Discussion of Wuthering Heights

[ttuso22]

This was an interesting book. I read it because a friend recommended it to be since she said it was where the love triangle originated. I will say I enjoyed it but I definitely had to push myself to read through it. It was different than I expected and a lot more depressing. Probably wouldn't read again.

[RebekaV]

I read it straight after reading Jane Eyre. It was a big shock as I expected something completely different. I did not like it at first, but I think I will go back to reading it. It stayed with me and is always at the back of my mind, as if there would be things I did not understand in the first reading.

[dhaller]

I found Heathcliffe to be beastly, and Bronte's framing devices to be confusing and inelegant.

Granted, there is a place for love and revenge stories, but I found The Count of Monte Cristo to do a better job at both.

[Aithne]

This book had a lingering sense of danger and darkness. Characters were moody, like a tempest through the landscape and there was a world ending romance, or at least it seemed that way. But, I wasn't a fan of the book of two halves and I felt some of the story lines had a Victorian way of requiring the drawing of too many genealogies to make sense.

[Amheiser]

I read this book when I was younger and I remember that I thought it was a very interesting story. After reading through the posts here I think I would like to read it again. I think I read it the first time as just a story I had to read for school and though it was interesting for me, it seems like there was more going on that I didn't realize. I'm curious to see if I would still like it.

[Sarah_Khan]

I've read Wuthering Heights twice. The first time I read it is when I was obsessed with reading classic books and I really disliked it. I decided to give it another chance after I heard how most people love it and see it as an epic love story. Even after reading it the second time I still do not understand why almost everyone loves this book!
I felt like the characters were so frustrating and selfish plus they were just creating useless problems for themselves.

[Lizann0513]

Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books that made me fall in love with classics. I read this book when i was in middle school, which i read in a day. I couldnt put it down. Its the most well written and put you on the edge of your seat. Since middle school i have reread this book a total of 6 times and still enjoy every word i read.

[Jenna J Richardson]

Wuthering Heights authored by Emily Bronte is perhaps the most enduring and most classic novel of its time, in proof continues to be legendary in its nature. Notably an issue long ensued, including in the chaotic, complex narative structure, is feminism revisited. Sin is also another theme in this book. The writing of Bronte is impressive and articulate. Her use of dialect, vast vocabulary, and descriptiveness, is supreme and poetic. Wuthering Heights begins with an introductory scene of the hearth, depicted as earry and evil. I think this symbolizes human sin and its gift of redemption of which is perfectly imperfect: that is evident of human suffering and consequence. The elaborate plot and complex characters in Wuthering Heights, Bronte uses these aa a mirror of reality in sin, which has marked the human race since biblical times. The relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is remarkable at best, and resembles the stain on the sheet of immortality and eventuality that we cannot erase. Their love is one proclaimed as almost "demonic." As the novel progresses, we get a clearer indication of Catherine's brother, Hindley, who is like the evil serpent in the Garden of Eden telling Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. The "snake-like" character whispers in the ear of the ignorant and pleads Heathcliff that the love and passion for Catherine is not mutual. This causes Heathcliff to vacate Wuthering Heights at once. As in redemption to an immortal god, Heathcliff returns to the place where he was bullied and humilated by Hindley, as a rich and priveledged man. He seeks, not forgiveness but revenge of his old enemy. Wuthering Heights has an intricate plot, filled with misery, pain, and defeat; even sweet passion and burning romance. These nuanced are simply a microcosm of pain, loss, and avenge. One quick, important quote I found in this novel that summarizes this point is when the master confronts the elder, here: 'spoke the older one, "Oh, wicked, wicked!...May the Lord deliver us from evil!".' In reply, the master says, "You'll go with him to hell!...And who is to look after the horses, eh?".' Perhaps the greatest form of revenge is a successful life: I guess Heathcliff gets the last laugh. Wuthering Heights will continue to stand the test of time. If you are looking for a complex story-line, detailed descriptions, and unforgetable characters, then this book is for you. If you do not prefer proper English or "old-speak," then this is not for you. This book may seem intimidating, but once you get passed the first few chapters, you get a grasp on the language and the way they spoke back then (I had to read chapter one twice). In addition, I've found this book to be intellectually satisfying and will look forward to reading it again, repeatedly...I rate this book a 4, mainly for Bronte's rich themes and strong narrative. I would recommend this beautifully written book to anyone whom had an inclination to strong dialect, emmersive, dark, and extensive plot; it is no small wonder why this book has been read throughout the ages, most commonly read among high school English students! Many will continue to discover a new-aged plot with 19 th century speak and culture of what is Wuthering Heights.

[BelindaC]

This is one of the books that makes my top 10 list of favourite books. I think the biggest reason I was able to enjoy it so much was that I read this immediately after reading one of my other favourites, Pride and Prejudice. Having gone into it expecting a similarly sappy love story, I received a pleasant surprise. I think because I read such an adorably sappy romance with a happy ending right before it, it made Wuthering Heights really stand out and put its dark tone and unlikeable characters into a proper context and a different light. Instead of simply reading a book about awful people being awful to each other, I was reading it in comparison to a book where true love overcomes all and every body lives happily ever after. I therefore really loved the fact that the Heathcliff and Kathy are awful and that they don't get a happy ending because it made it really stand out and provided a very different take on the power of love that I find quite interesting to this day. I find it very deep and haunting.

[Kat Berg]

I have tried so many times to read this novel! I just cannot get beyond the first little bit. And there it sits. On my shelf. Mocking me. I want to enjoy this book. I want to revel in the brooding moors and detest and love the abominable Heathcliff, to wish Katherine makes different choices, but I just cannot. This is the only Bronte sister whose books I do not love.

[Elizabeth Pass]

I read this book in High School. It was a lot harder to understand and follow then than it is now. All the characters are absolutely full of themselves but that's kind of the point. Everything is so dramatic. MTV made a movie based on the book. My best friend and I've watched it several times though it's absolutely ridiculous.

[alisonedgee]

dnf. tried so many times, i just can't seem to get into it.

[P Reefer]

Wuthering Heights is an iconic classic and a page turner at that. The reader is swept into the whirlwind romance of Catherine and Heathcliff. The novel is full of memorable lines and scenes; such as Heathcliff reclaiming of Catherine in spite of her marriage. An indelible line for me and many of my classmates at the time of reading in high school was, " I am Heathcliff."

[Britty01]

One of my favorite quotes is:

“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods:
time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees.
My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath:
a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly,
I am Healthcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure,
any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”

The English moors can be dangerous if the walker is unprepared. They have often been used as a metaphor for ignorance, savagery and fear, and appeared in many a ghostly tale. I think in Wuthering Heights, Emily
uses it metaphorically for many things.

In some ways it may seem like the lives of the Bronte sisters were restrictive but in reading their books and Anne's poetry I feel they were not ignorant about life or the human condition.

Watching 'To Walk Invisible' more recently gave me some new insight into what their life might have been like.
Their brother Branwell was quite a character, though talented it appears he could not live up to his sisters. He did have an affair with a married woman which would have been quite a disgrace and source of angst for the girls. Their brother was seriously addicted to laudanum, sadly the father could not say not to him when he asked for money. I can imagine the struggle to keep the house finances going with such a drain on their resources, notwithstanding the fear of what would happen to them after the death of their menfolk.

I sometimes have wondered if the feelings for him did not come out in this novel, because of its darkness and depth of passion.

[Garden3 L4ke]

I have never read this book; not even in high school, which was 42 years ago. I probably never will; but I did recently read her sister's book, Jane Eyre. That took me quite a while to read, and I put it down several times but I finished by appreciating it. I do enjoy reading "old speak" as it transports me to that time as I read. I have read most of Shakespeare's plays, not revised, if that tells you anything. Anyway, every time I think of reading Wuthering Heights, I get down, so it's not for me.
I do applaud those who have read it and rated it well for it was a great work, just not for me.