Written in 1846–1847
Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights in the parsonage of the isolated village of Haworth, in Yorkshire.
First published in 1847
There has been some debate about it's genre but most say it is a Gothic novel (designed to both horrify and fascinate readers with scenes of passion and cruelty; supernatural elements; and a dark, foreboding atmosphere); also realist fiction (incorporates vivid circumstantial detail into a consistently and minutely thought-out plot, dealing mostly with the relationships of the characters to one another)
The action of Nelly’s story begins in the 1770s; Lockwood leaves Yorkshire in 1802.
Social Class:
As members of the gentry, the Earnshaws and the Lintons occupy a somewhat precarious place within the hierarchy of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century British society. At the top of British society was the royalty, followed by the aristocracy, then by the gentry, and then by the lower classes, who made up the vast majority of the population. Although the gentry, or upper middle class, possessed servants and often large estates, they held a nonetheless fragile social position. The social status of aristocrats was a formal and settled matter, because aristocrats had official titles.
Members of the gentry, however, held no titles, and their status was thus subject to change. A man might see himself as a gentleman but find, to his embarrassment, that his neighbours did not share this view. A discussion of whether or not a man was really a gentleman would consider such questions as how much land he owned, how many tenants and servants he had, how he spoke, whether he kept horses and a carriage, and whether his money came from land or “trade”—gentlemen scorned banking and commercial activities. Considerations of class status often crucially inform the characters’ motivations in Wuthering Heights. Catherine’s decision to marry Edgar so that she will be “the greatest woman of the neighbourhood” is only the most obvious example. The Lintons are relatively firm in their gentry status but nonetheless take great pains to prove this status through their behaviours. The Earnshaws, on the other hand, rest on much shakier ground socially. They do not have a carriage, they have less land, and their house, as Lockwood remarks with great puzzlement, resembles that of a “homely, northern farmer” and not that of a gentleman. The shifting nature of social status is demonstrated most strikingly in Heathcliff’s trajectory from homeless waif to young gentleman-by-adoption to common laborer to gentleman again (although the status-conscious Lockwood remarks that Heathcliff is only a gentleman in “dress and manners”).
Death:
Death is a recurring theme in the novel. The novel is set in an age when the mortality rate was high and death was therefore a part of everyday life. In the novel, the death of a character has effect on others and is often a significant point in the story. For example, Mr Earnshaw's death brings Hindley back to Wuthering Heights and this sets the cycle of revenge in motion. As a result of her father's death, Cathy is forced to leave Thrushcross Grange and become a prisoner at Wuthering Heights. Hindley's death deprives Hareton of his inheritance and it is not until the death of Heathcliff that he regains it.
Folk tale:
In her description of Heathcliff's background, Nelly speaks as if she is recounting a folk tale. This theme is also evident in the description of Mr Earnshaw's journey, Nelly's songs, the ghost-tale element of the graves, and Heathcliff's burial. There is also an element of folk tale in the description of Thrushcross Grange when Cathy is growing up: the princess waits for her prince in isolation from the outside world. Wuthering Heights is a grim fortress and in a happy ending, Cathy and Hareton are married on New Year's Day.
Narrators:
In this novel, there is no all-knowing narrator. The story told by various characters involved in it. By using this method of multi-narration, Emily Brontë gives an objective, full account which is extremely vivid, as it is based on first hand experience. Each narrator has an individual viewpoint and we can judge and select what we consider to be the truth. An important result of Brontë's multi-narration technique is the ease with which the action moves from past to present. The narration returns to the present when we need breathing-space to think about what we have learned, or when we need to see a character from another viewpoint. For example, at the end of Chapter 9 Nelly interrupts her story as it is 1.30 a.m., and Mr Lockwood briefly takes over the narration, telling us that Heathcliff came to call the following morning. We see the adult Heathcliff through Mr Lockwood's eyes, and the young Heathcliff through Nelly's. The reader may decide for him- or herself how much sympathy he deserves.
Windows and eyes:
Windows are important images in the novel, used to let people see into worlds which they never knew existed. Catherine and Heathcliff look through a window of Thrushcross Grange and are amazed at the luxury within. Catherine and Linton look out at the wild moor through a window of the Grange, just before Heathcliff (in many ways a child of the moor) arrives. The windows at Wuthering Heights are small and, when Heathcliff turns it into a prison, they are barred. Lockwood's encounter with Catherine's ghost is through a window whose 'hook was soldered into the staple'. Eyes are often described as windows and at one point a comparison is drawn between Heathcliff's eyes and the fortified windows of Wuthering Heights.
The outsider:
Both Heathcliff and Mr Lockwood are strangers to the worlds they enter.Heathcliff's persona is out of sympathy with the world he encounters and his presence causes conflict within it. He first appears as a waif whose origins nobody knows and he immediately divides the household. When he returns to Thrushcross Grange he aggravates Edgar and torments Catherine. From then on, his obsession with revenge disrupts everything. At his death, peace returns.
The fact that Lockwood comes from outside the society of Wuthering Heights sometimes makes his comments unintentionally comic.
In a way, Linton, Heathcliff's son, is also an outsider. His arrival at Wuthering Heights after his mother's death allows for the three-way conflict between himself, Cathy and Hareton, which mirrors the earlier one between Heathcliff, Catherine and Edgar.
Childhood:
The childhood of Catherine and Heathcliff is wild and free. It is a time when their love is not marred by any conflict: they are united against Hindley and Joseph. They spend a lot of time together on the moors. This is the time to which Catherine returns in her mind when she breaks down under stress. Their childhood contrasts with Hareton's, which is isolated and degraded; Cathy's, which is overprotected and unrealistic; and Linton's, which is one of ill health and self-hatred.
Books:
Books are connected with Catherine, Joseph, Edgar, Linton, Isabella, Cathy, and Hareton. The way in which each uses books shows aspects of character. Catherine uses books as an outflow for her creativity: she writes in them but doesn't appear to read them. Joseph uses books, Calvinist tracts on sin and damnation, as an extension of his puritanical delight in spoiling others' pleasure. Edgar uses books to escape reality: Catherine is scornful of his ability to read them when he should be concerned about her health. Isabella's liking for romantic and Gothic fiction causes her to romanticise her infatuation with Heathcliff. Cathy reads books for entertainment when she is imprisoned at Thrushcross Grange or Wuthering Heights. For Linton, books are a diversion. To Hareton, who was just learning to read at five but then learned no more until he was twenty-three, books are precious objects which hold the key to civilisation and social advancement.
Nature and associated images:
The moor is connected with wildness and freedom. It is here that Catherine and Heathcliff roam free as children, and they are buried together on the moors. The moors represent Catherine's idea of heaven. The moors are important because they bring out the elemental, enduring quality of Heathcliff. Catherine's description of Heathcliff important. It emphasises the enduring quality of their love compared to her ephemeral love for Edgar: 'My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it... My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath..."
Descriptions of the weather are important in Wuthering Heights. They symbolise feelings and actions in the novel. Storms signal danger and conflict: when Heathcliff disappears, a tree is struck by lightning; there is a storm the night Catherine is buried. As Cathy grows up, descriptions of calm, summery weather become more frequent.
Imprisonment:
Imprisonment takes many forms in the novel. The physical imprisonment of people is a way of wielding power, an attempt to deprive people of freedom in a mental as well as physical sense. Heathcliff imprisons Cathy at the Heights to punish her for running away. Ironically, it is her desire for freedom from Thrushcross Grange which leads to a much worse imprisonment at the Heights. People may be imprisoned for a short time because of anger: Catherine locks Edgar in the same room as Heathcliff; Hareton locks Cathy and Linton out of the living room. Another form of imprisonment is one which springs from care and concern: Edgar is overprotective of Cathy and will not let her leave Thrushcross Grange. There is also self-imprisonment in an emotional sense. Heathcliff has to come back to Wuthering Heights in case Catherine is there; Edgar cannot leave Thrushcross Grange because of his grief for Catherine; Linton feels imprisoned by his own miserable character. Heathcliff's obsession for revenge is also a kind of imprisonment. Only by dying does he become free of it, freeing Cathy and Hareton at the same time.
Love and passion:
Love, in tandem with hate, is the main theme of the novel, but there are many different kinds of love. The love of Heathcliff and Catherine turns to passion, but in childhood it was a selfless love. When Catherine tells Nelly 'I am Heathcliff she describes their other-worldly union. The symbols Catherine uses to describe their love - fire and earth - are elemental and enduring. It is only later, when she ruins their union by marrying Edgar, that their love becomes destructive.
Edgar's love for Catherine is mild by comparison, though his affection for her is genuine. Catherine's love for Edgar is based on desire for social importance and for the ease and grace of life at Thrushcross Grange. Hindley's love for Frances is over-indulgent and her love for him childish and unrealistic.
The love of Isabella for Heathcliff is an unnatural obsession, excited by her reading of romantic fiction. Linton's love for Cathy is that of a baby for its mother: dependent, desiring protection. She responds with an almost maternal love. In contrast to all these kinds of love, that between Hareton and Cathy is positive, balanced, adult and life-giving. It is important to see that both these characters gave love to those around them throughout their childhood: Cathy loved her father and Nelly Dean, whilst Hareton loved Heathcliff.
Passion is shown to be uncontrolled and destructive, the result of frustrated love. The passion of Heathcliff and Catherine, reunited after three years apart, is very different from their earlier love.