The difference between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross grange can be
thought of as a metaphysical opposition between storm and calm.
How does this statement effect your reading and understanding of the
novel “Wuthering heights”
Wuthering Heights is a love story focused on two quite different
families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons. They live in contrasting
houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Wuthering Heights is
a lonely old farmhouse on top of the Yorkshire moors. It is exposed to
the wilderness and the elements. Thrushcross Grange is lower down the
valley, closer to civilisation and has a gentler and more cultivated
atmosphere.
The houses and the characters that live in them are similar. They are
introduced to us in the first chapter when Mr Lockwood visits
Wuthering Heights, which is “completely removed from the stir of
civilization”. Lockwood, a gentleman from the south of England who is
renting the Grange, comes to Wuthering Heights on a bleak night in the
middle of a snowstorm to introduce himself to Heathcliff who is now
the owner of both properties, therefore Mr Lockwood’s landlord. He
finds Heathcliff and his servant Joseph unfriendly. The old house
“1500” itself is also unwelcoming. ‘Wuthering’being….. descriptive of
the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy
weather’ due to the “north wind blowing”. Indeed the name of the house
itself can be seen to be indicative of its metaphysical qualities. The
word “Wuthering” is Yorkshire slang for stormy and Heights relates to
the heights of passion and anger inside the house. “before passing
through the threshold” Lockwood describes the gate as a barrier and
inside the house there are ‘hidden dens’ of dogs who ...
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... warm, the grass as green as showers and sun could make it,
and the two dwarf apple trees near the southern wall in full bloom”.
They get married on New Years Day and it appears as though they are
breaking away from the stormy chaos and hatred that filled the
previous generation’s lives, to make a new and fresh start. The
choice of New Years Day represents News Years resolutiosn, positive
thought and new beginnings and growth/
In my opinion, it appears that the disorder and chaos created because
of the complete differences between the two houses and families and
Heathcliff’s influence on them both has now been resolved and a sense
of calm has been achieved. The death of Heathcliff removed all sense
of anger, revenge and ravages which surrounded the houses for much of
the book. The two houses are combined in this calmer, happier, more
natural atmosphere.
Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights share similarities in many aspects, perhaps most plainly seen in the plots: just as Clarissa marries Richard rather than Peter Walsh in order to secure a comfortable life for herself, Catherine chooses Edgar Linton over Heathcliff in an attempt to wrest both herself and Heathcliff from the squalid lifestyle of Wuthering Heights. However, these two novels also overlap in thematic elements in that both are concerned with the opposing forces of civilization or order and chaos or madness. The recurring image of the house is an important symbol used to illustrate both authors’ order versus chaos themes. Though Woolf and Bronte use the house as a symbol in very different ways, the existing similarities create striking resonances between the two novels at certain critical scenes.
The complicated nature surrounding Heathcliff’s motives again adds an additional degree of ambiguity to his character. This motivation is primarily driven by Catherine’s marriage to Edgar and past rejection of Heathcliff, since he was a servant whom Hindley disapproved of. Prior to storming out of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff overhears Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (Brontë 87). The obstacles that ultimately prevent Heathcliff from marrying Catherine provide insight into Heathcliff’s desire to bring harm to Edgar and Hindley. The two men play prominent roles in the debacle, Edgar as the new husband and Hindley as the head figure who refused Heathcliff access to Catherine. Following this incident, Catherine says, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…” (Brontë 87). Catherine’s sentiment indicates she truly would rather be with Heathcliff, but the actions of others have influenced her monumental decision to marry Edgar. Furthermore, Heathcliff is motivated to not only ruin Edgar’s livelihood, but also gain ownership of his estate, Thrushcross Grange. This becomes clear when Heathcliff attempts to use Isabella
Wuthering Heights is a classic in which Emily Bronte presents two opposite settings using the country setting. Country settings are often used as a place of virtue and peace or of ignorance and one of primitivism as believed by many city dwellers. But, in the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte has used Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights to depict isolation and separation. Wuthering Heights setting is wild, passionate, and strong and Thrushcross Grange and its inhabitants are calm, harshly strict, and refined and these two opposite forces struggle throughout the novel.
The setting used throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, helps to set the mood to describe the characters. We find two households separated by the cold, muddy, and barren moors, one by the name of Wuthering Heights, and the other Thrushcross Grange. Each house stands alone, in the mist of the dreary land, and the atmosphere creates a mood of isolation. These two places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange differ greatly in appearance and mood. These differences reflect the universal conflict between storm and calm that Emily Bronte develops as the theme.
Cathy and Heathcliff's separation only therefore ensues as a result of their initial outing to Thrushcross Grange. Their promise to grow up together as 'rude as savages,' is destroyed when Cathy and Heathcliff are separated physically by many factors resulting from this visitation. Just as the Linton's dog 'holds' Cathy, so too is the Linton's house symbolically presented as separating her from Heathcliff, when Heathcliff resorts to peering in through their 'great glass panes' to see Cathy, after being physically 'dragged' out of Thrushcross Grange.
the same class as the Grange. The features of the estates have a strong association with the people. who live in them in terms of mood, emotion and appearance. Heathcliff is a very dark and stormy character in Gypsy Blood. the person who has the greatest association with Wuthering Heights.
Both novels end on a more cheerful note. There is hope for the future. Aurelius has found the family he always dreamed of having. Hareton and Cathy will live a life together; they will be married on New Years, which symbolizes a new beginning. Hareton and Cathy represent an improved version of Heathcliff and Catherine, showing what they could have become if their situations were different. Love triumphs over revenge. Miss Winter tried to leave her past behind her, but it had caught up with her and she felt compelled to share it. She can now be free from the ghosts of her past. Margaret conquers her own personal problems and comes to terms with herself. Mysteries are revealed, plots unwound, and ghosts released.
...ctive. Catherine is pushed to death and Heathcliff to brutal revenge, bordering on the psychotic. Yet before Cathy’s death, the knowledge that the other loves them is strong enough to make Wuthering Heights such a classic love story, and “that old man by the kitchen fire affirming he has seen two of 'em looking out of his chamber window, on every rainy night since his death,” shows that as they walk together on the moors, their self destruction may have led them to death, but also to what they most desired-being together.
From the beginning of the novel and most likely from the beginning of Heathcliff's life, he has suffered pain and rejection. When Mr. Earnshaw brings him to Wuthering Heights, he is viewed as a thing rather than a child. Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to fling it out the doors, while Nelly put it on the landing of the stairs hoping that it would be gone the next day. Without having done anything to deserve rejection, Heathcliff is made to feel like an outsider. Following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff suffers cruel mistreatment at the hands of Hindley. In these tender years, he is deprived of love, friendship, and education, while the treatment from jealous Hindley is barbaric and disrupts his mental balance. He is separated from the family, reduced to the status of a servant, undergoes regular beatings and forcibly separated from his soul mate, Catherine. The personality that Heathcliff develops in his adulthood has been formed in response to these hardships of his childhood.
...ly declared their love there. As respite from the prison of Wuthering Heights the moors are a mysterious place that is liberating, and boundaryless. Catherine says, “I wish I were out of doors- I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free” (105). Once Catherine compares Linton and Heathcliff saying, “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” (84).
Shapiro, Arnold. “‘Wuthering Heights’ as a Victorian Novel.” Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 16. Eds. Joann Cerrito and Paul Kepos. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. 108-110.
...he was able to interpret the events of her life, and for the first time tell a visitor of everything that has gone on. Since Nelly’s life was not personally haunted by regrets, like Catherine and Heathcliff’s, she is able to recite the past and present in a clear and rational way. Lockwood believes her story and is so intrigued by all the dreadful events that took place across a lifetime on these Yorkshire moors. From the outside looking in it may appear that the Earnshaws and Lintons were just a private family living their lives, but nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors, except for the help, our Nelly. This is why her narration is crucial and without it, the story of Wuthering Heights may still exist, but would not be as believable.
Wuthering Heights is a novel which deviates from the standard of Victorian literature. The novels of the Victorian Era were often works of social criticism. They generally had a moral purpose and promoted ideals of love and brotherhood. Wuthering Heights is more of a Victorian Gothic novel; it contains passion, violence, and supernatural elements (Mitchell 119). The world of Wuthering Heights seems to be a world without morals. In Wuthering Heights, Brontë does not idealize love; she presents it realistically, with all its faults and merits. She shows that love is a powerful force which can be destructive or redemptive. Heathcliff has an all-consuming passion for Catherine. When she chooses to marry Edgar, his spurned love turns into a destructive force, motivating him to enact revenge and wreak misery. The power of Heathcliff’s destructive love is conquered by the influence of another kind of love. Young Cathy’s love for Hareton is a redemptive force. It is her love that brings an end to the reign of Heathcliff.
(4) Wuthering Heights’s mood is melancholy and tumultuous. As a result, the book gives off a feeling of sorrow and chaos. For example, Catherine’s marriage with Edgar Linton made Heathcliff jealous and angry. In retaliation, Heathcliff married Edgar’s sister, Isabella, to provoke Catherine and Edgar. Heathcliff and Isabella’s marriage ignited a chaotic uproar with Edgar and Catherine because Linton disapproved of Heathcliff’s character, and Catherine loved Heathcliff in spite of being married to Edgar. Inside, Catherine wanted to selfishly keep Heathcliff to herself. Their relationships all had tragic endings because Catherine died giving birth to Edgar’s child. Isabella also died, leaving behind her young son. Heathcliff and Edgar resented each other because of misery they experienced together. The transition of the mood in the story is from chaotic to somber.
middle of paper ... ... The perimeter is lined with fir trees, whose branches stretch and sway in the wind. The whole atmosphere gives off a dark, gloomy feeling. At the beginning of the novel, Wuthering Heights is not welcoming at all.