Wuthering Heights, despite my less than stellar opinion of it, is a book that I will probably never forget. Emily Brontë utilizes complicated structure that makes this book kind of fun to read. The book neglects the oft-used beginning-to-end structure that we as readers have become comfortable with. The novel starts with Lockwood's arrival at Thrushcross Grange, where he quickly becomes enraptured with the misery that is Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship.
Being that Lockwood is having the story recounted to him by Nelly Dean, we receive a chunk of the story in the form of flashbacks. Lockwood also begins to record the story as a diary, and thus becomes a narrator himself. So now, we have Lockwood recounting Nelly Dean recounting the story of Heathcliff's relationship with Catherine. It's kind of confusing if you're not paying close attention.
Most of the characters in Wuthering Heights leave something to be desired in my eyes. Despite one or two characters with some redeemable qualities, like Mr. Earnshaw or Edgar for example, I don't get how an entire group of people could be so petty and immature. It seems like no one had the sense to not take part in the malevolence. It's sad to me that the squabbles these character's suffered when they were children got blown out of proportion and turned them all into bitter people with only revenge and cruelty in their hearts.
I wish I could say that despite all of the dismal situations we observe, "true love" conquers all. Unfortunately, I can't call this a romance; it's nothing more than a severe case of co-dependence between two insufferable people. They've made their relationship more important than anything in their lives, despite it not ever really working. Too many people got caught in the complicated web that is the Catherine/Heathcliff relationship; Edgar, Hareton, and Isabella were innocent victims in all of this, and it just makes me dislike Catherine and Heathcliff and their whole darn relationship even more.
I know that I should try to read this book with an open mind, perhaps with the hope that my opinion may change. Unfortunately, these characters made a lasting impression on me the first time around. Any redeeming qualities they may have had were for the most part ignored in favor of their selfish quest for happiness and revenge.
Thus far, I think that the most interesting thing about this novel is the structure. Bronte utilizes narrators and points of view that offer only a little insight into what the main characters are thinking and feeling. This makes the book much more of a mystery, since you can't really predict what Catherine and Heathcliff are going to do. The unusual narrative structure makes me want to continue reading so that I can unravel the mystery.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the web that is created from the Catherine/Heathcliff relationship pools in far too many victims than should have been allowed. While I did not begin this reading of the novel with any sort of previous notion of what it was about (having never read it previously), I honestly find myself continually disinterested in the text due to the complexity of the story, all being told from Nelly.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Nelly, however, it seems that there are just so many victims from the Catherine/Heathcliff relationship. Who do you think is the most victimized of everyone? I believe it is Edgar because not only does he suffer from unrequited love, it is definitely displayed in an extreme sense. I mean, Catherine actually goes through and marries him instead of breaking it off prior when she knew she was in love with Heathcliff.