Personification In Wuthering Heights Chapter 1

Chapter one of Wuthering Heights begins in 1801 and introduces the narrator, Mr. Lockwood, who is visiting his new landlord, Mr. Heathcliff. The first chapter of the book is used mostly to describe the narrator’s surroundings and the characters that he meets. As a Gothic novel, the tone of the book is expected to be dark. How well does Emily Bronte use literary devices in the first chapter to convey the tone of a Gothic novel?

The chapters point of view is that of a peripheral narrator. By being a character in the book and the narrator, it gives the story a more personalized feeling. Mr. Lockwood is telling his experiences at the Wuthering Heights estate and introducing the reader to a few characters. He is somewhat an unreliable narrator

because he is trying to explain to the readers what he sees around him but does not truly understand the situation. His name alone, Lockwood, shows that Bronte tried to make his character difficult to trust and to let in. When Lockwood meets Heathcliff, he describes him as having “black eyes withdrawn suspiciously under their brows,” which makes Heathcliff sound morose to the reader. In the chapter, Lockwood describes how unwelcoming Heathcliff sounded when he asked him to come into his house by “uttering the words with closed teeth, and expressing the sentiment, “Go to the Deuce,” (Bronte 1). This made Lockwood intrigued to find out why Heathcliff seemed to be such a private man. Lockwood continues to be the narrator for the rest of the chapter and tries to help the reader understand more about Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights.
Bronte uses personification in this chapter to bring alive how unwelcome Wuthering Heights was to visit and to set the tone for the plot.

The first personification the reader comes across with is when Lockwood first meets Heathcliff and is told to come into the house in an unwelcoming manner. The narrator states that, “even the gate over which he leant manifested no sympathizing movement…” (1) which is Bronte personifying the gate to make it clear to the audience that Heathcliff did not want to let Lockwood into his house. Another piece of personification used in this chapter is the comparison of Heathcliff to Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights is personified when the narrator states, “…Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his adobe and style of living…erect and handsome figure…” (Bronte 3). Heathcliff, like Wuthering Heights, is gloomy and

sulky.
Bronte uses realism in this chapter with the purpose to introduce characters and details about the house that tie back to the dark tone being portrayed. One of the characters Lockwood encounters at Wuthering Heights is an elderly man named Joseph. He is described as, “…very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy,” (Bronte 2). The narrator also describes how Joseph goes about his work with resentment because “…he soliloquized in an undertone of peevish displeasure…” (Bronte 2) which makes Joseph seem sour and hostile to the reader. Realism is also used to describe the dogs that attacked Lockwood while he was left alone in the house by Heathcliff, something he found to be signs of Heathcliff not being a good host. Lockwood describe the dogs as “…the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs…” (Bronte 4) which helps the reader visualize the dogs more easily. The hostility of Joseph and the image of the dogs makes Wuthering Heights seem like a very unhappy and eerie place.
Imagery is used in the beginning of this chapter to set the mood, not only for the specific chapter, but what could be the rest of the novel. Lockwood introduces Wuthering Heights on the first page without using the name of the residence but he does use the name of the place he is renting out. Not introducing Heathcliff’s place of residence by name makes the house and Heathcliff more mysterious to the audience. When Bronte decides to begin describing Wuthering Heights she uses imagery to do so. First, Lockwood defines “Wuthering” to the reader as “…descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed to stormy weather,” (Bronte 2). The imagery used in defining the word “Wuthering” sets the mood for the chapter and foreshadows the storminess of the events that will take place in the plot. As the narrator walks through the front doors and all around the house, he is very observant of his surroundings. Imagery is also used when describing the architectural work of the house. The narrator describes the windows as being narrow and “deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones” (Bronte 2). The description allows the reader to imagine how unwelcoming the architecture of the house is, which ties to the overall tone of darkness and eeriness. One of the most important usages of imagery in this chapter is when Lockwood notices the “grotesque carvings” (Bronte 2) on the principal door, which adds a strange feeling of fear because of the distortions of the animals and humans. As the narrator observes the carvings he “detects the date “1500,” and the name “Hareton Earnshaw,”” (Bronte 2) the imagery here serves as a hook for the reader. It leaves the reader thinking why Lockwood would mention this carving and why that name is important. Bronte wanted to prepare the reader for future stories in the novel.
Bronte uses a peripheral point of view to give the chapter a more personal and real feeling.

As Lockwood was trying to understand Heathcliff and his environment, the audience was trying to do the same thing. Bronte uses the peripheral point of view to allow the audience to emerge itself into the novel more easily, which helps to pick up the tone and mood of the chapter. The author uses personification, realism, and imagery to convey the tone of the chapter. She makes use of these literary devices mostly to describe in greater depth what the narrator was experiencing and feeling during his first encounters with Heathcliff and the Wuthering Heights residence. Heathcliff seemed very mysterious and dark to Lockwood throughout the chapter, and that is why he wanted to visit him again, even if he was not welcomed (Bronte 5). Lockwood’s understanding of the residence itself was that it was a place of gloominess and dreariness. This all ties into Bronte using the peripheral point of view and literary devices to make the tone of the chapter, and soon the whole book, known to the

audience.