spoiler visualizarYasmim.Dornelles 05/10/2023
Such a beloved book with such hateful characters
You’ve probably heard about this book and don’t even know it. "Wuthering Heights" may have already appeared in your favorite movie or maybe in the playlist you listen to casually. I say that because this classic is one of the most famous books and references on these days, even though it was written two centuries ago. Bella's (from Twilight!) favorite book and a reference to one of Kate Bush's most famous songs, this story divides opinions.
Those who start reading believing that they will know a beautiful love story between the characters Heathcliff and Catherine will be in for a big surprise. There are several layers to this story, and ‘love’ is not the most appropriate feeling to describe the relationship of these two very complex characters. To understand what I'm saying, it's important to go back to a little bit in story (with spoilers) and, for that, I'll tell you what happened on Wuthering Heights in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
In 1801, a new resident arrives at Thrushcross Grange. Mr Lockwood wants to live in seclusion and chose a residence away from everything and everyone, except for a large house where live his only neighbor and his landlord: Heathcliff. After spending a turbulent night in the house of Heathcliff, where he was very unwelcome and came face to face with a haunting, the new resident decides to ask Ellen, your housekeeper, the story about the family who lives in Wuthering Heights.
The character Ellen Dean is very important to the story. In telling the story of the Earnshaw and Linton family, she takes on the role of narrator. It is important to note, as she narrates, that her values and principles are displayed. What she considers right and wrong and her opinion appear at every moment of the narration and this is more important than it seems. The book's author, Emily Bronte, and her sisters, Charlotte Bronte and Anne Bronte, were also housekeepers and they used the voices of characters to represent them and put a lot of themselves there. Published in 1847, female authors were not recognized, which led the sisters to write under pseudonyms. It was in these female characters that they were able to express some of their thoughts and ideas.
Continuing, it is through the voice of that narrator that we get to know the dark story of these two families who are linked by an unfulfilled love story. It all started when Mr Earnshaw returned from a trip with a gypsy boy named Heathcliff in 1770. His childrens, Hindley and Catherine, didn’t like the new member of the family and treated him with contempt and malice. With the death of the father, Hindley starts to treat Heathcliff like a servant, but Catherine and Heathcliff start to like each other. Everything changed when one day Catherine was determined to marry Edgar Linton, one man who loved her and could provide a cozy life for her. She decided that because she didn't want to be poor and she thought she could help Heathcliff when she had money. After that, everything changed. Heathcliff despaired and returned rich and ready for his revenge. His obsession for Catherine gave him forces to destroy everyone who has ever interfered in their 'love'.
I will not give details. You have to read to understand the complexity of each character in this story, who manages to bring out the worst in human beings. However, hope resurfaces at the end of the story, when the main character realizes that he can do nothing to change what was already determined. And the characters' love, which became an obsession, ends up coming true through other characters. And it’s through books that this happens. Language enables dignity and creates bonds.
A fantastic book but I just recommend this lecture if you know that don’t talk about a cute love story. I loved the experience of reading this book. I couldn't stop reading because I was so curious to know what was going to happen to the characters. I've never loved hating so many characters in this story. I'm obsessed, just like both characters were lol. I want to know more about the author too, because the fact that she wrote such a macabre story as a young woman from the countryside of the 19th century makes the work even more genius for me. I want to revisit Wuthering Heights again (and soon!).