Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

BookNotes

Author: [[ emily bronte ]]

  • Very different to the romance portrayed in popular culture. Much darker and weirder than you would think.
  • Heathcliff is shunned because of the colour of his skin and the fact he’s adopted - never fully accepted by the society in microcosm. Novel is concerned about class.
  • Repays the abuse o his tenfold - each generation the abuse gets worse. About cycles of abuse and generational trauma.
  • Ultimately he gains control of all the land and both estates, but at what cost? Doesn’t quiet his soul. Still not accepted as always an outsider.
  • Cathy is also selfish and spoilt. “Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same” is not a compliment. However she is the only person who treats him kindly.
  • Very funny in places - narrator is socially stupid.
  • Unreliable narrators abound - reported speech, sometimes two people deep.
  • Houses on the moors are close and claustrophobic. The world doesn’t exist outside of the moors.