For the last half of the novel, I would like you to consider the following ideas. Please choose two, but be careful not to repeat ideas and analysis from last week's comments.
Motif: patterns of objects, colors, ideas that show up in the novel that work to develop theme(dogs/beasts/devils/storms/sickness, etc). Choose a motif and trace its development through the novel. Cite a couple of references of this motif and analyze how you think this repeated element helps develop meaning and theme in the novel.
Resolution of conflict: Identify, analyze and evaluate how conflicts are resolved. Are you as a reader satisfied? Were all the conflicts resolved in a way that makes sense according to your analysis of character?
Symbolism: Choose a symbol (other than weather, please - that one seems to have been discussed quite thoroughly) in the novel and explain its significance to meaning.
Politics/Social Class: Analyze what Bronte reveals about social class through her work.
Names: Analyze the significance of the name of a character (or characters since so many of them share names) or place in the novel.
Many of the above topics will also require you to discuss theme. Be sure to consider theme as a statement rather than a single word. Theme is a universal idea the author relays in his/her work.
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In Wuthering Heights, we see Heathcliff as a vengeful and angry character. Throughout the book he comes into conflicts with different characters and uses violence or threats to get what he desires. In chapter twenty seven an example of his conflicts exists. Heathcliff forced Catherine to stay at the Heights when she desired to return home to see her father. Catherine demanded Heathcliff to give her the key to let her go but he refused. She tried to force it from him but that resulted in her getting beaten about the head. From this conflict and the other conflicts in the book, the reader begins to hate the character known as Heathcliff. He does whatever he wants and it seems nobody can stop him. But this changes in chapter thirty three when Heathcliff seizes young Catherine. It looks like he will hurt her, even Mrs. Dean says, “… and I was just worked up to risk coming to the rescue,…” (pg. 238). But he doesn’t harm her at all. He says, “You must learn to avoid putting me in a passion, or I shall really murder you some time! Go with Mrs. Dean and keep with her;…” (pg. 238-239). This is very odd because we all know that he hates Catherine and would love to hurt her. But later he tells Mrs. Dean that “I don’t care for striking: I can’t take the trouble to raise my hand!” (pg. 240). According to an analysis of Heathcliff early in the book this is quite out of his character, but in this portion of the book, he is too weary from having to endure his separation from Catherine (the mother) and this drains him of his normal personality.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, Mrs. Dean is the care taker. She is always looking after someone, giving advice, and serving. She does this for the first Catherine, then for her daughter, and for young Linton for a short time. She constantly looked after the first two though. She was directly involved in almost everyday of their lives. Dictionary.com states that a dean is “an official in an American college or secondary school having charge of student personnel services, such as counseling or discipline”. She performs these duties and acts as a “dean” over her subjects. For example in chapter twenty two she advises young Catherine not to go visit Linton and to not listen to Heathcliff’s stories. She provides wise counsel to the young girl just as a dean would.
Reading towards the end of Wuthering Heights, I was wondering what does the work wuthering mean. So the other day I was looking through a dictionary trying to figure out this mysterious word. Inside, the definition states that it is a noisy wind, mainly powerful winds in most cases. Thinking about this, I didn't help but wonder if the author used the word wuthering in a sense that the things that go on in the heights are in a sense of a howling wind. Since there is a lot of anger and drama that takes place in the novel Wuthering Heights in setting was good as a place due to the first word. According to my assumption wuthering words and phrases had been used between characters to make things more in a dramatic sense. By being set in a place where the character fit the name of the setting it actual fits the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteGoing to the social class, I couldn't help but notice the dialect of certain characters is dependent on how they are treated in the novel. Reading some of the characters speaking I struggled most of the time understanding what they were saying with words like "hev', haulf, hahsiver" and more. Mostly the reason why they had spoken like this was because the character was illiterate. Mainly, most all novels can be political just by a person looks are how their lifestyle is. Novels like 1984, Great Gatsby, Wicked, etc. all these novels have something that can depict each character as individuals. Even though it is shown that Catherine's husband burned all of her books, that was becuase he was illiterate. The reason why is since she could read, he thought it wasn't fair that a woman (and yes most novels put women in a lower situation) shouldn't have a skill or an ability that a man, especially her husband can have. By doing this he thinks that by getting rid of the books she cannot overpower him by her abilities of language and literacy. Even though, through this it shows that mostly all novel that gives all men who are literate and overpower should rule the world, which in case shouldn't be true.
Resolution of Conflicts: I felt that Young Catherine did what her mother wouldn't. She followed her heart despite what the rules for social class say. At first she married Linton, she claimed to be in love, but I felt she didn't really feel that way. Catherine started down the same path as her mother, and did what everyone else wanted. However, in the end she followed her emotions and wed Hareton on New Year's Day. Even though Hareton can't read and isn't rich, Catherine still loves him for who he is and chooses to spend the rest of her life with him. Another conflict is Heathcliff, he has become bitter and ill since Catherine's death and takes it out on her daughter. He makes Hareton and Catherine pay for his loss of love. Eventually, he realises its wrong of him, and the similarities between Catherine and Young Catherine make him soften up. He changes from the crude person he was, and into a person of reason. Heathcliff allows their wedding and later dies.
ReplyDeletePolitics/ Social Class: Bronte reveals that Social Class establishes boundaries amongst people. She shows that rich, classy people can be the most barbaric and cruel, for example Heathcliff. Heathcliff owns Wuthering Heights and is ill mannered and cruel to his guests. However, Nelly she is a servant, and she is very kind and makes sure everyone is taken care of. Even though that's her job, she'd probably still be like that because she is very caring. The boundaries amongst the people are, rich don't marry poor.
Names play an important role in Wuthering Heights. Many characters share names, both last and first names. One of the main characters, Catherine, has two surnames, Earnshaw and Linton. Catherine was born Earnshaw and then marries to become a Linton. Even though Catherine becomes a Linton, she confesses that she also had feelings for Heathcliff. I believe that this expresses that Catherine wanted to be a part of all three: family, husband, and even Heathcliff. Wuthering Heights also uses what sound like surnames as first names and what sounds like first names as surnames. For example, Hareton and Hindley are used as first names but sound like surnames. Linton is used as both a surname and a first name. The way that these names are used creates confusion in the reader's mind. It creates that such as a dream to where the reader seems to wake up each time he sets the book down and so happens to forget what he just dreamed(read). In conclusion, names in Wuthering Heights impress upon the reader diversity and confusion.
ReplyDeleteSocial class envelopes characters and places throughout Wuthering Heights. Each character holds a different status of social class within the novel. Catherine holds a high status in social class. She becomes a wealthy, sophisticated young woman. The estate in which she lives in as a child shows high class as well as she. Wuthering Heights is a highly respectable, well kept place. On the other hand, Heathcliff is placed in many different positions and experiences multiple social classes. He is brought in to the high class estate of Wuthering Heights. Later he is thrown into a lower class and becomes a servant for Hindley. Hindley treats Heathcliff such as if he were nothing but low class scum. After being treated extremely poorly, Heathcliff marries Isabella and yet again rises on the social ladder. He eventually becomes the owner of Thrushcross Grange. The estate in which the Lintons lived in also reached high on the social ladder. The estate was well kept and respectable just as Wuthering Heights had been. In conclusion, Emily does an excellent job at portraying, and showing, each social class to her readers throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteSocial classes in Wuthering Heights are the cause of many conflicts throughout the novel. Throughout the novel you can see how Bronte starts to develop the differences between characters by means of placing them in different social classes. Going back to last weeks’ reading you can see how different the characters are because of where they live. The people of Thrushcross Grange are very sophisticated and proper whereas the people from Wuthering Heights are coarse and unfriendly. After Catherine returns from Thrushcross Grange she is much more proper, eventually leading her to marry Edgar because she felt like he was of equal social stature. As time passes the social problems persist. Heathcliff becomes obsessed with his son and Catherine getting married. He does this because he knows that his fragile son could die soon which would give him all of his son’s assets. If his son were to marry Catherine, he would be next in line to inherit Thrushcross Grange. Upon Heathcliff’s death I got a feeling that the differences between everyone seemed to be unimportant and everyone seemed happier.
ReplyDeleteThe names of the characters also play an important role in the novel. Catherine and her daughter are both given the same name because they are very similar. They both are very free spirited and have a sense of adventure when they are young. The young Catherine is very similar to her mother when it comes to love as well. She falls in love with Heathcliff’s son much like her mother fell in love with Heathcliff. She continues her relationship with him despite what her father and other think. But, unlike her mother, she keeps true to her heart instead of doing what everyone else expected her to do. Another name that jumped out at me what Linton. Linton was the name of the family at Thrushcross Grange and of Heathcliff’s son. This seemed fitting to me because Heathcliff’s son seemed much more refined than the others at Wuthering Heights.
Reading Wuthering Heights I noticed a recurring theme or pattern was love. It starts out with Heathcliff and Catherine (the original). They start out getting to know each other, and as the time passes they begin to fall in love. This occurs often in the book as you saw when Catherine was on her death bed the love between her and Heathcliff was still there after all the time they spent apart. Their love unfortunately was kind of what kept them apart. Heath cliff couldn't stand losing Catherine to Edgar so he tried to get revenge. In the end they didn't end up together. Later on in the story at the end Catherine (Edgar’s daughter) falls in love with Hareton. This was the same love between Heathcliff and Catherine, but this time it ended up happy. They were married and lived together. These two examples of love lead me to Their Social Classes.
ReplyDeleteWhen you first hear about HeathCliff you’re told of a rough boy who is taken in. He is a dirty child that needs to be cleaned. Certainly, not good enough for a proper girl like Catherine. She is transformed into a high society proper young girl. Who can only be with another man of her status? Unfortunately, Heathcliff is not one of these strapping young lads. He is never really high class even though he lives at Wuthering Heights. Even as he came into money he still is the rough child he always was. Emily Bronte does a great job distinguishing the upper class of Catherine and the lower class/middle class of Heathcliff. She also showed that social classes don’t matter when it comes to things such as love.
Of the motifs present in Wuthering Heights the one that stands out is the constant reoccurrence of sickness and death. At the beginning of the novel Mr. Lockwood becomes sick after a trip from Wuthering Heights. His time confined to bed enables Nelly to tell him the story of the people he met at the Heights. At the beginning of this story Catherine’s mother and father die, leaving her and Heathcliff in the care of her older brother, who hated Heathcliff. Later on, after Catherine’s marriage to Edgar, Catherine herself becomes ill, prior to the night when her and Heathcliff confess their love for each other, and on this very night Catherine dies. These are just a few occurrences that shape one of the themes in this novel, the almost total lack of happiness in life. In face the only characters that have a possible happy ending are Hareton and Catherine (the daughter).
ReplyDeleteOne of the names that holds the most significance, in this novel, is that of Catherine. Throughout the first half of this novel the reader gets a very distinct impression of the first Catherine (mother) that plays a huge role in the remainder of the book. In chapter 16 Catherine has a daughter and dies soon afterward. Her father named her Catherine, after her mother; however, this comes to signify more than just her resemblance to her mother. The daughter’s name is only one of the reasons that Heathcliff comes to hate her, although it is a very influential one. Young Catherine’s name and resemblance to her mother are the reasons for the treatment Catherine receives at the Heights. Like her mother, Catherine (daughter) also falls in love with a man who is looked down upon and despised by those around him. The author uses this name to inform the reader of what this character will become, because one already knows the mother’s habits. Catherine is a name that still holds significance, because of these two women.
Motif is the first topic I would like to discuss. This pattern I have found is the several cases of conflict between one person and another. Bronte seems to put each of these cases in pairs as they develop throughout the novel. First it was Hindley and upon his very arrival Heathcliff, who was looked at as Mr. Earns haw's gypsy bastard. Mr. Earnshaw then began to favor Heathcliff more and resented Hindley for his stereotypical hatred. Heathcliff then despised the fact that Catherine had stayed with Edgar so long and after they engaged, he despised Edgar for stealing part of her heart. Isabella was denied reentry into her home with Edgar and was not wanted by Heathcliff. Heathcliff, the main character of conflict, eventually begins to hate himself for what he had become. Each of these situations continue and enhance the novel upon the framework that every story has, conflict. This adds to the complexity and purpose of the plot as a whole, while also developing the theme of ours everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteThe only symbol that I could see throughout the expanse of the novel was the moors. At the start of the novel they are simply just there; being very hard or impossible to travel through except by foot and not being fertile to bare crops the land can almost be viewed as a wasted space and danger. Toward the beginning of the novel though, Heathcliff and Catherine go out and play on the moors, which only brings the bond between them that much closer. It is here that their love is professed and subsequently the moors become a symbol of their love and the savageness that lives inside them.
Motifs: The novel ‘Wuthering Heights’ mainly has the themes of jealousy, vengeance, and sickness. One of the motifs of the novel is sickness. Catherine and Hindley’s parents die off and the Linton’s parents die off, which brings the reader’s attention to the three major characters, Catherine, Hindley, and Edgar, in the first half of the novel. Catherine died of child birth or emotional illness. However, in the second half of the novel sickness occurs when Edgar becomes frail and can no longer take care of or keep watch of his daughter Catherine. Heathcliff’s son Linton, who is Catherine’s cousin and former husband, is unhealthy. Hetahcliff uses his son’s sicknesses in order to make Catherine (daughter) feel like she had to nurse him back to health. Edgar could not protect his daughter from Heathcliff’s vengeful plan to have control over his estate. Why did Linton die? His death is significant because Catherine (daughter) is left without a husband, which means she can marry Hareton. Catherine and Hareton love each other in the end of the novel. Sickness was repeated throughout the novel and indicated that the atmosphere of the negative personalities made everyone unhealthy emotionally and physically.
ReplyDeleteResolution of conflicts: Heathcliff misjudges Catherine’s daughter because he assumes she will follow her mother’s footsteps and give into society’s expectations. Young Catherine marries Linton at first because she thinks she loves him. But after he dies she sees that her real love is Hareton. Unlike Catherine (mother), who chose Edgar over Heathcliff, Young Catherine finds happiness. Heathcliff’s desires do not become important to him in the end. Heathcliff was the source of conflict in the second half of the novel because he held onto his revenge. Heathcliff is only causing conflict to himself internally. His desire for Catherine caused him to have revenge on her daughter, Hindley’s son, and everyone around him. In the end, his conflict is resolved when he realizes his cruelty and later dies. Another conflict is how Isabella loved Heathcliff. He did not show her any compassion or love. She suffered through a hateful environment at Wuthering Heights while brother lived in love and higher class. Isabella resolves her conflict by moving to London. She had a son and died.
Sorry, my computer has been inoperable for the past several days, but I think I've fixed it for a while.
ReplyDeleteNames: Significance of the surnames in Wuthering Heights
Linton, to me, has a wimpy connotation with "i" being the primary vowel that overpowers a more masculine "o". Also, a cursive capital "L" is very feminine-looking. This describes all of the Lintons; they are delicate creatures, even Catherine when she marries into the Linton clan. Now that I have expressed my personal connotation of the name, Linton itself is an old surname signifying a lime tree or flax farm or settlement. Oviously this goes along with the farming terrain of the English countryside.
Earnshaw is a strong, worthy name in that earning is a noble task, as Mr. Earnshaw (the eldest) took in Heathcliff. A shawl covers and keeps one warm, which would also correlate with Mr. Earnshaw's deed. Shaws, by the Scottish origin, are stalks and leaves of cultivated root plants, such as potatoes and turnips, so the Earnshaws are also aptly placed in the farming area. On top of this, to earn is to deserve a merit or dismerit, and each of the Earnshaws earned an early death for their misdeeds and attitudes.
Heathcliff is a rough, rigid, and sharp name, baren of value of worth since it is completely made up without a history. According to dictionary.reference.com, heath is an uncultivated wasteland overgrown with small shrubs.
Dean, as in Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean, is a head of faculty, hince her role as a housekeeper and nurse.
Kenneth is supposed to mean handsome, so it is hard to hate Dr. Kenneth and Bronte makes him do nothing to anger the reader. But Kenneth is not a surname, so why use a first name as a surname? It shows the unimportance of he character to develop the story. Mr. Kenneth is more important as the role of doctor than what the character can do to enhance the story.
At the time that Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights, the old system of peasants vs. nobles was long gone. Of course royal titles were still respected, but the upper class gained position by ownership of land and money. Also an estate with a name showed social influence, especially if the name was well known in the surrounding area. If one didn't own land, his or her status was considered a dependent, which could range from immediate family to almost a servant. Heathcliff was definately a rags to riches story by beginning as a city beggar, then raised to a dependent of Mr. Earnshaw, lowered to a mere worker for Hindley, and rising to be a member of the upper class when he gained control of Wuthering Heights.
ReplyDeleteSocial class could be determined by genetics as well. A person with fair skin, hair, and eyes was well-regarded and seen as a delicacy. Prim and slim facial features showed good breeding if found without obscurities. This meant that even if Heathcliff and Edgar Linton owned estates that were exactly the same, Edgar would have been held in higher esteem by the townfolk because of his looks.
One last thing that Bronte touched on was the status of women in society. They were only held to the social class of their father or whoever they were married to. Women had little or no power in running the household or inheriting the estate, so young Cathy was at the mercy of her powerless husbands and her revenge-hungry uncle.
All in all, social class is based on material possessions and landholdings, and relative beauty can help a little.
In Wuthering Heights, the character Heathcliff has the most unusual name in the novel. Names are a central part of any character and they tend to have deeper meanings that can sometimes apply to the character in question. When his name is broken up and defined, Heathcliff’s name provides a basis for the rough, uncultured, and brutal character that he becomes. ‘Heath,’ according to Webster’s dictionary means a tract of wasteland or an extensive area of rather level open uncultivated land usually with poor coarse soil and inferior drainage. This definition reflects his personality in that, in his younger years, Heathcliff is uncultured and rebellious against his adopted family’s rules; in his later years, Heathcliff becomes a “wasteland” in that his morals decline until he is a evil person altogether. ‘Cliff’ is defined as being a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure formed due to erosion and weathering. Heathcliff becomes a “cliff” after “weathering” the refusal of Catherine to marry him—he becomes a figure on which no one can cling to or love. These two definitions come together to form a character who, at his best, causes the most conflict and pain to other characters throughout the story. The depth of meaning that can be deduced from just a simple name is illustrated by Emily Bronte brilliantly in Heathcliff.
ReplyDeleteDuring the course of the story in Wuthering Heights, there are many prevalent examples of 18th century social structure as experienced by the author Emily Bronte. The first example takes place early in the novel when Catherine, after being educated in the mannerisms of her time, says marrying Heathcliff would be beneath her despite her loving him more than anything in the whole world. This refusal to marry beneath her station without regards to her own feelings and marry Edgar Linton only for his place in society and money speaks volumes about the ideas of the time period. According to the time period’s rules of social interaction between rich and powerful families, women who come from rich families should never marry anyone below them in class or rank for any reason. The second example of class differences takes place later in the novel when the young Catherine is growing up. She, in her youthful exuberance and beauty, is spoiled beyond comprehension and not taught about the harsh realities of life. This view provided by Bronte of young, wealthy girls and their near pompous mannerisms provides insight into how young girls were raised in the 18th century. In Wuthering Heights, Bronte provides accurate historical context while providing her own bias and opinion on the social structure of her day.
Sorry to be posting so late, have had a hard time catching up after vacaton.
Wuthering Heights chap 17-34
ReplyDeleteClaire Wyse
Conflicts Resolved
I am going to consentrate on Heathcliffs delimas and resolutions. Since reading this weeks chapters a major conflict between Heathcliff and himself was seeing and hearing Catherine after her death. To resolve this, after Edgar died, Heathcliff dug up Catherine's grave so he could see her truly dead. Catherine was haunting him, so he thought, and a part of him thought she was still alive. Seeing her dead his nightmares and conflicts within himself were resolved. Another instance of Heathcliffs resolved conflicts was when he felt indifference to young Catherines and Haretons affections for each other. He no longer had it in him to get revenge on Catherine his love, and was ready to pass on. He was weary of everything, and I believe he took it as a secound chance. Catherine and Hareton were a copy of Heathcliff and Catherine that would be able to be together in the end. All together I am satisfied with the story's conflicts being resolved in the manner in which they did. I can say I enjoyed the ending of Wuthering Heights in extremes compared to the rest of the book.
Politics/ Social Class
In my opinion, Bronte thinks social class as a barrier against true love, but in the end Bronte wins her way and love triumphs over silliness like what class you are. In the beginning Catherine chose Edgar over Heathcliff because of his class, she not wanting to marry someone below her besides her true feelings. Catherine payed dearly for this decision. Young Catherine thought Hareton lower than her even though he was her cousin. After living with Heathcliff awhile though I belive Catherines pride was brought down and with it some of her rank or social class. This allows Catherine to think of Hareton as something else besides a bother, and in the end they want to get married (which I find repulsing wonder they dont have blue kids).
To me the sharing of names in Wuthering Heights represents Catherine and Heathcliff’s love. In the beginning Catherine and Heathcliff never make it work out, and Catherine marries Linton. In the beginning her marriage it works, but when Heathcliff came in the picture she and Linton started getting rocky. She never chose Heathcliff and ended up dying still married to Linton. Later in the novel when Heathcliff takes his son Linton, he arranges young Catherine to meet Linton and fall in love. Even though Heathcliff is just trying to take over Thrushcross Grange, in a way this represents the older Catherine and Linton. Their relationship works out in the beginning, but over time it fails, and Linton dies, kinda like the first Catherine and Linton. Meanwhile, Hareton comes into the picture. He is somewhat of a representation of Heathcliff, uneducated and raised the same, and he also adores Heathcliff. Towards the end of the novel Hareton and Catherine get together, and everything is all fine and dandy. I believe they represent the first Catherine and Heathcliff, and are a representation of what their life would have been like had they stuck together.
ReplyDeleteThe motif that occurred most in the novel was the reoccurrence of sickness. In the end it contributed to the theme of a never changing love. For example, even after Mr. Earnshaw dies, and Hindley becomes owner and treats Heathcliff horribly, their love remains, even if it’s hidden. When Catherine dies of sickness Heathcliff still loves her. When Isabella dies of sickness, Linton comes to love young Catherine. Heathcliff’s son Linton dies of sickness, opening up a love between Catherine and Hareton. Eventually Heathcliff dies from a sort of insane sickness, and the love of Catherine and Hareton becomes definite.
One thing I noticed throughout the novel was the common use of dogs and how they can be related to Heathcliff. To start off, Lockwood is attacked by dogs in Wuthering Heights, yet their master does nothing to stop the attack. Foreshadowing? I think so. Later on, Heathcliff and Catherine go to Thrushcross Grange where Catherine is attacked by the Lintons' dog. Catherine is forced to stay the night with the Lintons, and her relationship with Heathcliff changes forever. Heathcliff even hanged Isabella's dog before they got married. Even more foreshadowing? Definitely. These violent acts involving dogs weren't just coincidental. Bronte was obviously comparing Heathcliff to the dogs; even Hindley referred to him as a dog (Ch.4). All of these references to dogs foreshadowed what Heathcliff was to become: violent, cruel, and fierce.
ReplyDeleteLike Brandon, I found the moors very symbolic. The moors cannot be cultivated, are dangerous, and very difficult to navigate through. If you grew up near a place like this, would you go there to hang out? Well, Catherine and Heathcliff thought it was the perfect spot, and spent many days playing there. Their relationship grew so strong that they were nearly inseparable. They eventually grew to love each other, and when they died they were buried near the moors. Therefore, the moors symbolize their friendship and their love for each other. Without the moors, Catherine and Heathcliff might not have grown so strong, and Wuthering Heights wouldn’t have been the same.
While reading Wuthering Heights I discovered that there were a lot of sicknesses that just showed up out of the blue. These unknown sicknesses and illnesses were playing a crucial role in the plot structure and conflicts of this novel; as Edgar and Heathcliff both lost their loves, shortly after having a child with them none-the-less, to a strange and quick fit of bad health. I believe that the motif of sicknesses throughout the novel helped to develop the idea that happiness exists, but it can be taken away from you quickly. The random and unexpected deaths are just thrown into the story and kind of take you back. I know that I wasn't expecting some of the characters to die when they did. But, I believe that the author mentioned these deaths so nonchalantly for the emphasis was to be put on happiness and love. Bronte wanted to show that love was out there, but you just had to find true love. And by showing the bitter end in some circumstances she showed that not all love is a fairytale. Sometimes there are no happy endings.
ReplyDeleteBefore I continue I would like to point out something that has perplexed me every time I pick up this novel and look at the front cover. The title of it is Wuthering Heights. When I saw Wuthering, I thought withering. And withering means to shrivel, or become smaller and weak. Then Heights hold such a strong tone, meaning tall and bold. I wondered if back then, that was a different spelling of withering. I was just putting that out there. Now to continue…
In the actual novel's setting, there are two completely different worlds packed inside. There is the Wuthering Heights household, and Thrushcross Grange, better known as "The Grange". Thrushcross Grange holds the essence of a high class society and a pure past. When Catherine visits to the Grange and returns, she is a changed and refined woman. She has manners and more self respect. The Grange had changed her ways that she had learned from Wuthering Heights as a young girl. Wuthering Heights embodies the freedom and almost scandalous nature of society back then. It stands for passion, fire, and however wild late 18th, to early 19th century England can get. In this respect, these households symbolize heaven and hell. The Grange saves Catherine of her bad ways, just as heaven saves a soul from hell. Catherine and many other characters are always attracted to Wuthering Heights and weak by letting it draw them in, with Heathcliff being the tempter. Then there's Thrushcross Grange, which is taken over by Heathcliff. After Heathcliff dies, Hareton and Cathy are to be married and move to The Grange. So, in the end, the almost orchestrated marriage of Hareton and Cathy, which unites the two worlds, will move to The Grange, and show that the good has won. But don't get too happy, because, I personally was left in a sort of limbo world, pondering as Lockwood "wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth". I experienced an eerie presence, insinuating that the past could come back to haunt them, while also telling us as a reader that evil is always there lurking.
Of the many names used in this novel, the name Heathcliff seemed the most unusual to me. This name was given to a poor, scraggly, little orphan found by Mr. Earnshaw himself, and brought to Wuthering Heights to be brought up. A heath is “a tract of open and uncultivated land; wasteland overgrown with shrubs” according to Dictionary.com, and a cliff is the “high steep face of a rock” according to the same source. This could show that Heathcliff is a very unrefined and dangerous at times man (which is very true). Only to make this more interesting, he is brought to and raised in Wuthering Heights, which in itself is also a wild, scary place (with a name that also matches it quite well), making his already unrefined and wild self even worse. When he falls in love with Catherine, his passion is unstoppable (much like falling off a cliff once you start falling =), and this passion is what kills him in the end.
ReplyDeleteAnother very important aspect of this story is the social classes and their “conflicts.” While the Lintons and Catherine are of a higher social standard, the Earnshaws and Heathcliff are of a much lower social class and thus don’t have the grace and “quality” of the Lintons. But when the two classes collide with their passions (love), an unstoppable war arises: Catherine, knowing that she loves Heatchcliff, and also knowing that he loves her, still manages to marry Edgar instead. Heathcliff loves Catherine, who is married to Edgar Linton, and thus tries to take out his revenge on the Lintons by marrying Edgar’s sister, Isabella, and treating her terribly until she dies. He has also been tortured by his older “brother,” Hindley for years, so he also takes out his revenge on Hindley as well as Hindley’s son, Hareton. Overall we see that the major class divides only try to separate certain people from others, but in fact, we are all the same. All people have the exact same capacity to be extremely cruel to one another, whether they’re from the high or the low social classes. I think that with this, Bronte was trying to say that the true insides of a person don’t rely on what the outside person is like: we are all the same at heart.