The presentation of Mr. Lockwood in Wuthering Heights The novel,
Wuthering Heights, begins in the year 1801.
The presentation of Mr. Lockwood in “Wuthering Heights”
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The novel, “Wuthering Heights”, begins in the year 1801, where we as
readers are firstly introduced to the character Mr. Lockwood. Mr.
Lockwood narrates the entire novel throughout, almost like an entry in
his diary.
Lockwood, a young London gentleman, is a newcomer to the Yorkshire
Moors, Wuthering Heights. The novel opens after he has just returned
from a visit with his landlord and neighbour, Mr. Heathcliff about
Thrushcross Grange.
One of my first impressions of the character after reading the opening
chapter of the novel is that he is enthusiastic about renting out
Thrushcross Grange,
“ Mr. Lockwood, your new tenant, sir- I do myself the honour of
calling as soon as possible after my arrival, to express the hope that
I have not inconvenienced you by my perseverance in soliciting the
occupation of Thrushcross Grange. I heard, yesterday, you had had
some thoughts-“
Mr. Healthcliff, wincing, stops him mid sentence,
“ Thrushcross Grange is my own sir,”
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Here Mr. Heathcliff cuts him off quite abruptly, a command that most
people would understand and would react to, pursuing the questioning
no further. However, Mr. Lockwood responds quite differently, showing
a weak side to his character early on in the novel. Heathcliff seems
to dislike the company of others, he enjoys living in a country place,
where quiet and peace is welcomed. Lockwood seems amused that
Heathcliff is more extreme and ignorant of social graces; he’s amused
that ...
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for his behaviour may be quite different from his own.
Mr. Lockwood, a somewhat vain and presumptuous gentleman deals very
clumsily with the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. He finds himself
at a loss when he witnesses the strange household’s disregard for the
social conventions that have always structured his world. As a
narrator, his vanity and unfamiliarity with the story occasionally
lead him to misunderstand events. His initial visit to Wuthering
Heights, in which the mysterious relationships and lurking resentments
between the characters create an air of mystery, in particular
Lockwood’s ghostly nightmares, during the night he spent in
Catherine’s old bed. I think that many of the events that happen in
the opening chapters of the novel prefigure many of the events that
are to come and show the qualities of the character Mr. Lockwood.
Due to the conflict between his untouched nature and the social norms prevalent in the new society, he starts to challenge them when he experiences the suppression and exclusion. Therefore, his revenge could not have taken place if he were not considered an outsider. And as a result of his revenge, Heathcliff is able to cause drastic changes in the society he enters as an outsider. When Hindley becomes owner of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is suddenly degraded as a servant because Hindley still considers him the despicable creature. As Heathcliff is informed of his degradation, he says to Nelly: “I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do,” (Chapter 7). The compulsion to revenge and challenge the social standards is deeply rooted in his mind due to the humiliation he experiences. Heathcliff’s coming back to Wuthering Heights as a wealthy gentleman challenges the standards that were once set for him. With power and money, he destroys Hindley and ultimately becomes the possessor of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. This clearly shows that Heathcliff’s essence drives him to challenge the social standards and radically affects the society he lives
back at him to impress Cathy and to show he could not be joked about.
Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff’s dwelling place whom he shared with his son Linton and Hareton, underwent the most significant change since the Earnshaw’s resided there. Wuthering, by definition, is a wild wind blowing strongly with a roaring sound. This shows the readers that the residents of each property also reflect the character’s behavior and actions that dramatically affects the appearance of the properties and a change in weather. But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. Wuthering Height...
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.
To begin, we have to acknowledge the setting of the scene prior to Lockwood’s arrival. Over about almost two decades of time, Heathcliff had exhausted his resources and spent extensive time attempting to take a stab at the two families who had caused his downfall, the Linton and Earnshaw family, by seizing their land and power. He had specifically hooked up Linton with Catherine, rather than Hindley, because he knew that Linton’s death was approaching, and when he was to die, he would become the sole heir of Thrushcross Grange through his daughter-in-law, Catherine. This was strategically done and well thought out. Heathcliff ushered Linton to connect himself with Catherine when he had heard word of Edgar Linton’s illness and slowly deteriorating health and he utilized every chance to fondle a relationship between the two youths, revealing his thirst for power. For example― Heathcliff takes advantage of Catherine’s ever growing curiosity and forces her to meet Linton. One day, Catherine ventured further than she normally did during her daily hikes with Nelly and Heathcliff spotted her before Nelly manages to drag her away from the site. When Nelly attempts to redirect Catherine’s attention to going home, Heathcliff “pushes [her] aside,” “states that he “wants her to see Linton,” and “beckons them up the
Social dysfunction is a common aspect that is explored through many works of literature. However, social dysfunction is also a symptom of mental instability or insanity. Many of the main characters in novels have some form of mental instability and in extreme cases insanity, and all of these characters also struggle socially with their close relationships or even forming relationships at all. In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff and Catherine exhibit aspects of social dysfunction that are caused by forms of mental instability and possible insanity, their social dysfunction is aggressive in nature and is also passionately destructive. However, in Albert Camus’ The Stranger Meursault exhibits the opposite side of social dysfunction, he is unable to portray emotion and he is apathetic to everyone around him. Social dysfunction comes in many forms in many works of literature and it demonstrates the implications of mental instability and insanity and what it means for society.
Over a long period of time, an individual’s social status has always had a great impact on relationships between others. Relationships such as friendship, romance and even family relationships are greatly influenced by one’s social status. When people value social status to the utmost importance, it often acts as a barrier to further solidify relations with others. “Wuthering Heights” is a classic novel written by Emily Bronte which illustrates how social status gets in the way of relationships. This story (set in eighteen hundreds) displays the true nature of the people at that time because they excessive had pride. Since they had excessive pride, they often judged people based on their social class; hence changing their relationship between each other. In this novel social class was measured by observing an individual’s wealth, appearance and manners. Heathcliff happens to be the male lead character of this story that lacks social class due to his rebellious relationship with Hindley. Afterwards, Hindley degrades Heathcliff’s status this affects his connections with Catherine and Nelly. Since Heathcliff’s status diminishes, Catherine becomes reluctant to continue her affair with Heathcliff. Nelly also becomes wary of Heathcliff because his personality changes after restoring his own status. Thus, it is clearly seen that social class has an impact on the story by altering Heathcliff’s relationship between Hindley, Catherine and Nelly.
In the novel Wuthering Heights, author Emily Brontë portrays the morally ambiguous character of Heathcliff through his neglected upbringing, cruel motives, and vengeful actions.
The dual narrator arrangement of Wuthering Heights begins with Mr. Lockwood, the naive new tenant of Thrushcross Grange. He seems to be quite the social person and goes to visit Heathcliff who is not so social and actually seems downright inhospitable. Due to weather conditions at the time (which Lockwood was not wise to go out in) Lockwood becomes stranded at Wuthering Heights where he feels quite unwelcome. While spending the night at Wuthering Heights, the curious Lockwood snoops through some books where he find things inscribed by Catherine. He hears the voice of Catherine calling, and calls for help. Heathcliff then runs after the girl who is not in fact a girl, but Catherine's ghost. Heathcliff embraces this ghost and dies with her in his arms. That pretty much sums up the narrative present and Lockwood's role as narrator. Out of curiosity (Lockwood's most important personality trait), he asks Nelly Dean questions about Heathcliff and the girl. At this point Nelly takes over the role of narrator and we shift into the narrative past.
Hareton Earnshaw is the only male character in Wuthering Heights who can be called a hero.
On the face of it, it would seem that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is self-destructive to an extreme. Due to the lovers’ precarious circumstances, passionate personalities and class divisions, it seems that fate transpires to keep them apart and therefore the hopelessness of their situation drives them to self destruction. However, although the relationship is undeniably self-destructive, there are elements within it that suggest the pain Heathcliff and Catherine put each other through is atoned for to an extent when they share their brief moments of harmony.
Narratology divides a ‘narrative into story and narration’. (Cohan et al., 1988, p. 53) The three main figures that contribute a considerable amount of research to this theory are Gerard Genette, Aristotle and Vladimir Propp. This essay will focus on how Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights can be fully appreciated and understood when the theory is applied to the text. Firstly, I will focus on the components of narration Genette identifies that enhance a reader’s experience of the text. Secondly, I will discuss the three key elements in a plot that Aristotle recognises and apply these to Heathcliff’s character. In the final section I will apply part of the seven ‘spheres of action’, Propp categorises, to Heathcliff’s character. However, not all of Narratology can be applied to a text. This raises the question; does this hinder a readers understanding and/or appreciation of the text? This paper will also address this issue.
First, Wuthering Heights is a contribution to the theme of the novel because it sets the mood for the scenes taken place inside the house. The house is first introduced to the reader during a storm. The house stands alone and the land around it is described as dreary and foreboding, which creates a mood of isolation. “On the bleak Yorkshire moors” describes the Yorkshire moors physical appearance. The estate has little vegetation and is more weathered, which moors are, as they are jutting, bare rocks towards the ocean. Wuthering Heights is an old stone house with gothic architecture and bleak interior. The people that live in Wuthering Heights are bitter and act violent. The characters of the story act wild when they are at Wuthering Heights, compared to other places in the novel. The setting of the house enforces the actions of the Earnshaws’, and Heathcliff. The name of the estate even sets a theme of gloom in the novel. Lockwood says Wuthering is, “a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather” (12).
...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 strange, inartistic story”(Atlas, WH p. 299). “Wuthering Heights is a strange sort of book” (Douglas, WH p.301). “This is a strange book” (Examiner, WH p.302). “His work [Wuthering Heights] is strangely original” (Britannia, WH p.305). These brief quotes show that early critics of Emily Bronte’s first edition of Wuthering Heights, found the novel baffling in its meaning - they each agreed separately, that no moral existed within the story therefore it was deemed to have no real literary value. The original critical reviews had very little in the way of praise for the unknown author or the novel. The critics begrudgingly acknowledged elements of Wuthering Heights that could be considered strengths – such as, “rugged power” and “unconscious strength” (Atlas, WH p.299), “purposeless power” (Douglas, WH p.301), “evidences of considerable power” (Examiner), “power and originality” (Britannia, WH p.305). Strange and Powerful are two recurring critical interpretations of the novel. The critics did not attempt to provide in depth analysis of the work, simply because they felt that the meaning or moral of the story was either entirely absent or seriously confused.