Gothic Themes Portrayed by Religious Ceremony in Wuthering Heights with Reference to Jane Eyre

The gothic theme become wildly popular after the publication of Horace Walpole’s ‘The castle of Otranto’ in 1764, this theme is prominent throughout the whole of ‘Wuthering Heights’, although it is most apparent during religious ceremony. Religious ceremony in this novel is mainly conveyed through death; ‘Jane Eyre’ also includes this in the novel. Each death is conveyed different but all have quite an eerie element, whether it’s how they die, the description of them after death, the reaction of loved ones or also where they rest such as their graves.

Catherine Earnshaw’s death in ‘Wuthering Heights’ seems to be quite a peaceful and pure, even Nelly describes her death as “divine”, she also tells Heathcliff that she dies as “quietly as a lamb” . Her appearance is also described in a very saintly manor by Nelly “Her brow smooth, her lids closed, her lips wearing the expression of a smile; no angel in heaven could be more beautiful than she appeared” , but before her death her appearance was described completely different with gothic undertones, an example is Nelly describing her “white cheek, and bloodless lip” even though Catherine is alive at this point her description imitates one of a dead person, it is almost a ghostly description because she has no colour at all. This description is foreshadowing what Catherine will become after death, which is a ghost. This reveals how this shows how the supernatural and gothic themes are similar in this novel as we see many gothic themes portrayed with somewhat of a supernatural element. Heathcliff’s reaction to Catherine’s death is very demonic and almost barbaric, “He dashed his head his head against a knotted trunk; and, lifting up his eyes, howled, not like a man, but like a sava...

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...the vampire, they are variously described as “closed”, “grinding”, “cannibal”, “tearing”, “visible”, “gnashing”, “sharp”, and “sneering”” . Despite the fact of there being an unsettling atmosphere around the death, Nelly describes Heathcliff as “perfectly still” this shows the perfection of death to Heathcliff, that in death he will be reunited with his true love. The most gothic part of Heathcliff’s death is the unknown, “Mr Kenneth was perplexed to pronounce of what disorder the master died.” This suggests that there was no real reason for his death. This could be implied about Bertha’s ‘illness’ as well as she is seen as mad throughout Jane Eyre "that there was a lady--a--a lunatic, kept in the house?" but again no one knows why. The unknown could be linked to the gothic theme as it’s quite eerie how the causes of their death and illness will remain a mystery.