Maybe the book would need a volume 2 to show personal growth and change in Cathy & Hareton. They appeared to have been moving in that direction and were still young enough to grow & change. Everyone else died and didn’t show much personal growth nor change. Only Joseph, Lockwood & Nellie plus C&H were left at the end of the novel.
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As our friend Joseph might say, “Ech! Ech! Fie on’t. Nae, niv’r!”
That is to say, puh-leeze let there not be a volume 2. I am glad the book ended on a glimmer of hope, but I don’t want to see the troubles beyond the glimmer. “Enow!”
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Well, the “good” thing would be that any sequel would be with a fresh author, like “Scarlet,” after “Gone with the Wind,” and the most violent characters are all dead. hehe
In the “ when will we ever learn” category, our legislators are having heated debates about whether to put a landfill above the aquifer that supplies fresh water for much of our state!?!?! What could possibly go wrong?
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Writing for the Guardian, Martin Kettle once said, ‘If Wuthering Heights is a love story, then Hamlet is a family sitcom.’
Toxic Relationships: What Wuthering Heights taught me about love.
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Have to quickly respond to that article @mary13 posted, it’s late now, more tomorrow.
100% agree with everything written, the author expresses EXACTLY how I feel about the “ classic Wuthering Heights”
Thanks for posting link
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Never read this WH until now. Doesn’t seem at all romantic to me. Just violent and depressing.
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Remembrance
BY EMILY BRONTË
Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee,
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee,
Severed at last by Time’s all-severing wave?
Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover
Thy noble heart forever, ever more?
Cold in the earth—and fifteen wild Decembers,
From those brown hills, have melted into spring:
Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering!
Sweet Love of youth, forgive, if I forget thee,
While the world’s tide is bearing me along;
Other desires and other hopes beset me,
Hopes which obscure, but cannot do thee wrong!
No later light has lightened up my heaven,
No second morn has ever shone for me;
All my life’s bliss from thy dear life was given,
All my life’s bliss is in the grave with thee.
But, when the days of golden dreams had perished,
And even Despair was powerless to destroy,
Then did I learn how existence could be cherished,
Strengthened, and fed without the aid of joy.
Then did I check the tears of useless passion—
Weaned my young soul from yearning after thine;
Sternly denied its burning wish to hasten
Down to that tomb already more than mine.
And, even yet, I dare not let it languish,
Dare not indulge in memory’s rapturous pain;
Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish,
How could I seek the empty world again?
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In fact, Brontë wrote “Remembrance” three years before her own untimely death at the age of 30, which was most likely a result of unsanitary water at her family’s rural home in Yorkshire.
This context is important to understanding “Remembrance,” because while the speaker describes experiencing a grief and loss that is intensely private, this grief would also have been relatable to many readers of that time. Within a context when death and all of its realities were in many ways a part of everyday life, the poem shows the speaker attempting to look directly into this reality and find a way to cope with it
Yes, yes, yes,
Heathcliff, suffers mistreatment due to racism, sibling rivalry and other things, making him an empethetic character.
But, truly Heathcliffs manipulation and sadistic treatment of a Isabella made her the most tragic of all. In Jane Austen Pride and Prejudie the sister runs off with the “bad boy” but she is returned to home and safety of her family, Isabella had no such luck,
From the article,
“ Now, it seems to me that the real heartbreak of the story is that of Isabella, Heathcliff’s unloved wife, who was emphatically second-best and exploited as a vehicle for revenge. Their marriage is an abhorrent cycle of verbal and psychological abuse; he throws a knife at her, hangs her dog and refuses to allow her to leave, holding her against her will. Heathcliff claims to be keeping ‘strictly within the limits of the law’ as he endeavours to prevent her from obtaining ‘the slightest right to claim a separation,’ implicitly admitting that the only reason he has not physically harmed her is that this would grant her grounds for divorce. A 21st-century reader can identify how Isabella is controlled, gaslit and manipulated by her devious husband:”
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I must have a cold heart because while I can accept that Heathcliff’s actions might be the result of terrible mistreatment as a child, he will never be an empathetic character for me.
It’s an interesting question though. Many of the worst of the worst become abusers because they were abused themselves. On the other hand, many people who suffer terrible abuse in childhood grow up to be kind and compassionate people. I know the reasons for each path are complex.
In Wuthering Heights, there is never really a moment where Heathcliff wavers, tottering on the brink between right and wrong. There is just a glimmer of self-reflection when he admits to Nelly that he must push down his admiration for Hareton, and not be touched by the young man’s qualities.
Hareton must have always have known, though, as he alone grieves when Heathcliff dies:
He sat by the corpse all night, weeping in bitter earnest. He pressed its hand, and kissed the sarcastic, savage face that everyone else shrank from contemplating; and bemoaned him with that strong grief which springs naturally from a generous heart, though it be tough as tempered steel.
(As I re-type those two sentences, I just have to admire again the amazing writing of Emily Brontë.)
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Yes, Isabella really gets the worst of him, doesn’t she? For Heathcliff, she’s basically just one more small animal to hang in a tree.
On the surface, their son Linton, with his fair coloring, weak body and timid nature, seems to be the polar opposite of his father. But in fact, they are both narcissistic complainers, so I guess the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree.
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Mary13 - you, a cold heart, impossible
What I meant by that comment, is that I felt empathy for Heathcliff, abused by all ( except Catharine ).
But, as he continued his reign of terror, sadism, sociopathic behavior, abusing animal, elders, children I lost all compassion.
in fact, I wrote I hoped Hareton or Cathrine murdered him during those last chapters. My early empathy, turned to anger early pn.
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I just caught up reading all the comments. Thanks everyone. Good discussion.
I agree, Isabella is probably the most tragic. Adding to her tragedy is her son,Linton, another tragic (and annoying) character. I listened to the audible version and his voice on the audible version has got to be one the most irritating voices I have ever heard. I couldn’t stand him. The audible version is very well done. The despicableness of the characters comes through. It is probably the only reason I was able to finish the book.
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This just showed up on my Facebook feed. Fine, now I’ve read #2. Now can I please reread #1 yet again a few more times?
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Actually, I saw nothing in the book that would lead me to think that Cathy or Catherine or Hareton would ever commit violence against Heathcliff or anyone else. I was hoping Healthcliff would die sooner than later, since he was such an awful and bullying person but only his older stepbrother ever tried to kill him but failed & was badly beaten for the attempt.
It was just my wishful,”Un empathetic” brain as I read the final chapters, wanting his life to end !
I will say this, Emily Bronte wrote a book, that is certainly a great modern day book club discussion choice !
Strong emotions stirred !
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So why do you all think Heathcliff’s life ended when it did? Why did Cathy “call him home” at that particular time? She stepped up her hauntings and he seemed to see her around every corner. He became crazed by it and eventually just willed himself to die (starvation and exhaustion playing a part, no doubt).
Heathcliff’s death coincided pretty closely with Catherine and Hareton’s blossoming friendship. If Cathy had been a more loving person, I would have said that she felt it was time for “closure” – time for the next generation to find some joy without Heathcliff’s oppression.
But those motives seem too noble for her, although I’d like to think she would have reached out from beyond to improve the life of her own daughter in that way.
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