Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

Bronte’s classic novel is more of a tale of obsessive revenge rather than a love story. Sure there is romantic parts of the novel, but this is truly a story about Heathcliff bestowing suffering on himself and others for a past mistake. We embark on a doomed love story between dark and mysterious Heathcliff and headstrong and stubborn Catherine. They grew up together, after Cathy’s father takes Heathcliff in from the street and gives him a place to stay. However, he was not of the same social standing as Catherine and therefore any chance of love is to be hopeless. Although the two were hopelessly in love, their matrimony never occurred as Cathy is encouraged to marry another, causing Heathcliff to spiral into a desire for revenge.

And so begins the main entity of the story where Heathcliff forces everyone to be a miserable as he is. His treatment of certain characters was unbearably cruel, but I could not stop reading about it; I desired to know what Bronte’s characters were in store for next.

Would Heathcliff ever feel finally satisfied with himself or will his quest of torment ever cease to end?

I can’t lie, I didn’t find either of the doomed lovers particularly likeable. Even Catherine was cruel some to the time, especially to her sister-in-law.

No other setting could substitute the Yorkshire moors for such a haunting novel. Nothing can come close to the tragic and thought-provoking lands which operate the destinies of each of the characters. Being from Yorkshire myself I know how beautifully cruel the moors can be.

The tale is ripe with hopelessness, passion, and madness that preys on the body and the mind. Although it would not be a book that I would read in order to feel relaxed or even remotely happy, this is still an excellent novel which deals with unlikeable characters, a harrowing setting, and a dead love story. Despite it being published under her male pseudonym Ellis Bell, the middle Bronte sister’s only novel is daringly striking and is an experiment with narrative structure. Somehow despite the loathing moors this love story is pretty descent. Although I have made it out like this is a dark and depressing novel (which it is) it’s still worth reading, just for the sheer wonder of Emily’s writing skills. Read it and let me know that you think! 😊