotte was incredibly impressed by it. Beneath the surface lies a woman full of passion and capable of powerful emotions, though she had never felt such emotions, to write a novel that is still discussed today and is regarded as a literary classic. Novels are often regarded as a window to the souls of the authors, and Wuthering Heights is no exception. Wuthering Heights is often seen as a type of construct of Emily’s life and personality, because of the similarity of characters to people in Emily’s life, and how the events that occur at Wuthering Heights are secluded in their own right, much like Emily’s own life.
..., emotional power, figures of speech, and handling of dialect that make the characters of Wuthering Heights relate so closely with their surroundings. The contrast of these two houses adds much to the meaning of this novel, and without it, the story would not be the interesting, complex novel it is. The contrast between the houses is more than physical, rather these two houses represent the opposing forces which are embodied in their inhabitants. Having this contrast is what brings about the presentation of this story altogether. Bronte made Heathcliff and Wuthering Height as one. Both of these are cold, dark, and menacing, similar to a storm. Thrushcross Grange with the Lintons was more of a welcoming and peaceful dwelling. The personality of both is warm and draws itself to you by the warmth of the decor and richness of the surrounding landscape.
First, Wuthering Heights is a contribution to the theme of the novel because it sets the mood for the scenes taken place inside the house. The house is first introduced to the reader during a storm. The house stands alone and the land around it is described as dreary and foreboding, which creates a mood of isolation. “On the bleak Yorkshire moors” describes the Yorkshire moors physical appearance. The estate has little vegetation and is more weathered, which moors are, as they are jutting, bare rocks towards the ocean. Wuthering Heights is an old stone house with gothic architecture and bleak interior. The people that live in Wuthering Heights are bitter and act violent. The characters of the story act wild when they are at Wuthering Heights, compared to other places in the novel. The setting of the house enforces the actions of the Earnshaws’, and Heathcliff. The name of the estate even sets a theme of gloom in the novel. Lockwood says Wuthering is, “a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather” (12).
...e. On a very simplistic level, it is attractive, the name ‘Wuthering Heights’ sounds to the ear a more mysterious and enigmatic choice than Thrushcross Grange. But it can be assumed that the author had made the choice of naming the novel based on reasons that run deeper than mere attractiveness. The setting is vital to the plot, and as Wuthering Heights and its presence directly or indirectly precipitates a major part of the action, the choice is an apt one. In conclusion,the characters’ relation with Nature runs deep, and this too has been highlighted forcefully by the title, that keeps reminding the reader that in ‘Wuthering Heights’, the setting is the thread that runs through the entire narrative holding it together, and halfway through the novel, we can almost perceptibly feel the throb of Nature that is alive, that is at work, and that has a will of its own.
Wuthering Heights is immensely filled with nature imagery. Mathison believes that Wuthering Heights is a “wild novel” because of its illustration of the wild nature (18). From the moors to the barren landscape, Bronte brings together these images to depict a dreary and desolate setting. Bronte also uses the elements of nature to convey characteristics of characters. Bronte uses the imagery of nature to reflect the personalities of the characters in Wuthering Heights.
...he was able to interpret the events of her life, and for the first time tell a visitor of everything that has gone on. Since Nelly’s life was not personally haunted by regrets, like Catherine and Heathcliff’s, she is able to recite the past and present in a clear and rational way. Lockwood believes her story and is so intrigued by all the dreadful events that took place across a lifetime on these Yorkshire moors. From the outside looking in it may appear that the Earnshaws and Lintons were just a private family living their lives, but nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors, except for the help, our Nelly. This is why her narration is crucial and without it, the story of Wuthering Heights may still exist, but would not be as believable.