Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte. The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on
the moors on which the story centres. (As an adjective, wuthering is a
Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather.). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet
thwarted love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this
unresolved passion eventually destroys both themselves and many around them.
Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights's
innovative structure, which has been likened to a series of Matryoshka dolls,[citation needed] met with mixed reviews by critics
when it first appeared.[1][2] Though Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was
originally considered the best of the Brontë sisters' works, many subsequent critics of
Wuthering Heights argued that its originality and achievement made it superior.[3] Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired
works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, musicals and songs (notably the hit
Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush),
ballet and opera.
Plot summary
The narrative is non-linear, involving several flashbacks, and
involves two narrators – Mr Lockwood and Nelly Dean. The novel opens in 1801, with Lockwood arriving at Thrushcross Grange, a
grand house on the Yorkshire moors he is renting from the surly Heathcliff, who lives at nearby Wuthering Heights. Lockwood
spends the night at Wuthering Heights and has a terrifying dream: the ghost of Catherine Linton, pleading to be admitted to the
house from outside. Intrigued, Lockwood asks the housekeeper Nelly Dean to tell the story of Heathcliff and Wuthering
Heights.
Nelly takes over the narration and begins her story thirty years earlier, when Heathcliff, a foundling living on the streets of Liverpool, is brought to Wuthering
Heights by the then-owner, Mr. Earnshaw and raised as his own. Earnshaw's daughter Catherine becomes Heathcliff's inseparable
friend. Her brother Hindley, however, resents Heathcliff, seeing him as an interloper and rival. Earnshaw dies three years later,
and Hindley (who has married a woman named Frances) takes over the estate. He brutalizes Heathcliff, forcing him to work as a
hired hand. Catherine becomes friends with a neighbour family, the Lintons of Thrushcross Grange, who mellow her initially wild
personality. She is especially attached to the refined and mild young Edgar Linton, whom Heathcliff instantaneously dislikes.
A year later, Hindley's wife dies, apparently of consumption, shortly after giving birth
to a son, Hareton; Hindley takes to drink. Some two years after that, Catherine agrees to marry Edgar. Nelly knows that this will
crush Heathcliff, and Heathcliff overhears Catherine's explanation that it would be "degrading" to marry him. Heathcliff storms
out and leaves Wuthering Heights, not hearing Catherine's continuing declarations that Heathcliff is as much a part of her as the
rocks are to the earth beneath. Catherine marries Edgar, and is initially very happy. Some time later, Heathcliff returns, intent
on destroying those who prevent him from being with Catherine. He has, mysteriously, become very wealthy, and has duped Hindley
into making him the heir to Wuthering Heights. Intent on ruining Edgar, Heathcliff elopes with Edgar's sister Isabella, which
places him in a position to inherit Thrushcross Grange upon Edgar's death.
Catherine becomes very ill after Heathcliff's return and dies a few hours after giving birth to a daughter also named
Catherine, or Cathy. Heathcliff becomes only more bitter and vengeful. Isabella flees her abusive marriage a month later, and
subsequently gives birth to a boy, Linton. At around the same time, Hindley dies. Heathcliff takes ownership of Wuthering
Heights, and vows to raise Hindley's son Hareton with as much neglect as he had suffered at Hindley's hands years earlier.
Twelve years later, the dying Isabella asks Edgar to raise her and Heathcliff's son, Linton. However, Heathcliff finds out
about this and takes the sickly, spoiled child to Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff has nothing but contempt for his son, but
delights in the idea of him ruling the property of his enemies. To that end, a few years later, Heathcliff attempts to persuade
young Cathy to marry Linton. Cathy refuses, so Heathcliff kidnaps her and forces the two to marry. Soon after, Edgar Linton dies,
followed shortly by Linton. This leaves Cathy a widow and a virtual prisoner at Wuthering Heights, as Heathcliff has gained
complete control of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. It is at this point in the narrative that Lockwood arrives,
taking possession of Thrushcross Grange, and hearing Nelly Dean's story. Shocked, Lockwood leaves for London.
During his absence from the area, however, events reach a climax; Cathy gradually softens toward her rough, uneducated cousin
Hareton, just as her mother grew tender towards Heathcliff. When Heathcliff realizes that Cathy and Hareton are in love, he
abandons his life-long vendetta. He dies broken and tormented, and Catherine and Hareton marry.
Heathcliff is buried next to Catherine (the elder), and the story concludes with Lockwood visiting the grave, unsure of what to
feel.
Characters
Heathcliff is the central male character of the novel. An
orphaned foundling raised by the Earnshaw family, he forms an early bond with his foster sister Catherine Earnshaw, and falls
passionately in love with her as they grow. Meanwhile he nurses a bitter rivalry with his foster brother Hindley, who resents the
attention their father shows Heathcliff. A brooding, vindictive man, his anger and bitterness at Catherine's later marriage to
their neighbor Edgar Linton sees him engage in a ruthless vendetta to destroy not only his enemies but their heirs, a crusade
that only intensifies upon Catherine's death.
Catherine Earnshaw is Heathcliff's adoptive sister. A free-spirited and
somewhat spoiled young woman, she returns Heathcliff's love utterly, but considers him too far beneath her for marriage; instead
choosing another childhood friend, Edgar Linton. Later, after Heathcliff's return, she acknowledges to both men that Heathcliff
is her true love. However her physical and mental health is destroyed by the feud between them, and she descends into prophetic
madness before dying during childbirth.
Edgar Linton is a childhood friend of Catherine Earnshaw's, who later marries her. A mild and gentle man, if slightly
cold, cowardly and distant, he loves Catherine deeply but is unable to reconcile his love for her with her feelings for her
childhood friend. This leads to a bitter antagonism with Heathcliff, and it is partly this which leads to Catherine's mental
breakdown and death. Linton is incapable of competing with Heathcliff's guile and ruthless determination across the decades, and
his health fails him while still a relatively young man.
Isabella Linton is the younger sister of Edgar who becomes infatuated with Heathcliff. She fundamentally mistakes his
true nature and elopes with him despite his apparent dislike of her. Her love for him turns to hatred almost immediately, as she
is ill treated both physically and emotionally and held captive against her will. Eventually she escapes, leaves for London and
gives birth to their son Linton Heathcliff, whom she attempts to raise away from Heathcliff's corrupting influence.
Hindley Earnshaw is Catherine's brother and Heathcliff's other rival. Having loathed Heathcliff since childhood,
Hindley delights in turning him into a downtrodden servant upon inheriting Wuthering Heights. However, his wife's death in
childbirth destroys him; he becomes a self-destructive alcoholic and gambler and it is this that allows Heathcliff, upon
returning to Wuthering Heights, to turn the tables and to maneuver the family property away from him.
Northern Yorkshire. In the foreground
heaths.
Nelly Dean is, at various points, the housekeeper of both Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights, and is one of the
two narrators of the novel. Having been a disapproving witness and unwilling participant to many of the events between Heathcliff
and both the Earnshaw and Linton families for much of her life, she narrates the story to Lockwood during his illness.
Linton Heathcliff is the son of Isabella and Heathcliff. He bears no resemblance to Heathcliff and takes after his
mother. He is a sickly child who grows up ignorant of his father until his mother's death, when he is thirteen years old. He is
forced to live at Wuthering Heights and grows into a bullied, trembling shadow of his father. Heathcliff arranges for him to
marry his cousin Catherine Linton so that he may inherit both the estates of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. He dies
shortly after entering into the forced marriage.
Catherine Linton is the daughter of Catherine Earnshaw and Edgar Linton. She inherits both her mother's
free-spiritedness and dark eyes and her father's gentle nature, facial features and fair hair. Heathcliff takes advantage of her
fundamentally pure nature and manipulates her into marrying his own son, Linton. Once she has become another captive of Wuthering
Heights, Heathcliff resorts to the same torture he applies to everyone against whom he bears a grudge. As a result, she regards
him with contempt and disgust and becomes silent and morose. She later falls in love with her cousin, Hareton Earnshaw.
Hareton Earnshaw is the son of Hindley Earnshaw, who is adopted by Heathcliff upon Hindley's death. Even before this,
he has waged a campaign of torment against the young man while living together at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff spitefully turns
Hareton into a downtrodden, illiterate servant, much as Hindley once did to him. Despite this, Hareton remains strangely loyal to
him, even adopting a superficially similar personality. Quick tempered and easily embarrassed, he falls in love with Catherine at
an early point, and despite her contempt for him is thus inspired to improve himself. He bears a strong likeness to his aunt and
is the only person who mourns Heathcliff upon his death.
Joseph is a servant of the Earnshaws and later Heathcliff. A bullying, lazy and snide man, he hates Heathcliff but is
somehow bound to be his servant. Intensely religious, he is sanctimonious, self-righteous and largely held in contempt by those
around him. He speaks in a thick Yorkshire brogue.
Lockwood is the other narrator of the novel. A recently-arrived tenant at Thrushcross Grange at the beginning of the
novel, he is intrigued by the curious goings-on at Wuthering Heights, and persuades Nelly Dean to tell him the story of what
happened during a bout of sickness. Lockwood is apaprently a wealthy, relatively young man who comes to regret not approaching
the younger Catherine Linton himself. Despite displaying many self-centred attributes, he is also a sensitive and romantic soul
who is deeply affected by the saga of Heathcliff and Catherine.
Timeline
| 1757 |
Hindley born (Summer); Nelly born |
| 1762 |
Edgar Linton born |
| 1764 |
Heathcliff born |
| 1765 |
Catherine Earnshaw born (Summer); Isabella Linton born (late 1765) |
| 1771 |
Heathcliff is brought to Wuthering Heights by Mr Earnshaw (late summer) |
| 1773 |
Mrs Earnshaw dies (Spring) |
| 1774 |
Hindley is sent off to college |
| 1777 |
Hindley marries Frances; Mr Earnshaw dies (October); Hindley comes back (October); Heathcliff and Catherine visit Thrushcross
Grange, Catherine remains behind (November), then returns to Wuthering Heights (Christmas Eve). |
| 1778 |
Hareton is born (June); Frances dies (autumn or winter) |
| 1780 |
Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights; Mr and Mrs Linton both die |
| 1783 |
Catherine marries Edgar (March); Heathcliff comes back (September) |
| 1784 |
Heathcliff marries Isabella (February); Catherine dies and Cathy is born (20 March);
Hindley dies; Linton Heathcliff is born (September) |
| 1797 |
Isabella dies; Cathy visits Wuthering Heights and meets Hareton; Linton is brought to Thrushcross Grange and is then taken to
Wuthering Heights |
| 1800 |
Cathy meets Heathcliff and sees Linton again (20 March) |
| 1801 |
Cathy and Linton are married (August); Edgar dies (August); Linton dies (September); Mr Lockwood goes to Thrushcross Grange
and visits Wuthering Heights, beginning his narrative |
| 1802 |
Mr Lockwood goes back to London (January); Heathcliff dies (April); Mr Lockwood comes back to Thrushcross Grange
(September) |
| 1803 |
Cathy plans to marry Hareton (1 January) |
Local Background
Though tourists are often told that Top Withens, a ruined farmhouse, near the Haworth
parsonage, is the model for Wuthering Heights, it seems more likely that the now demolished High Sunderland Hall, near Halifax was the partial
model for the building. This Gothic edifice, near Law Hill, where Emily worked briefly as a schoolmistress in 1838, had grotesque
embellishments of griffins and misshapen nude men similar to those described by Lockwood of Wuthering Heights in chapter one of
the novel:
- "Before passing the threshold, 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"".
The originals of Thrushcross Grange have been traditionally connected to Ponden Hall near
Haworth (although it is far too small) and, more likely, Shibden Hall, near
Halifax.[4][5] A feud centred around Walterclough Hall is also said to
have been one inspiration for the story along with the story of Emily's grandfather, Hugh Brunty.
Literary allusions
Traditionally, this novel has been seen as a unique piece of work conceived in solitude by a genius confined to the lonesome
heath, and as almost detached from the literary movements of the time. However, one may be surprised to learn from the
Biographies that, besides Charlotte, also Emily (even though she kept up a somewhat monkish behaviour and returned to England
sooner than Charlotte did) received some thorough literary training at the Pensionnat Héger in Brussels by imitating and
analyzing the styles of classic writers, and also learned German. In this way, she could also read the German Romantics in the original, apart from Lord Byron, who was admired by all three sisters.
The brother-sister relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy (who are brought up together) is reminiscent of the
brother-sister-couples in Byron's epics (together with the idea of a shared identity, as expressed in the famous "I am
Heathcliff!"), with the role of the Byronic hero quite well-cast. There may still be a
multitude of other influences yet uninvestigated, as, e.g., the scene of a woe-begone Catherine plucking feathers from the
sofa-cushion and naming the birds they once belonged to evokes Ophelia handing out
her various flowers.
Gothic and supernatural elements
The novel contains many Gothic and supernatural elements although the true nature of
the latter is always ambiguous. The mystery of Heathcliff's parentage is never solved: described by Hindley as an
'imp of Satan' in chapter four, by the end of the novel Nelly Dean is
entertaining notions that Heathcliff may be some hideous ghoul or vampire. The awesome but unseen presence of Satan is also alluded to at several points in the novel and it is
noted in chapter three that 'no clergyman will undertake the duties of pastor', at the local
chapel, which has fallen into dereliction.
Ghosts also feature: at the beginning of the novel, Lockwood has a horrible vision of Catherine (the elder) as a child,
appearing at the window of her old chamber at Wuthering Heights, begging to be allowed in; not only does Heathcliff, on hearing
of this, lend it credence, but when he dies it is noted that the window of his room was left open, raising the possibility that
Catherine returned at the moment of his death. After Heathcliff dies, Nelly Dean reports that various superstitious locals have
claimed to see Catherine and Heathcliff's ghosts roaming the moors, although in the closing line of the novel Lockwood discounts
the idea of "unquiet slumbers for those sleepers in that quiet earth."
Allusions/references in literature
- In Albert Camus' essay "The Rebel", Heathcliff is
compared to a leader of the rebel forces. Both are driven by a sort of madness: one by misguided love, the other by oppression.
Camus juxtaposes the concept of Heathcliff's reaction to Cathy with the reaction of a disenchanted rebel to the ideal he once
held.
- Ann Carson wrote a poem titled "The Glass Essay" in which is woven multiple references to Wuthering Heights and the
life of Emily Brontë.
- James Stoddard's novel The False House contains numerous references to
Wuthering Heights.
- In the preface of his novel Le bleu du ciel, the French writer
Georges Bataille states that, in his view, Wuthering Heights belongs to those
rare works in literature written from an inner necessity.
- The opening line of Joseph Conrad's Heart of
Darkness is a reference to Nelly Dean and to the inset narrator used to recount the stories from both novels.
- Wuthering Heights is discussed in Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse by Bella and Edward and why Bella enjoys the story so much.
- The novel Glennkill by German writer Leonie
Swann, published in 2005, is in some way centered around Emily Bronte's novel, and is perhaps the main reason why said
novel is set in Ireland.[citation needed] The book, as we discover in the last pages, is being read to the sheep by
the shepherd's daughter, and in a strange and dreamy way helps the main character of the novel, a sheep-detective called Miss
Maple, to guess the identity of the murderer.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
- 1920: the earliest version of Wuthering Heights is filmed in England, directed by
A.V. Bramble. It is unknown if any prints still exist.[6]
- 1939: Wuthering Heights, starring
Merle Oberon as Catherine Linton, Laurence
Olivier as Heathcliff, David Niven
as Edgar Linton, Flora Robson as Ellen Dean, Donald
Crisp as Dr. Kenneth, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Isabella Linton and
Leo G. Carroll as Joseph Earnshaw. The film was adapted by Charles MacArthur, Ben Hecht and John
Huston. It was directed by William Wyler. The movie was nominated for the 1940
Academy Award for Best Picture. It did not depict the entire novel,
portraying only half.
- In 1948 BBC Television staged a live
90-minute version of the novel. This was not recorded.
- A 1953 adaptation on BBC Television was scripted by Nigel
Kneale, directed by Rudolph Cartier and starred Richard Todd as Heathcliff and Yvonne Mitchell as Catherine. This
version does not survive in the BBC archives. According to Kneale, it was made simply because Todd had turned up at the BBC one
day and said that he wanted to play Heathcliff for them; Kneale was forced to write the script in only a week as the adaptation
was rushed into production.[7]
- A 1954 (loose) Spanish-language adaptation filmed in Mexico by Luis Buñuel, titled Abismos de Pasión.
- In 1962, BBC Television screened a new production of their 1953 version. This was again
produced by Rudolph Cartier and has been preserved in the archives. Kneale's adaptation concentrates on the first half of the
novel, removing the second generation of Earnshaws and Lintons entirely. Claire Bloom
played Catherine and Keith Michell was Heathcliff.[8]
- 1970: Wuthering Heights starring Timothy Dalton as Heathcliff and Anna Calder-Marshall
as Catherine (the elder). It does not cover the whole story.
- 1970: Monty Python's Flying Circus
Season 2 episode # 15 featured a sketch "The Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights",
which had the actors communicating via semaphore flags.
- Egyptian television did a serialized version in the early 70's.
- 1978: Another BBC adaptation, directed by Peter Hammond
and produced by Jonathan Powell, with screenplays by Hugh Leonard and David Snodin. Ken
Hutchison plays Heathcliff and Kay Adshead plays Cathy. This adaptation covers the
whole story, and has been reissued on DVD.
- 1985: French film adaptation Hurlevent by
Jacques Rivette.
- 1987: Austrian drama adaptation Krankheit
oder Moderne Frauen by Elfriede Jelinek.
- 1988: Japanese film.
- 1991: A Filipino film adaptation Hihintayin Kita Sa Langit, starring Richard Gómez and Dawn Zulueta. It was reprised in 2007 with an English
title, The Promise, starring Richard Gutiérrez and Angel Locsín.
- 1992: Emily Brontë's Wuthering
Heights starring Juliette Binoche in two roles, Catherine Earnshaw and her
daughter, and Ralph Fiennes as Heathcliff.
- 1995 Adaptation for theatre by Gillian Hiscott published by J. Garnett Miller
Ltd.(now Cressrelles)
- 1998: Adaptation by Neil McKay for London Weekend Television directed by David Skynner and
starring Sarah Smart as Catherine (the younger, and Orla
Brady as the elder Catherine) and Robert Cavanah as Heathcliff. Also broadcast by
PBS television as part of Masterpiece Theatre.
- 2003: Wuthering Heights for
MTV. It starred Erika Christensen, Mike Vogel, and Christopher Masterson.
New versions
In 2006 it was reported that a new film adaptation was in development, with Angelina
Jolie and Johnny Depp presently attached to star, however, no further developments
appear to have been forthcoming. M. Night Shyamalan was once offered the project to
direct, but he turned it down to work on The Village, which he later revealed
to be inspired partly by the novel.[9]
ITV has commissioned a new remake, to be adapted by Blackpool writer
Peter Bowker. The three-hour Bronte is expected to be broadcast in early 2008.[10]
In 2007 Orchises Press of Alexandria, Virginia, published a facsimile of the first edition of 1847.
Musical allusions and adaptations
Opera
- Bernard Herrmann wrote an opera based on the novel in 1951. The libretto was by Lucille
Fletcher, and it was first performed in London in 1966, with the composer conducting the
Pro Arte Orchestra. It featured the soprano Morag Beaton in the role of Cathy, and the baritone Donald Bell as Heathcliff. It was subsequently recorded on Unicorn-Kanchana records.
- Carlisle Floyd also wrote an opera based on the novel
in 1958.
- Bernard J. Taylor wrote a musical
Wuthering Heights, recorded in 1992 as a concept album starring Lesley Garrett, Dave Willetts, Bonnie Langford and Clive Carter, and first performed in 1994. It has been translated into German,
Romanian and Polish.[11]
- The All-female Japanese opera company, Takarazuka Revue, has their own
interpretation of the story, the musical drama is first performed in the 1970s and the most recently production is in 1998,
starring Yōka Wao.
Other
- "Wuthering Heights" is a song by Kate
Bush, which appears on her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside, and was also
released as her debut single. It has been repeatedly covered by other artists, including Pat
Benatar, on her 1980 album Crimes of Passion, the Brazilian power metal
band Angra, on their 1993 album "Angels Cry", and
Hayley Westenra, on her 2003 album Pure
(Hayley Westenra album). The Puppini Sisters have released a swing version of the Kate Bush song, as have the
Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain.
- The title and cover art of the second 1976 album "Wind & Wuthering" by the
British progressive rock group Genesis were inspired by the novel. It also includes two
instrumental pieces titled "Unquiet Slumbers For The Sleepers..." and "...In That Quiet Earth", respectively, which are the last
words in the novel.
- "Wuthering Heights" is a Danish heavy metal band.
- Song writer Michael Penn makes reference to Heathcliff in his song "No Myth".
- Song
Cycle version of the novel using Emily Brontë poems as libretto.
- Wuthering Heights is produced as a play in the Japanese manga "Garasu no Kamen" by Suzue Miuchi,
in which the young Cathy is played by fictional actress Maya Kitajima.
- In 2003, Japanese singer-songwriter Chihiro Onitsuka penned and released a b-side
track on her maxi-single "Beautiful Fighter," which was entitled "嵐ヶ丘," a name taken from the Japanese translation of the title
Wuthering Heights.
- In 2005, Japanese violinist Kawai Ikuko composed an instrumental piece of the same name. Its slightly more elaborate
variation includes the subtitle, "Dear Heathcliff."
- Korean pop artist Eugene has a song entitled "Wuthering Heights" released in 2004.
External links
References
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