Heathcliff
Our first impressions of him are that he isolates himself in Wuthering Heights. He appears to be very unsociable and inhospitable. He seems very dark, mysterious and withdrawn. He is presented as reserved which implies secrets and stories, and that ‘his black eyes withdrew so suspiciously under their brows’, he seems to almost give the impression that he is watching and observing everything that happens. He appears to resent his situation and even more so the fact that thrushcross grange is now occupied by a new tenant. This gives the impression that he has memories there and his protective and possessive streak appears when Lockwood mentions the property. He is described as a ‘dark skinned gypsy in aspect’ which clearly implies foreign roots, thus cementing his mysterious and ominous presence.
CHAPTER 3
Lockwood has to be quiet as the maid is taking him to a room Heathcliff doesn’t allow people into
Haunting/imprisonment – someone has been locked up in there – scratching on the walls
Mysterious – contraption of the bed, who is Catherine?
Catherine had a lot of spare time – books covered in writing
Chapel in a hollow between high ground
-points the place of the church in the story
-turning against institution
Reality/fantasy – dream (Lockwood)
External and internal – many stories within a story, internalizing what is external, Lockwood dreams of Cathy’s world
Heathcliff – timeless, outlived all
The Earnshaws (Wuthering Heights) The Lintons (Thurshcross Grange)
Hindley Catherine Edgar Isabella
Frances Catherine II Heathcliff
Hareton married when linton died married first Linton
Throw away bibles (Cathy & Heathcliff)
Unlikely heroine, leading male
male – socially inferior
female – socially superior
Diegetic toward the end, objective, less personal, Nelly being diluted, less opinionated
Mimetic – Nelly’s own voice, frequent punctuation, broken syntax, concentrated personality
Narrative voice becomes transparent, story and Nelly’s narrative becomes one. Nelly is emotionally and morally involved in story – cant trust 100%
Lockwood explains that he is taking over the narrative pg 192/157
Nelly
elder, female, common sense no nonsense, in a fixed spot, working class, involved in story line, trusty, vicarious background, passionate, animated, subjective, colloquial, north.
Lockwood
educated, younger, middle/upper class, objective, 3rd party, moves around a lot, south, independent individual (outcast), reserved character, un-trusty, no knowledge of background.
“I WAS ALMOST ALWAYS AT WUTHERING HEIGHTS”
BEEN THERE FOREVER
PG 38 P.2 “MISS CATHY”
RELIABLE, HINDSIGHT
“I WAS FRIGTENED”
TAKEN ON THE FAMILIES PREJUDICE,BEING NEARER TO HEATHCLIFFS CLASS, SHOULD BE SYMPATHETIC
“INQUIRED FOR ITS OWNER”
ALIGNED WITH THE FAMILY
“CATHY, TOO MISHCHEVIOUS AND WAYWARD FOR A FAVOURITE”
MAKES OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAMILY, ALWAYS THERE
Cathy in chapter 8. – not governed by rules of sophistication
“I own I did not like, after her infancy was past; …I vexed her frequently by trying to bring down her arrogance” pg 66
“led her to adopt a double….deceive anyone” pg 67
“she did turn out a haughty, headstrong creature” pg 66
“she had a wondrous constancy to old attachments” pg 66
“you’ve combed my hair…let me alone” pg 70
“she stamped her foot…compelled by the naughty…with water” pg 71
“little Hareton…sobbed out…wicked aunt cathy, she seized…child livid” pg 71-2
“demanded” “persisted”
“you’ve made me afraid and ashamed of you” EDGAR pg 72
Edgar chapter 8
“astonished young man” pg 72 – different upbringings
“mr edgar seldom …heights openly” pg 67 – weak
“pale and with a …lip” pg 72 – sheltered life, like hareton
“the soft thing” pg 72-pathetic, weak at the hands of Cathy
SYMPATHISE WITH NELLY – TRUST HER JUDGEMENT MORE AS A NARRATOR
Heathcliff chapter 8
“as if the lad…period” pg 66
“became daily…ferocity” pg 66 – cathy civilises him, becoming ferial as he loses his grip on her
“continual hard work…extinguished…persuit of knowledge…books or learning” pg 68 – his earlier education is lost of him pushed down on his class – cathy elevated
“recoiled with angry…caresses” pg 69
“doubtless Catherine..what you see in..and softer” pg 70 – different mannerisms
Heathcliff love for Cathy – elemental – not consummated their love is on a different plain. Mortals can’t comprehend
Thrushcross Grange is oppressive “bloodless lintons” – emotionless, restricted a show for the outside world.
Wuthering heights – more natural spectrum of feelings/emotions
Emily Bronte poetry
Spellbound
-menacing storm – surrounding
-‘cannot go’ Cathy is trapped
(supernatural force trapping narrator)
SUBLIME
fine line between terror and awe
thrill that romantics were always looking for
cannot experience the ‘sublime’ with understanding
Gothic’s attempted to capture and preserve the ‘sublime’ in their writing the essence of their literature
creating fantasy out of reality
raw emotional experiences
A day dream
-personifying natural objects and weather
-natural surroundings become sublime
“the very grey rocks looking on, asked ‘what do you hear?’”
-Gothic novels surroundings are KEY
-a sense of deep respect for what is out there but no desire to conquer it or understand it
2 Children – Cathy and Heathcliffe
-light/dark comparisons
-good/bad
HOW WUTHERING HEIGHTS IS A TYPICAL GOTHIC NOVEL
As most gothic novels are tales of mystery and horror the opening chapters of the novel convey the genres guiding principles in every aspect.
In chapter 3 we witness Lockwood experiencing the fright of his life – he lodges in Heathcliffs forbidden spare chamber. The principle of mystery is exposed in the strange way that Zillah shows him to the forbidden chamber, whilst informing him of the fact that he should ‘not make noise, for her master had an odd notion about the chamber…and never let anybody lodge their willingly’ furthermore when panels, which are common for gothic literature and discovers Cathy’s repeated name scratched into the paint of the wood encasing the bed/structure, the element of mystery is cemented. Thus coercing us to wonder as to what horrific events took place regarding this mysterious chamber, and its previous inhabitants, that would lead to its isolation.
The typical gothic novel contains a strong element of supernatural which is firstly and evidently most vividly shown in Lockwood’s haunted dream in which Cathy’s name appears before him in a “glare of white letters…as vivid as spectres’. Shortly after this experience, Lockwood falls asleep a second time only to be presented with the ghostly, bloody apparition of little Cathy Linton at his window, “the intense horror of nightmare came over me; I tried to draw back my arm, but, the hand clung to it, and a most melancholy voice sobbed ‘let me in let me in’” The graphic nature of the account evokes a sense of unearthly dread and consequently illustrates that the ghostly and supernatural experiences received by Lockwood prove to be evidence that Wuthering Heights is ridden with other-worldly ideas.
Gothic novels typically take the setting of a dark castle, dungeon and so the weather wracked state of WH offers a feral, dangerous and menacing atmosphere. “I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front and especially about the principal door, above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins, and shameless little boys. I detected the date 1500” This imagery gives WH the atmosphere of a haunted mansion or castle, typical of gothic literature. The sense of WH being sinister situate is seen greatest upon its comparison with Thrushcross Grange, evoking the sense of morbidity about the residence. Thus, this provides evidence of the fact that WH is extremely typical of a gothic novel.
Pathetic fallacy – commonly used to create tension and suspense and the wild weather which surrounds WH is as equally important as the mansion itself. ‘pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there, at all times, indeed; one may guess the power of the north wind..by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving aims of the sun” Weather mirror the passion and wilderness of the residents, past and present. Weather and dangerous moors surrounding WH combine to create a truly Gothic setting. Gothic novels include grotesque imagery, dark and foreboding mansions and landscapes, chaos, pain and doomed love, all themes present in Brontes work.
Villain – complex and interesting. Heathcliff is the personification of the estate in the sense that he is wild and strong and he is in many ways a archetypal gothic character in that he is mysterious, brooding, dark and dangerous. Like gothic villains or in many cases the antagonists – Heathcliff is bent on vengeance and doesn’t care who must suffer from his cruelty in order for him to achieve it. He is a man made of experiences and in this way Heathcliff is a prime example of a Gothic protagonist.
Bronte makes perfect use of gothic elements in evoking within the readers mind a powerful sense of dread – a chilling of the spine and a curdling of the blood. All the barbarity of gothic novels come from association with the medieval and middle ages, in a sense of their wild, bloody and barbarous views on justice and revenge. As far as all the main key points that a gothic novel is required to include goes, WH follows the guiding principle almost to the letter. Therefore, the opening chapters = typical of a gothic novel.
