Wuthering Heights

When initially diving into a novel, it is common knowledge that there is an already preconceived agreement of trust that the reader instills in the story’s narrator. The reader virtually always relies on the narrator to illustrate the story in an honest unbiased manner, but the story teller in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights appears to break the chains of trust understood by the audience. The novel is heard through the keen ears of Mr. Lockwood who is being told the history of the Earnshaws, Heathcliff, and the Linton family by his housekeeper, Ellen Dean. Establishing herself as the primary narrator, Nelly reminisces upon her experiences at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. She fails to give Lockwood and ultimately the reader a precise narration of the affairs that took place in the past. Throughout her vivid flashback, Nelly on numerous occasions lessens the impact of her role and participation in certain events to keep her hands clean from the tragedies that more or less ruined those among her presence at Wuthering Heights.

As Nelly Dean embarks on her tale to Lockwood, she is caught uttering the words, “I am to follow my story in true gossip fashion” (Bronte 51). By her own confession it can be inferred that her account of what actually took place could quite possibly be exaggerated to tell a more fascinating version of the truth. It is apparent that Nelly creates the identity of herself as only being a key witness instead of the manipulating agent that she truly is. The fact that she has some sort of interaction with all the characters in the novel makes her more than just an onlooker. Furthermore, one critic reiterates that Nelly is too close to the action and is often up to her neck in the world of Wuther...

... middle of paper ...

...ictions of duty; from which, it struck me then, all the misfortunes of my employers sprang. It was not the case, in reality, I am aware; but it was, in my imagination, that dismal night; and I thought Heathcliff himself less guilty than I” (Brontechp27). It is here that Nelly is no longer blinded by her own ignorance. She is one of the last to live but is cursed to tell a tale of wickedness just like the remaining survivor of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Nelly Dean’s poor narration to Mr. Lockwood is the housekeeper’s way to justify that she posses no blood on her hands. Her upbringing with the novel’s main characters gives her a poor choice in judgement and makes her extremely biased on how the story is portrayed. Nelly’s actions cause nothing but despair to the Earnshaws and Lintons, pushing the idea that she is the silent villain of Wuthering Heights.