An Analysis of Wuthering Heights

Submitted by: Leah Joy Usi

Student, MA in Literature, Bicol University Graduate School

Submitted to:

Prof. Viveth G, Morcozo, Course Professor

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

‘Wuthering Heights’ is the only novel by Emily Bronte who’s writing style was

rather ahead of her contemporaries in the Victorian era. The novel is like of a gem, since it

is the only novel that represents her unique presentation of narration, it has been widely

studied, adapted into several films before finally getting recognized as one of the finest

novels written in the English language.

Analysis

The way the plot of Wuthering Heights is presented is not like its contemporary

novels in the Victorian era were presented, for it is not in chronological order but rather

presented through the stream of consciousness of Nelly Dean and the rest of the characters

in the present timeline of the novel. It is quite ahead of its time taking in an impressionistic

like mode of presentation when it comes to plot. It is composed of flash backs and flash

forwards and was given a second person point of view by recalling the past events that took

place in the novel.

“My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff.

If all else perished, and he remained.

I should still continue to be…

Nelly, I am Heathcliff!

He’s always in my mind:

Not as a pleasure… but as my own being.”

The main plot, which revolves around the love story of two soulmates Heathcliff

and Catherine and their struggle for transcendence and freedom from the conventions of a

Victorian society, the time when the great chain of being binds each of them to part separate

ways in spite of their undying devotion for one another.

The novel begins with Mr. Earnshaw bringing in Heathcliff from his trip to

Liverpool to his residence in Wuthering Heights, the place that got its name due to the

strong winds that fall upon the area which is located at the edge of the moors. The primary

introduction of Heathcliff himself is surrounded by mystery – his origin, his ethnicity, his

biological parents which Bronte did not specifically define in the novel. One of the

mysteries of Heathcliff which had critics on debate include his ethnicity, though Bronte did

mention Heathcliff’s appearance using the words “black”, “dark” and gypsy, it was not

clearly defined whether Heathcliff was Hispanic, Black or Asian but one account of Nelly

claimed that he could’ve been a son of and Indian and Chinese royals which suggest the

possibility of Heathcliff being of Eastern descent.

As the plot progresses, it was shown that Heathcliff have had the favor of Mr.

Earnshaw over the latter’s own son Hindley, which resulted to Hindley’s physical and

verbal abuse of Heathcliff. Throughout the narrative, Heathcliff had also gained the

friendship with Mr. Earnshaw’s second child, Catherine, whom later he fell in love with.

Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship was rather the most passionate in the novel

– they were soulmates, as Catherine suggested. But the unlikely turning of events had

resulted to the tragedy that had fallen into Wuthering Heights which resulted into

Heathcliff’s passion for revenge. Heathcliff was supposed to be brought up as if Mr.

Earnshaw’s own child, he was given books, proper care and place in the family, Mr.

Earnshaw even sent Hindley to college in London when he would not detain his abuse of

Heathcliff. But when Mr. Earnshaw died and Hindley returned to Wuthering Heights,

Heathcliff life was then reduced to those of a servant and was once again subjected to abuse

by Hindley. But in spite of what happened, Catherine chose to remain close to Heathcliff

and would sometimes come to his rescue at times when Hindley would abuse him.

Another gap in Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship occurred when they met the

Lintons’ who lived in the Thrushcross Grange at the other side of the moors. The

Thrushcross Grange was rather the opposite of Wuthering Heights. Unlike the storm that

engulfed Wuthering Heights, Thrushcross Grange was rather surrounded with calming

elements and luxury of a higher middle class residence. It can be noted that the Lintons’

were of higher social class compared to the Earnshaws. One of the Linton children Edgar

had taken a liking of Catherine when she was taken care of his parents after she had been

bitten by one of their hounds, after Catherine and Heathcliff visited Thrushcross Grange in

hopes of pranking Edgar and his sister Isabelle. Catherine was taken in while Heathcliff

was sent back to Wuthering Heights because he looked like a gypsy. When Catherine

returned after a few months, she rather looked different. When she was with Heathcliff she

was herself, unmannered, savage, unclean due to playing in the moors but then during her

stay at Thrushcross Grange she was taught by Mrs. Linton how to be lady by dressing

properly and cleanly and having manners. This had intimidated Heathcliff since he was

reduced to a servant and Catherine elevated into a lady, he was well aware of the gap that

stood between them. Catherine was then instructed to treat Heathcliff as indeed a servant,

greeting him at the door and addressing him like so. However, there were times when she
Wuthering Heights: An Analysis 5

would sneak around to be with Heathcliff and return to her old self and therefore creating—

as Nelly suggested, a split personality. Such change in Catherine’s behavior was rather

affected due to the clash of economic interests and social classes. Heathcliff was the one

her heart and soul belonged to but she could not be with him because Hindley brought him

too low. Meanwhile, Edgar Linton was the one who will bring her wealth and comfort, not

to mention his gentlemanly qualities that attract women at the Victorian times.

Upon finding out Catherine’s engagement with Edgar, Heathcliff ran away – to a

place that no one knows and Bronte rather did not emphasize in the novel, it could be

because she would like to surround her anti-hero with mysterious elements making him

one of the most well-known Byronic character in English Literature.

Even Nelly Dean could not have known Heathcliff’s ability to be so deviant and

vengeful since he was a quiet boy. But behind that silence and passiveness, Heathcliff

devised a plan of passionate revenge against Hindley and the Lintons who took Catherine

away from him.

Heathcliff was gone for three (3) years, and Nelly’s narration jumped those years

until the time Heathcliff had returned to Wuthering Heights with a huge wealth from an

unknown source. Nelly stated it herself, no one knows where Heathcliff had been to in the

past three (3) years nor with sudden accumulation of wealth, which was said to be

increasing every year, something to add into one of the mysteries that surround Heathcliff

as a Byronic character.

Going into analyzing Heathcliff as a Byronic character (the highest form of anti-

hero), he had possessed the characteristics: rejected traditional heroic virtues and values;
Wuthering Heights: An Analysis 6

cunning and intelligent; ability to feel strong affection and hatred; impulsiveness; strong

desires; moodiness; cynicism; dark humor; and morbid sensibilities. All of this he

developed because of the effects of intense suffering he experienced under the abusive

patriarch and patriarchal family under Hindley.

Aside the Byronic character, there are also other gothic elements that can be

discerned from the novel. The narrative involves the concepts of paranoia, the barbaric and

the taboo. Heathcliff’s series of acts of vengeance against Hindley, Hindley’s son Hareton

by acquiring Wuthering Heights through mortgage and depriving Hareton the education

and opportunities of a gentleman just as Hindley did to Heathcliff; and the Lintons to the

point that he even pawned his own son with Isabelle, Linton, to fool Young Catherine into

marrying him so that he can acquire Thrushcross Grange as his own after Linton’s death.

It can be observed that Heathcliff’s passion for revenge was too strong that the

wrath went on and affect the lives of the second generation of the characters: Hareton

Earnshaw, Catherine Linton and even Linton Heathcliff, his own son.

There is the existence of supernatural through nightmares and hallucinations. For

example, Catherine’s ghost who was seen by Mr. Lockwood during his stay at Wuthering

Heights and the locals sighting of the ghosts of Heathcliff and Catherine after the former’s

death.

The two contrasting elements: the calm and the storm

The relationship of the two contrasting families in Wuthering Heights, the

Earnshaws in Wuthering Heights and the Lintons in Thrushcross Grange was highly
Wuthering Heights: An Analysis 7

empathized. Even more so, in the rivalry of Heathcliff and Edgar Linton, which continued

even after Catherine’s engagement with the latter. Edgar was an ideal Victorian man, ideal,

educated and a gentleman while Heathcliff was a ruthless, mysterious person who was

mostly compared with nature and animalistic behavior such as a snake, wolf and a

dog/hound. But there something about mysterious figures that got the attention of Catherine

and Isabelle Linton to take into liking Heathcliff. Catherine, who was willing to get her

marriage in trouble just to spend time with Heathcliff while Isabelle left the comfort of

Thrushcross Grange to be Heathcliff’s wife and stay in Wuthering Heights. Such is a charm

of a Byronic character.

Moreover, the two contrasting elements; Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross

Grange was something that Heathcliff had wanted to acquire in the end. Something he

wanted to control to finally fulfill his revenge on those who had wronged him. Even so, in

the end he decided to stay in Wuthering Heights along with Hareton, Young Catherine and

the rest of the members of the household except for Nelly for he feel it was best suited for

him and everything that surrounds the gloomy, savage environment of Wuthering Heights

reminded him of Catherine.

Permanence and Universality

Wuthering Heights, despite being fiction reflect on human experiences as Realism

can be discerned in its elements of fiction. Characters in a novel typically represent the

members of lower and middle classes. The characters’ basis for romance is more objective

than subjective. There is also the absence of heroic actions from the characters.
Wuthering Heights: An Analysis 8

The storyline of the novel is arranged to dramatize the life experiences of average

men and women as they are involved with the real ups and downs of daily life.

The themes surrounding revenge by people who were displaced, dispossessed and

exiled. The ability and the thirst to conduct revenge is part of a human’s naturalistic

tendencies and serve as a driving force to survive in a cruel world as well as to overcome

and overpower everything else.

The conflicts that surrounds economic interests and social classes are still eminent

today. People strive to be wealthy, to acquire wealth and power and to rise above the social

stratification. It is conducted to the point where they had to sacrifice their true happiness

and peace for the sake of greed and fortune.

Catherine’s split personalities reflect on pretentiousness made to fit in and strive for

transcending into better livelihood under the societal pressures.

References

Almeida, Amy E., "Wuthering Heights: “Curioser and Curioser”". The Trinity Papers

(2011). Trinity College Digital Repository, Hartford, CT.

http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/trinitypapers/6

Bronte, E. (2013). Wuthering heights. New York: Bantam Classics.

Encyclopedia Britannica. (2019). English literature - The post-Romantic and Victorian eras.

[online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/English-literature/The-post-

Romantic-and-Victorian-eras#ref12996 [Accessed 7 May 2019]

Taghizadeh, A. (2014). A Theory of Literary Realism. [ebook] Finland: © 2014

ACADEMY PUBLISHER. Available at:

http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol04/08/14.pdf [Accessed 7

May 2019].