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Analysis of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on March 25, 2019 • ( 3 )

Wuthering Heights is constructed around a series of dialectic motifs that interconnect and unify the elements of setting, character, and plot. An examination of these motifs will give the reader the clearest insight into the central meaning of the novel. Although Wuthering Heights is a “classic,” as Frank Kermode has noted, precisely because it is open to many different critical methods and conducive to many levels of interpretation, the novel grows from a coherent imaginative vision that underlies all the motifs. That vision demonstrates that all human perception is limited and failed. The fullest approach to Emily Brontë’s novel is through the basic patterns that support this vision.

Wuthering Heights concerns the interactions of two families, the Earnshaws and Lintons, over three generations. The novel is set in the desolate moors of Yorkshire and covers the years from 1771 to 1803. The Earnshaws and Lintons are in harmony with their environment, but their lives are disrupted by an outsider and catalyst of change, the orphan Heathcliff. Heathcliff is, first of all, an emblem of the social problems of a nation entering the age of industrial expansion and urban growth. Although Brontë sets the action of the novel entirely within the locale familiar to her, she reminds the reader continually of the contrast between that world and the larger world outside.

Aside from Heathcliff’s background as a child of the streets and the description of urban Liverpool, from which he is brought, the novel contains other reminders that Yorkshire, long insulated from change and susceptible only to the forces of nature, is no longer as remote as it once was. The servant Joseph’s religious cant, the class distinctions obvious in the treatment of Nelly Dean as well as of Heathcliff, and Lockwood’s pseudosophisticated urban values are all reminders that Wuthering Heights cannot remain as it has been, that religious, social, and economic change is rampant. Brontë clearly signifies in the courtship and marriage of young Cathy and Hareton that progress and enlightenment will come and the wilderness will be tamed. Heathcliff is both an embodiment of the force of this change and its victim. He brings about a change but cannot change himself. What he leaves behind, as Lockwood attests and the relationship of Cathy and Hareton verifies, is a new society, at peace with itself and its environment.

It is not necessary, however, to examine in depth the Victorian context of Wuthering Height s to sense the dialectic contrast of environments. Within the limited setting that the novel itself describes, society is divided between two opposing worlds: Wuthering Heights, ancestral home of the Earnshaws, and Thrushcross Grange, the Linton estate. Wuthering Heights is rustic and wild; it is open to the elements of nature and takes its name from “atmospheric tumult.” The house is strong, built with narrow windows and jutting cornerstones, fortified to withstand the battering of external forces. It is identified with the outdoors and nature and with strong, “masculine” values. Its appearance, both inside and out, is wild, untamed, disordered, and hard. The Grange expresses a more civilized, controlled atmosphere. The house is neat and orderly, and there is always an abundance of light—to Brontë’s mind, “feminine” values. It is not surprising that Lockwood is more comfortable at the Grange, since he takes pleasure in “feminine” behavior (gossip, vanity of appearance, adherence to social decorum, romantic self-delusion), while Heathcliff, entirely “masculine,” is always out of place there.

Even Cathy’s passionate cry for Heathcliff, “Nelly, I am Heathcliff,” is less love for him as an individual than the deepest form of self-love. Cathy cannot exist without him, but a meaningful relationship is not possible because Cathy sees Heathcliff only as a reflection of herself. Heathcliff, too, has denied an important aspect of his personality. Archetypally masculine, Heathcliff acts out only the aggressive, violent parts of himself.

The settings and the characters are patterned against each other, and explosions are the only possible results. Only Hareton and young Cathy, each of whom embodies the psychological characteristics of both Heights and Grange, can successfully sustain a mutual relationship.

This dialectic structure extends into the roles of the narrators as well. The story is reflected through the words of Nelly Dean—an inmate of both houses, a participant in the events of the narrative, and a confidant of the major characters—and Lockwood, an outsider who witnesses only the results of the characters’ interactions. Nelly is a companion and servant in the Earnshaw and Linton households, and she shares many of the values and perceptions of the families. Lockwood, an urban sophisticate on retreat, misunderstands his own character as well as the characters of others. His brief romantic “adventure” in Bath and his awkwardness when he arrives at the Heights (he thinks Cathy will fall in love with him; he mistakes the dead rabbits for puppies) exemplify his obtuseness. His perceptions are always to be questioned. Occasionally, however, even a denizen of the conventional world may gain a glimpse of the forces at work beneath the surface of reality. Lockwood’s dream of the dead Cathy, which sets off his curiosity and Heathcliff’s final plans, is a reminder that even the placid, normal world may be disrupted by the psychic violence of a willful personality.

The presentation of two family units and parallel brother-sister, husband-wife relationships in each also emphasizes the dialectic. That two such opposing modes of behavior could arise in the same environment prevents the reader from easy condemnation of either pair. The use of flashback for the major part of the narration—it begins in medias res—reminds the reader that he or she is seeing events out of their natural order, recounted by two individuals whose reliability must be questioned. The working out of the plot over three generations further suggests that no one group, much less one individual, can perceive the complexity of the human personality.

Taken together, the setting, plot, characters, and structure combine into a whole when they are seen as parts of the dialectic nature of existence. In a world where opposing forces are continually arrayed against each other in the environment, in society, in families, and in relationships, as well as within the individual, there can be no easy route to perception of another human soul. Wuthering Heights convincingly demonstrates the complexity of this dialectic and portrays the limitations of human perception.

Bibliography Barnard, Robert. Emily Brontë. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Benvenuto, Richard. Emily Brontë. Boston: Twayne, 1982. Berg, Maggie. “Wuthering Heights”: The Writing in the Margin. New York: Twayne, 1996. Davies, Stevie. Emily Brontë: Heretic. London: Women’s Press, 1994. Frank, Katherine. A Chainless Soul: A Life of Emily Brontë. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Glen, Heather, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Brontës. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Liddell, Robert. Twin Spirits: The Novels of Emily and Anne Brontë. London: Peter Owen, 1990. Miller, Lucasta. The Brontë Myth. London: Jonathan Cape, 2001. Pykett, Lyn. Emily Brontë. Savage, Md.: Barnes & Noble, 1989. Rollyson, Carl, and Lisa Paddock. The Brontës A to Z: The Essential Reference to Their Lives and Work. New York: Facts On File, 2003. Vine, Steve. Emily Brontë. New York: Twayne, 1998. Winnifrith, Tom, ed. Critical Essays on Emily Brontë. NewYork: G. K. Hall, 1997.

Major works Poetry: Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846 (with Charlotte Brontë and Anne Brontë); The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Brontë, 1941 (C. W. Hatfield, editor); Gondal’s Queen: A Novel in Verse by Emily Jane Brontë, 1955 (Fannie E. Ratchford, editor). Nonfiction : Five Essays Written in French, 1948 (Lorine White Nagel, translator); The Brontë Letters, 1954 (Muriel Spark, editor).

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I found it very informative. Representation of the two worlds is amazing. Thanks a lot.

VERY NICE;I LIKED THE WAY OF ANALYSIS OF WHOLE NOVEL AND DESCRIBE EVERY THING,

• Wuthering Heights: A Journey from the Novel to the Movie - Different Truths

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Wuthering Heights

Emily brontë , richard j. dunn  ( editor ) , charlotte brontë  ( commentary ) ...more.

464 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1847

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Emily Brontë

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“People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him.”

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”

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The Best Fiction Books » Classic English Literature

Wuthering heights, by emily brontë.

The novel Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë,  was first published under the pen name Ellis Bell in 1847, just a year before Emily’s death in 1848. Below, in our interviews with literary critics and journalists, you’ll see why many people still view it as one of the greatest novels ever written in English. Also worth looking at are the contemporary reviews, some of which were found in Emily’s desk after her death. These are available on the web (see links below), but are also included in the Norton Critical Edition of Wuthering Heights .

Recommendations from our site

“Wuthering Heights is a strange novel in a lot of ways. It’s a standalone—there’s not really another book like it.” Read more...

The best books on Sex in Victorian Literature

Claire Jarvis , Literary Scholar

“In Wuthering Heights once again it’s the landscape that underlines the choices the characters must make. Cathy must choose between the grand house in the lush valley: protected, comfortable and tame; or the wild, exhilarating bleakness of Wuthering Heights .” Read more...

Rachel Hickman recommends the best Novels Set in Wild Places

Rachel Hickman , Children's Author

“Cathy—and all of Emily Brontë’s characters—are more or less feral. That’s why we love them. It’s a different world, it’s a mad world. In some ways, Emily Brontë is more of a poet. But she has inspired many subsequent writers of fiction. You couldn’t imagine Lawrence without her, for example. You couldn’t imagine some of Hardy. “ Read more...

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Robert McCrum , Journalist

“The Brontës had this idea of a Samson figure. Rochester, like Samson, has to be mutilated before he can be domesticated. What is interesting about Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights , is that he isn’t. He remains this superman. He is greater than a human being. He is named after two elemental things, the heath and the cliff. We never know what his first name is.” Read more...

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John Sutherland , Literary Scholar

“Again it’s about love turning into obsessions and being all-consuming and how even future generations are manipulated by this love.” Read more...

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Riz Khan , Journalist

“Wuthering Heights is a strange sort of book, baffling all regular criticism; yet, it is impossible to begin and not finish it; and quite as impossible to lay it aside afterwards and say nothing about it. In the midst of the reader’s perplexity the ideas predominant in his mind concerning this book are likely to be brutal cruelty, and semi-savage love…We strongly recommend all our readers who love novelty to get this story, for we can promise them that they never have read anything like it before.”

Review in Douglas Jerrold's Weekly Newspaper, January 15th, 1848, and found in Emily's desk after her death

“In spite of its truth to life in the remote nooks and corners of England Wuthering Heights is a disagreeable story.”

HF Chorley, review in the Athenaeum, Dec. 25, 1847 (cited in the Norton Critical Edition of Wuthering Heights)

“ Wuthering Heights is a strange, inartistic story. There are evidences in every chapter of a sort of rugged power–an unconscious strength–which the possessor seems never to think of turning to the best advantage. The general effect is inexpressibly painful. We know nothing in the whole range of our fictitious literature which presents such shocking pictures of the worst forms of humanity”

Review by Anonymous, Atlas, January 22,1848

Other books by Emily Brontë

Jane eyre and wuthering heights (illustrated) by charlotte brontë, emily brontë & fritz eichenberg (illustrator), the poems of emily brontë emily brontë (ed. by derek roper), our most recommended books, great expectations by charles dickens, jane eyre by charlotte brontë, wuthering heights by emily brontë, antony and cleopatra by william shakespeare, the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald, frankenstein (book) by mary shelley.

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Literature Review Survey of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Windward Heights by Maryse Conde

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'Wuthering Heights' Overview

OLI SCARFF / AFP / Getty Images

• M.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan
• M.A., Journalism, New York University.
• B.A., Classics, Catholic University of Milan

Set in the moorlands of northern England, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is part love story, part Gothic novel, and part class novel. The story centers on the dynamics of two generations of the residents of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, with Catherine Earnshaw's and Heathcliff's unconsummated love as a guiding force. Wuthering Heights is deemed one of the greatest love stories in fiction. 

Fast Facts: Wuthering Heights

• Title: Wuthering Heights
• Author: Emily Brontë
• Publisher: Thomas Cautley Newby
• Year Published: 1847
• Genre: Gothic romance
• Type of Work: Novel
• Original Language: English
• Themes: Love, hate, revenge and social class
• Characters: Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, Hindley Earnshaw, Edgar Linton, Isabella Linton, Lockwood, Nelly Dean, Hareton Earnshaw, Linton Heathcliff, Catherine Linton
• Notable Adaptations: 1939 movie adaptation starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon; 1992 movie adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche; 1978 song “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush
• Fun Fact:   Wuthering Heights inspired notable power-ballad author Jim Steinman on several occasions. Hits such as “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” and “Total Eclipse of The Heart” drew from the tumultuous romance between Cathy and Heathcliff.

Plot Summary

The story is told through diary entries by a London-based gentleman named Lockwood, which relate the events as told by the former Wuthering Heights housekeeper, Nelly Dean. Spanning a period of 40 years, Wuthering Heights is divided in two parts: the first deals with the all-consuming (but not consummated) love between Catherine Earnshaw and the outcast Heathcliff, and her subsequent marriage to the delicate Edgar Linton; while the second part deals with Heathcliff as a stereotypical Gothic villain and his vengeful mistreatment of Catherine’s daughter (also named Catherine), his own son, and his former abuser’s son.

Major Characters

Catherine Earnshaw. The heroine of the novel, she is temperamental and strong-willed. She is torn between the raggedy Heathcliff, whom she loves to the point of self-identification, and the delicate Edgar Linton, who is her equal in social status. She dies during childbirth.

Heathcliff. The hero/villain of the novel, Heathcliff is an ethnically ambiguous character whom Mr. Earnshaw brought to Wuthering Heights after finding him on the streets of Liverpool. He develops an all-consuming love for Cathy, and is routinely degraded by Hindley, who is jealous of him. After Cathy marries Edgar Linton, Heathcliff swears revenge upon all those who wronged him.

Edgar Linton. A delicate and effeminate man, he is Catherine’s husband. He is usually mild-mannered, but Heathcliff routinely tests his politeness.

Isabella Linton. Edgar’s sister, she elopes with Heathcliff, who uses her to jumpstart his revenge plan. She eventually escapes from him and dies more than a decade later. 

Hindley Earnshaw. Catherine’s older brother, he takes over Wuthering Heights after their father dies. He always disliked Heathcliff and starts mistreating him after the death of his father, who openly favored Heathcliff. He becomes a drunkard and a gambler after his wife’s death, and, through gambling, he loses Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff.

Hareton Earnshaw. He is Hindley’s son, whom Heathcliff mistreats as part of his revenge against Hindley. Illiterate but kind, he falls for Catherine Linton, who, after some snubbing, eventually reciprocates his feelings.

Linton Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s sickly son, he is a spoiled and pampered child and youth.

Catherine Linton. Cathy and Edgar’s daughter, she inherits personality traits from both of her parents. She has a willful temperament just like Cathy, while she takes after her father in terms of kindness.

Nelly Dean. Cathy’s former servant and Catherine’s nursemaid, she narrates the events unfolding at Wuthering Heights to Lockwood, who records them in his diary. Since she is too close to the events, and often participated in them, she is an unreliable narrator.

Lockwood. An effete gentleman, he is the frame narrator of the story. He is also an unreliable narrator, being too far removed from the events.

Major Themes

Love. A meditation on the nature of love is at the center Wuthering Heights. The relationship between Cathy and Heathcliff, which is all-consuming and brings Cathy to fully identify with Heathcliff, guides the novel, while the other types of love are portrayed as either ephemeral (Cathy and Edgar) or self-serving (Heathcliff and Isabella). 

Hate. Heathcliff’s hate parallels, in fierceness, his love for Cathy. When he finds out he can’t have her, he starts a revenge plan to settle the score with all of those who wronged him, and morphs from a Byronic hero into a Gothic villain.

Class. Wuthering Heights is fully immersed in the class-related issues of the Victorian era. The novel's tragic turn comes because of the class differences between Cathy (middle class) and Heathcliff (an orphan, the ultimate outcast), as she is bound to marry an equal. 

Nature as a stand-in for characters. The moody nature and climate of the moorlands portrays and mirrors the inner turmoils of the characters, who, in turn, are associated with elements of nature themselves: Cathy is a thorn, Heathcliff is like the rocks, and the Lintons are honeysuckles.

Literary Style

Wuthering Heights is written as a series of diary entries by Lockwood, who writes down what he learns from Nelly Dean. He also inserts several narrations within the main narrations, made of as-told-tos and letters. The characters in the novel speak according to their social class.

About the Author

The fifth of six siblings, Emily Brontë wrote only one novel, Wuthering Heights, before dying at age 30. Very little is known about her, and biographical facts are sparse due to her reclusive nature. She and her siblings used to create stories about the fictional land of Angria, and then she and her sister, Anne, also started writing stories about the fictional island of Gondal. 

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Wuthering Heights

Introduction of wuthering heights.

Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte , a great name among the Bronte sisters. This story is known as the masterpiece of English Literature and was published in 1847 under her pen name “Ellis Bell.” However, the book did not receive acclaim during that time because of the challenge that it posed to the Victorian ideas about class, morality, and religion. After a few years, the novel did win the much-desired praise. The novel presents a multigenerational story of passionate love and harsh revenge, revolving around the inhabitants of a farmhouse, Wuthering Heights, and its scornful owner, Heathcliff. The story was adapted in various films as well as plays.

Summary of Wuthering Heights

The novel begins when Lockwood, a new tenant of Heathcliff, visits his landlord’s home in the remote area called Wuthering Heights, at  Thrushcross Grange Estate in Yorkshire,. Instead of getting warm treatment, he notices a strange group of people. Mr. Heathcliff looks like a nice man, in spite of sharing contrasting etiquettes. Cathy Linton, the young mistress appears a reserved but rude. Hareton is a boy, an uneducated family member and behaves like a servant. The servant Joseph who is ill-tempered all the time.

Due to heavy snow , Lockwood is forced stay at Wuthering Heights where he encounters supernatural incident, adding more to his worry. Mr. Lockwood is disturbed as he returns to Thrushcross Grange. He becomes desperate to know more about the mysterious place. As soon as he recuperates from his illness, he revisits the site and begs Nelly Dean, a servant at Wuthering Heights, to inquire the history of that haunted place.

In the flashback , the story begins thirty earlier when Mr. Earnshaw, the Wuthering Heights’ owner, brings home an orphan, a gypsy boy, intending to adopt him as his son. The boy, Heathcliff, is raised with the Earnshaw children, Catherine and Hindley. Catherine adores the company of a new member, while his brother hates him out of jealousy, thinking the boy has shared his special attention in the house. After his father’s death, Hindley leaves no stone unturned to destroy Heathcliff. Still, Catherine and Heathcliff love to spend hours in the moors, oblivious of anything until Lintons steal their precious joy.

One day, Catherine and Heathcliff visit Thrushcross Grange where Lintons lives with their children, Isabella and Edgar. Catherine and Heathcliff who are mischievous in nature, tease the children and try to escape when a bulldog chases Catherine. Seeing her in trouble, Lintons brings Catherine and Heathcliff inside. However, when they discover the truth about Catherine’s identity, they take good care of the girl but ignore Heathcliff. Soon, Catherine shares great affection with Edgar and begins to divide her time between Edgar and Heathcliff which eventually troubles Heathcliff. One day, Heathcliff overhears Catherine that she will never marry him. Feeling disappointed, he leaves the farmhouse.

When Heathcliff leave the life is almost normal at the Wuthering Heights. Catherine gets closer to Edgar and eventually marries him. Unfortunately, they fail to develop a happy union, and their relationship gets strained when Heathcliff returns as stronger man and richer than before. Also, Heathcliff takes control of Wuthering Heights by paying Hindley’s gambling debts. Heathcliff’s relationship with Lintons starts worsening as Edgar hates Catherine’s affection toward him, leading them to have a violent quarrel. The situation reaches a boiling point when Heathcliff marries Isabella to avenge ill-treatment. Meanwhile, Catherine is pregnant which causes her health to deteriorate. After a few months, Isabella and Heathcliff return to Wuthering Heights where he comes to know about Catherine’s illness and visits her in Edgar’s absence.

Their passionate reunion provides them a chance to seek forgiveness from each other and reconcile. After this memorable meeting, Catherine dies during childbirth, leaving Edgar’s daughter alive. Heathcliff continues to mourn and begs Catherine’s ghost to haunt him and becomes revengeful against other residents without any specific reasons. He, in fact, desires to gain full control of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, destroying every possession of Edgar Linton. He has to endure a long wait of years to live to see these desires fulfilled.

During the intervening years, Catharine’s daughter, Cathy grows up into a beautiful girl in Grange, while Heathcliff raises Hareton, Hindley’s son, at Wuthering Heights, as an uneducated servant. One day, Cathy meets Hareton on the moors and likes him until she discovers his identity. When Cathy turns thirteen, Isabella dies, and Heathcliff brings Linton to Wuthering Heights. Filled with the fiery revenge, Heathcliff decides to use his son to control Thrushcross Grange by forcing Linton to marry Cathy. Soon after their marriage, Linton dies, and Cathy befriends Hareton whom she has always despised. Haunted by Catherine’s memories for eight years, Heathcliff, too, dies in his room, letting Cathy and Hareton restore their status and properties. The novel ends when Mr. Lockdown discovers that Cathy and Hareton are now free and have decided to marry on New Year’s Day .

Major Themes in Wuthering Heights

• Good and Evil: Good versus evil is the central theme of the novel, Wuthering Heights. The writer presented this theological conception, using emotions like love, revenge, and obsession. At first, the story shows the varied nature of the characters, either good or evil. Later, the narrator provides reasons for their indifferent behavior. For example, the mistreatment Heathcliff faces in his childhood transforms him into a revengeful person. Similarly, jealousy of Edgar and Hindley toward Heathcliff leads them to develop negative character traits. Although the novel revolves around the battle between good and evil, some characters remain good and kind such as Mrs. Dean, Catherine, and Hareton.
• Violence and Revenge: Violence and revenge go hand in hand in the story. At first, the author narrates the abuse Heathcliff suffers that eventually leads him to manipulate and torture others. First, he gets revengeful toward Hindley by rendering him homeless and then keeps his son away from the world. Later, Isabella becomes the victim of his revenge and violence. He even does not leave his son as he purposefully drags him into an uncertain situation. It seems that Heathcliff enjoys causing pain and discomfort to others which becomes the thematics strand of the novel.
• Class Differences: Class difference marks the center of the novel, Wuthering Heights. Emily explores the foreign concept of class distinction in-depth in the story by defining each character’s class and how these differences impact their lives. Edgar, Hindley, and Catherine belong to the wealthy class, the reason that Cathy chooses to marry Edgar. On the contrary, Heathcliff is adopted, and despite getting attached to the wealthy class, he remains overlooked. This difference instills extremely negative traits into his personality in that he becomes so bitter that he enjoys troubling others.
• Relationships : The novel presents a very confusing strain of relationships. Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff but transfers his property to his son, Hindley. Cathy and Heathcliff grow up as different siblings, but they develop a strong love relationship with time, especially Heathcliff. However, Cathy revealed that she can’t marry Heathcliff. Instead, she marries Edgar Linton, belonging to a high social class. Heathcliff does not accept Cathy’s decision and decides to take revenge. Thus, he marries Edgar’s sister and makes her life hell.
• Prejudice: Emily Bronte has skillfully used this theme in the storyline through various characters. For example, although Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff, he does not grant him equal rights. Also, Hindley out of spite and jealousy continues to torture and hurt him enough to make him leave Wuthering Heights. Similarly, Lintons, especially Edgar also do not respect Heathcliff and never accept him as a member of the Earnshaw family.
• Success and Social Standing : Success and social distancing, two hallmarks of the upper class, also becomes a thematic strand when Cathy decides to marry Edgar because he is from an established family, whereas Heathcliff does not find her expectations being fulfilled. So, she chooses success and social standing over love. Similarly, Isabella also gets attracted to Heathcliff’s appearance which ruins her life.
• Ironic Representation of Love: Relationships in the novel are twisted, dark, and ironic. Mr. Earnshaw loves Heathcliff, his adopted son, causing Hindley to hate and despise him. Cathy loves Heathcliff but marries Edgar Earnshaw. Similarly, Heathcliff loves Cathy to satisfy his negative impulses, yet he marries Edgar’s sister, Isabella for revenge. Through this confusing cycle of relationships, the author shows how love is a joke when it comes to success.
• Patriarchy: Emily has shown the abusive nature of the patriarchal system in the novel. Earnshaw expects Cathy to behave according to her will. Edgar also puts her into a challenging situation by asking her to choose between him and Heathcliff, while Heathcliff shows power by forcing Catherine to marry his son, Linton Heathcliff.
• Isolation: Isolation is another important theme presented in the novel. Hindley and Heathcliff never get united. Instead, they prefer to stay isolated. Catherine and Isabella also die separated from each other, while Heathcliff leaves the world in a quiet and secluded room.

Major Characters in Wuthering Heights

• Heathcliff: Heathcliff is the central and mysterious character of Wuthering Heights. He was a gypsy boy, rescued and brought up by the Earnshaw family at Wuthering Heights. He later becomes an enemy of their son, Hindley, but shares a cordial relationship with their daughter, Cathy. Unfortunately, since childhood, Heathcliff has endured a lot of rejection and hatred such as mistreatment from Hindley, and later, his love, Cathy, betrays him by marrying Edgar Linton. These incidents has led him to vow revenge against all who have wronged him, intentionally or unintentionally, including Catherine and Edgar. He marries Edgar’s sister Isabella and tortures her for the sake of revenge on his brother, and creates trouble for almost all others. It seems that the bitter treatment he has received during his early years has transformed him into a sociopath.
• Catherine: Catherine is another significant character in the novel, Wuthering Heights. She is kind and generous with calm nature and loved by everyone. Unfortunately, she leads a comfortable life after the death of her mother, Cathy. Despite facing troubles, she understands the brutality and cruelty Heathcliff went through. Later, she falls in love with Heathcliff’s son, Linton, but Linton ditches her following his father’s threat. However, she decides to marry him and takes care of him until his death. After Heathcliff dies, she restores her lost property and position with Hareton’s help and chooses to marry him.
• Dean : Nelly Dean is the narrator of the story as she takes the readers back in time where she narrates the history of the Lintons and Earnshaw families to Mr. Lockwood. She is the servant of Wuthering Heights and a very loyal member of the family. Throughout the novel, she is shown as caring and compassionate and treats Heathcliff, Cathy, and Hindley as her siblings. She takes care of Cathy’s daughter, Catherine, after her death.
• Edgar: Edgar Linton is an elegant aristocrat at Thrushcross Grange whom Cathy marries to gain a social position. He decides to stay loyal to Cathy but after Heathcliff’s return, his relationship with Cathy turns bitter. His jealousy toward Heathcliff further corrodes their marital relationship, leading to Cathy’s death. He tries to save his daughter from Heathcliff’s revenge but fails to do so in later life. Heathcliff then takes charge of his property and also abandons his daughter, Catherine.
• Hareton: Hareton is the unfortunate son of Hindley who becomes the victim of Heathcliff’s revenge. Heathcliff treats him exactly the way his father used to treat him during his childhood while bringing him up. Hareton is a very kind-hearted and naïve character who does not know anything about cultured manners despite belonging to the upper class. He is never given a proper education. However, young Catherine’s arrival in his life changes his life’s fortune for good.
• Hindley Earnshaw: He is the son of Mr. Earnshaw and Catherine’s brother. He is the one who resents the arrival of Heathcliff in his family, which later makes Heathcliff vindictive toward everyone and a sociopath. After his father’s death, he leaves no stone unturned to abuse and hurt Heathcliff, a move that later costs him dearly when Heathcliff takes all his possessions, dragging him toward awful death.
• Earnshaw: Mr. Earnshaw is Catherine and Hindley’s father. He adopts and brings Heathcliff to his home but he fails to stop the mistreatment and abuse Heathcliff faces by the family members.
• Isabella Linton: Isabella Linton is Edgar Linton’s sister. She suffers at the hands of love after marrying Heathcliff, who ruins her life.
• Lockwood : Mr. Lockwood is a visitor to Thrushcross Grange and the narrator of the story. His interest in mysterious Heathcliff drags him to dig into the past of the Linton and Earnshaw families. Therefore, he asks Nelly Dean to tell him the story of Wuthering Heights.
• Linton : He is the Sickly child of Heathcliff and Isabella. He comes to live with his father after the death of his mother. Instead of giving him fatherly love, Heathcliff uses him to execute his revenge.

Writing Style of Wuthering Heights

The writing style of the novel, Wuthering Heights, shows the impressive yet straightforward approach of the author, Emily Bronte. She fictionalizes the man who is corrupted in a society where class and social status direct the ways of life. The skillful use of the elements of gothic fiction and multiple narrative techniques shows how Emily has given her text a unique touch and individualistic feel. Having used simple diction , a serious tone , and ironic remarks on the social hierarchy of the Victorian age, Emily has presented how class distinction corrodes the social fabric of society.

Analysis of Literary Devices in Wuthering Heights

• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the escape of Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. The rising action occurs when Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights after three years as a wealthy gentleman. The falling action occurs when Heathcliff forces Linton and Cathy to marry and become the honor of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.
• Allegory : Wuthering Heights shows the use of allegory by presenting the main idea of how the immortal wreckage of love brings destruction to many of the characters of the novel.
• Allusion : The following sentences show the use of allusion , i. The Jonah, in my mind, was Mr. Earnshaw; and I shook the handle of his den that I might ascertain if he were yet living. (Chapter -IX) ii. Yah knaw whet t’ Scripture ses.’ And he began quoting several texts, referring us to chapters and verses where we might find them. (Chapter -IX) iii. Oh, I owe him so much. On only one condition can I hope to forgive him. It is, if I may take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; for every wrench of agony return a wrench: reduce him to my level. (Chapter -XVII) All of these references allude to religion; first to Jonah, second to Bible, and third to Exodus verses 21 to 23.
• Conflict : Several conflicts are running parallel in the novel such as; the internal and external struggle of the characters, Heathcliff’s revenge toward Lintons, and class differences.
• Climax : The climax of the novel, Wuthering Heights, occurs when Heathcliff dies and Cathy and Hareton decide to get married.
• Characters: Wuthering Heights presents both static as well as dynamic characters . The young woman, Cathrine Linton, and Edgar Linton are dynamic characters as they go through a transformation during the course of the novel. However, Heathcliff, Hindley Earnshaw, and several others are dynamic characters as they do not show any change in their behavior.
• Foreshadowing : The following sentence shows examples of foreshadows, i. 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!”“Who are you?” I asked, struggling, meanwhile, to disengage myself.”Catherine Linton,” it replied, shiveringly (why did I think of Linton? I had read Earnshaw twenty times for Linton)—”I’m come home: I’d lost my way on the moor!” (Chapter -III) This example predicts what is going to happen in the story as this ghostly nightmare of Lockwood prefigures the major happening of the novel.
• Imagery : The examples of imagery are given in the following sentences, i. Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights. . . [However] I took my hat, and, after a four-mile’ walk, arrived at Heathcliff’s garden-gate just in time to escape the first feathery flakes of a snow-shower……..On that bleak hill-top the earth was hard with a black frost, and the air made me shiver through every limb. (Chapter -II) ii. He was leaning against the ledge of an open lattice, but not looking out: his face was turned to the interior gloom. The fire had smouldered to ashes; the room was filled with the damp, mild air of the cloudy evening; and so still that not only the murmur of the beck [stream] down Gimmerton was distinguishable, but its ripples and it’s gurgling over the pebbles, or through the large stones which it could not cover. (Chapter -XXXIV) Both examples show the use of different images such as the image of the black forest, movement, and image cloudy evening. The second example also shows the images of sound, touch, and sight.
• Irony : The following sentence is a good example of situational irony , i. She is angry at Heathcliff for not leaving sooner to make something of himself. Catherine could have had Heathcliff, but she chooses not to and ends up miserable. (Chapter -VIII)
• Mood : The novel, Wuthering Heights, shows a sympathetic mood , though it becomes tragic, ironic, and highly satiric at times. Sometimes, it also becomes gloomy when Heathcliff and Catharine choose different paths.
• Motifs : The most important motifs of the novel, Wuthering Heights are Doubles, repetition , and the conflict between nature and culture.
• Narrator : The novel, Wuthering Heights, is narrated from the first-person point of view and also a third-person narrator.
• Personification : The examples of personifications are given in the following sentences, i. Her spirits were always at high-water mark, her tongue always going singing, laughing, and plaguing everybody who would not do the same. (Chapter -5) ii. It was not the thorn bending to the honeysuckles, but the honeysuckles embracing the thorn. There were no mutual concessions : one stood erect, and the others yielded: and who can be ill-natured and bad-tempered when they encounter neither opposition nor indifference? (Chapter -10) In both of these examples, spirits, tongue, thorn, and honeysuckles have been shown as having life and emotions of their own.
• Protagonist : Lockwood and Nelly Dean appear as protagonists of the novel at first. The novel starts with mysterious happenings with them and ends on a happy note. However, Heathcliff is the protagonist of the novel as the entire story revolves around him.
• Point of View : The novel, Wuthering Height, presents both first and third-person points of view.
• Resolution : Resolution is when all the mysteries , conflicts, and problems reach a conclusion . Wuthering Heights ends with Heathcliff’s death which eventually puts a stop to all tensions.
• Setting : The setting of the novel, Wuthering Heights, is the moors of Yorkshire, England, and the story is divided between Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights.
• Symbols : Wuthering Heights shows the symbols of the moors, a ghost, Wuthering Heights, and Thrushcross Grange. Whereas the buildings represent two different classes, ghost stands for memories and the moors are the symbols of love and affection.
• Similes : The following sentences are perfect examples of similes , i. We all kept as mute as mice a full half-hour, and should have done so longer, only Joseph, having finished his chapter, got up and said that he must rouse the master for prayers and bed. (Chapter- V) ii. ‘The Lintons heard us, and with one accord they shot like arrows to the door; there was silence , and then a cry, ‘Oh, mamma, mamma! (Chapter-VI) iii. He flung himself into the nearest seat, and on my approaching hurriedly to ascertain if she had fainted, he gnashed at me, and foamed like a mad dog. (Chapter-XIV) iv. Did she die like a saint? Come, give me a true history of the event. How did ?’ (Chapter-XVI) These examples show the use of like to compare different things such as the first one compares them with the mice, the second their departure to arrows, the third to a mad dog, and the last to a saint.
• Theme : A theme is a central idea that the novelist or the writer wants to express to the readers. The novel, Wuthering Height, shows the clash between good and evil, class distinction, and prejudice.

Related posts:

• Wuthering Heights Themes
• Wuthering Heights Characters
• Wuthering Heights Quotes
• Remembrance
• Emily Bronte
• Emily Brontë

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Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights pp 194–207 Cite as

The Place of Wuthering Heights in English Literature

• Nicholas Marsh  

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Part of the book series: Analysing Texts ((ANATX))

Wuthering Heights is an extraordinary novel, the individual creation of a writer working in comparative isolation. Emily Brontë read widely, and despite her lack of continuing formal education, she was familiar with classical texts, French and German. However, she was emphatically outside the literary world of early Victorian times: she took no notice of its preferences and opinions, nor did she observe the developing conventions of the novel form. So, although we can trace many influences on Wuthering Heights , they are widely spaced in time and drawn together idiosyncratically in this one work.

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© 1999 Nicholas Marsh

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Marsh, N. (1999). The Place of Wuthering Heights in English Literature. In: Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights . Analysing Texts. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27724-7_8

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A critical analysis on the “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë

“Wuthering Heights” is a novel by the author Emily Bronte. She wrote it through 1845 and 1846 and then first published in 1847. Many people have not only read the book but have also liked it. This is due to the contradicting ideas that are also entertaining in the book such as love, classism, and revenge, just to name a few. These are ideas that everyone reading the novel can relate to because they are part of our reality as a people. These and many other truths are greatly represented throughout Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Realistic representation of ideas is a very good aspect of any novel. Thus, more and more people should yearn to readers of this wonderful book.

Main Ideas in Wuthering Heights

• Love This is one of the most dominant ideas in the novel. Two main characters in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights were so in love it drove them crazy. The two lovers were Catherine from the Linton family, and Heathcliff from the Earnshaw family. Catherine possesses a hostile character but due to her love for Heathcliff, she dramatically changes into this orderly, happy and friendly lady when the latter is around. Heathcliff on the other hand, is so madly in love with Catherine that he gets so angry at anyone who opposes his love for her.
• Vengeance This idea has been presented as going hand in hand with love in the novel. Heathcliff loathes his step-brother Hindley for being given authority over the house, leaving him out of the cake of power. Adding salt to an injury, Catherine rejects him regarding his social status. He feels belittled and this creates a need for revenge in him. He therefore decides and purposes to revenge on Hindley.
• Classism Classism is also known as social class war between the poor and the rich. It still exists today in our society and it has gotten even worse. Classism has been represented by how Catherine, who is so wealthy, treats Heathcliff with intimidation due to his humble background. Catherine refers to Heathcliff as a low class gypsy. This prompted Heathcliff to go missing in action for 3 years after which he returned a changed person. Not wealthier but better in manners and dressing code.

The History of Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is a complex love story involving a male orphan and a rich female. The novel was first published in December 1847 and has been one of the best-selling novels. It is also one of the most read novels since it combines more than one genres in the most creative of ways. Genres including gothic fiction, fiction classics, literary fiction, romance, ghost stories, tragedy, and poetic allegory has spiced up the story which is based on a true setting – the wind-swept moorlands of Northern England. Up to date, readers still find the story very disturbing and has continued to attract a lot of readership and also a lot of critique.

Problems in The Novel

Some of the problems presented in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights are those that any author would face in the whole process starting from writing, editing, all the way to publishing. The novel received a lot of critique from publishers citing various issues such as repetition due to much dualism and structural differences. The version that the author Emily Bronte had in mind is not the same version as the final. The main problem, therefore, is that the novel did not actually put out to the world all that was meant to be. As a result of rejection of the original version of the novel, some parts of the novel still remain disturbingly confusing to the readers. Not to forget that the story is not chronologically consistent at some points.

The plot of the novel

The novel revolves around how Catherine and Heathcliff grew crazily in love with each other. Unfortunately, the love turns into betrayal and vengeance by both parties. Catherine rejects Heathcliff and gets married to a rich man, Edgar, while still being in love with Heathcliff. It becomes a love triangle. Heathcliff finds another suitor, Isabella, with whom they run away together. On realizing this, Catherine gets brain fever and dies and young Catherine is born. Isabella escapes to London and Hindley dies of alcohol addiction leaving Heathcliff as the master of Wuthering Heights. Young Catherine grows old enough and gets romantically attracted to Linton and both lovers stage their romance in winter of 1800. This leads to Heathcliff detaining her so she could marry his son, Linton, by force. Unfortunately, both Edgar Linton and Linton Heathcliff die the same year and Heathcliff is left to be the master of Thrushcross Grange, where Lockwood starts living in as a tenant. After sometime, Lockwood’s tenancy terminates and he goes back to London leaving Young Catherine and a guy called Hareton to start dating. Heathcliff also dies and Young Catherine gets married to Hareton.

Characters in the novel

• Heathcliff Vengeful and unfriendly – He vows to take revenge on Catherine and Edgar. Due to bitterness from childhood mistreatment, he treats everybody else poorly Sadistic – he maliciously finds joy in confining Isabella. He also inflicts pain on Hindley and Catherine for small mistakes. He also forcefully confines young Catherine so that he could marry Linton.
• Catherine Understanding – she understands the reason underlying Heathcliff’s behavior. Cruel – she rejected Heathcliff based on his humble background. Kind – she finally learnt to like Heathcliff despite his flaws.
• Edgar Loyal – after marrying Catherine, he stays loyal to her for life. Responsible – keeps his daughter away from any possible threats from Heathcliff.
• Hareton Loving – he finally gets along with Catherine after all the brutality he imposed on her.
• Linton Heathcliff Emasculated – He keeps whimpering all the time and is generally weak. He is easily exploited and manipulated by his father to marry Catherine by force and keep the authority over Thrushcross Grange in the family. He can hardly make a firm decision by himself. Innocent – he saves his life from being poisoned with jealousy by his father.
• Isabella Delusional – she thought that romance talked about in novels is real. Naïve – she is unable to realize she is Mr. Heathcliff’s pawn of revenge and even goes ahead to marry him.
• Earnshaw Caring – He gave Heathcliff a home when he was an orphaned street urchin. He also treated Heathcliff as an equal to the family.

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is a great reflection of our society today. The book is therefore worth readers’ attention as it has untold potential to enhance our understanding and transformation of society.

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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Book Review: ‘Wuthering Heights’

(Signet Classic)

By Umbreen Ali

Jan. 4, 2016 12:05 a.m..

Young adult fantasy author Lena Coakley will release “Worlds of Ink and Shadow” Tuesday, a fictional novel with historical characters: the Brontё siblings, classic literature authors. In Coakley’s new book, Charlotte, Emily, Branwell and Anne dive into a fictional world they created. Daily Bruin senior staff Umbreen Ali reviews both Coakley’s meta book and Emily Brontё’s classic, dark novel “Wuthering Heights.”

Reading “Wuthering Heights” filled me with so many emotions that, upon finishing the novel, I was left somewhat baffled about what exactly I had just experienced.

Initially published in 1847, Emily Brontё’s “Wuthering Heights” is referenced in countless books, movies and even anime. As a self-proclaimed classics lover and avid reader, I found it a little embarrassing that I had not yet read it. What better opportunity to rectify this regrettable situation than by reading it alongside “Worlds of Ink and Shadow” by Lena Coakley, a novel about Emily Brontё and her siblings?

READ MORE: Book Review: Worlds of Ink and Shadow

“Wuthering Heights” tells of Heathcliff’s destructive love and passion for Catherine Earnshaw. Heathcliff was adopted by Catherine’s father as a child, but upon Mr. Earnshaw’s death, he is bullied by Catherine’s brother. Under the incorrect assumption that his love for Catherine is not returned, Heathcliff abruptly leaves the household only to return years later as a wealthy man, poised to exact his revenge for his previous suffering.

“Wuthering Heights” is a chaotic novel, beautiful in its complexity but terrible in its wickedness.

The novel is exceptional in that none of its characters are likable. From the narrator to the servants to the main characters, each is presented in a manner that highlights his or her faults. Somehow, the characters’ flaws draw the reader in. One cannot help but search for redemption to be found within the characters and, upon being disappointed, pity their existence.

By the end of the novel, I found myself wanting Heathcliff to die for all of the evils he had committed against those around him, like tricking a naïve girl into marrying him by pretending to care for her and then treating her cruelly after she has served her purpose. At the same time, the torment Heathcliff appears to suffer from is not pleasant to read about. Readers may wish the situation could be different, that Heathcliff could be kind and loved in return.

At first glance, “Wuthering Heights” appears to have no relatability to today’s UCLA student. It is set in late 18th century England and tells the story of a man who seems possessed. However, the story explores themes of revenge, obsession, passion and loneliness that are relevant to the experiences of college-aged students. Reading “Wuthering Heights” might be worthwhile to students who want a release for similar emotions of their own.

Reviewing “Wuthering Heights” with “Worlds of Ink and Shadow” in mind, the layered narration and alternating time frames of “Wuthering Heights” appear to have inspired the layered levels of reality found in “Worlds of Ink and Shadow.”

The chaotic nature of “Wuthering Heights” is reflected in Emily Brontë’s personality in “Worlds of Ink and Shadow.” In Coakley’s novel, Emily Brontё is portrayed as willful and passionate, just as “Wuthering Heights” could be described as a willful and passionate novel.

It is impossible to wholeheartedly say “Wuthering Heights” was an enjoyable read. The cruelty and lack of decorum displayed by many of the characters made the novel unlikable in retrospect, despite the characters’ allure as the story pans out.

“Wuthering Heights” is a brutish masterpiece that left me both impressed and appalled.

– Umbreen Ali

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Wuthering Heights

By emily brontë.

Emily Brontë, in ‘Wuthering Heights,’ masterminds a unique narrative style by creatively merging flashback and backstory techniques to effectively cover the four ends of her book.

About the Book

Article written by Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Emily Brontë uses two prominent characters in ‘ Wuthering Heights ’ – Nelly and Lockwood – to unveil the timelines of her book’s plots, which are not only interesting and captivating but also a bit scary for the reader. 

‘Spoiler Free’ Wuthering Heights Summary

A generous farmer goes on a trip to Liverpool and returns home with an innocent little dark-skinned boy he names Heathcliff and introduces him to his son and daughter, Hindley and Catherine. The latter loves and cherishes the boy, but the former hates him for taking his place in the family, and this begins the history of horrible treatment, violence, and extreme dehumanization that goes on for the rest of the book.

Once the generous farmer dies, Heathcliff is reduced to a servant level by Hindley, deprived of education, and assigned the most difficult chores, like a prisoner on hard labor. As if that isn’t enough, Edgar Linton shows up and steals Catherine away from him, the one person that gives meaning to his miserable existence. Heathcliff comes to rage, vowing to exert revenge on all who have hurt him, whether that includes their innocent children; he doesn’t care. 

Wuthering Heights Summary 

Spoiler alert : important details of the novel are revealed below

The plot is introduced with Lockwood’s visit to ‘ Wuthering Heights ‘ as he looks to rent Thrushcross Grange, one of Heathcliff’s mansions. Lockwood is fascinated by Heathcliff after their first meeting and finds his landowner a bit odd and unusual. On a later visit to ‘ Wuthering Heights ,’ Lockwood has weird encounters; attacks by dogs, and scared by spooky presence.

He returns to Thrushcross and talks about his encounter with Nelly (Ellen Dean), a long-serving maid at the Thrushcross. Lockwood asks Nelly to tell him about Heathcliff and ‘ Wuthering Heights .’ Nelly tells the story. 

Many years ago, Mr. Earnshaw, a successful farmer and owner of ‘ Wuthering Heights ,’ returns from Liverpool with Heathcliff, a youthful, destitute kid, to live with him and his two youngsters, Hindley and Catherine. While Catherine cherishes and acknowledges Heathcliff, Hindley disdains him for having his spot in his dad’s eyes. Misunderstandings and quarrels brew based on this until Hindley is sent away to a boarding school.

Hindley returns later after the death of his father to reprise and dehumanize Heathcliff – lessening him to the situation with a worker slave. Even as this happens, Catherine loves Heathcliff and is always spending time with him in the fields. Later, things rapidly change for Heathcliff and Catherine after they find the Linton family, proprietors of Thrushcross Grange. 

One time while spying on the Lintons, Catherine is attacked by dogs and is forced to spend a few days over at the Lintons’ house recuperating. Catherine finds herself drawn to Edgar since he’s refined and well-taught and his family has a decent economic and social standing. Nonetheless, this can’t match the affection she feels for Heathcliff.

With Catherine spending more time with the Lintons, Heathcliff is jealous, and angered and thinks of several ways to win her back and reprise those who suffer him or try to steal his joy. However, he appears to have given up hope and run away when he overhears Catherine telling Nelly she can’t wed him because he’s been belittled too much by Hindley.

After Heathcliff disappears, Catherine is heartbroken and reluctantly chooses to marry Edgar, but their marriage is not a blissful one since Catherine is constantly diverted by her feelings for Heathcliff. After three years, Heathcliff returns a changed man with strange riches and stays a short while with Hindley – who now has a son, Hareton – at ‘ Wuthering Heights .’ 

Heathcliff starts his revenge by marrying Isabella, Edgar’s sister, and treats her horribly so that she contemplates running away from home. Shortly after, Catherine gives birth to her daughter, Cathy, but dies afterward due to health complications. Her death greatly affects Heathcliff turning him into a meaner man. Isabella has a son, Linton, for Heathcliff and dies twelve years later. Heathcliff plans to take control of ‘ Wuthering Heights ’ and Thrushcross Grange.

Later, following the passing of Hindley and Edgar, Heathcliff arranges a marriage between his child Linton and Cathy while seriously mistreating Hindley’s son, Hareton, for the sins of the father. At last, the marriage between Linton and Cathy gives him full ownership of ‘ Wuthering Heights ‘ and Thrushcross Grange. However, his sickly child, Linton, soon dies – rendering the Grange out of his possession again. 

As Heathcliff pursues his wicked and dubious ambitions, he is tormented by Catherine’s spirit. Eventually, Heathcliff seems to have understood that retribution can give anything close to the fulfillment that he truly seeks and that the main thing that could give him harmony is reuniting with his Catherine. He dies afterward. Cathy and Hareton find passionate feelings for each other and plan marriage and relocation from ‘ Wuthering Heights ‘ to Thrushcross Grange.

Is ‘ Wuthering Heights ’ hard to read?

Emily Brontë’s ‘ Wuthering Heights ’ can prove a bit hard for new readers, but it’s not all that difficult when you get deep into it in full rhythm. 

What age should you be to read ‘ Wuthering Heights ’?

‘ Wuthering Heights ’ is not only captivating but also a fairly strong book to read, so any reader hoping to flip through its pages should be at least thirteen years old or above. 

Who controls ‘ Wuthering Heights ’ and Thrushcross Grange?

Hareton and Cathy, two cousins and children of Hindley and Catherine, become the ones who inherit all properties of both families – the Lintons and the Earnshaws.

About Victor Onuorah

Victor is as much a prolific writer as he is an avid reader. With a degree in Journalism, he goes around scouring literary storehouses and archives; picking up, dusting the dirt off, and leaving clean even the most crooked pieces of literature all with the skill of analysis.

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