Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Brontë
Series: None

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Wuthering Heights is a wild, passionate story of the intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr. Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is bullied and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his former miseries. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent, but the accomplished handling of a complex structure, the evocative descriptions of the lonely moorland setting and the poetic grandeur of vision combine to make this unique novel a masterpiece of English literature.

“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living. You said I killed you--haunt me then. The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe--I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

Before reading Wuthering Heights, I assumed that I would be reading a dark love story. But having read the book, I assure you this is not the case. This is indeed a dark novel but its darkness lies on the obsessiveness, the cruelty, the violence and ultimately the selfishness of Heathcliff and Cathy.

I loved the way the author chose to present us her story. Everything we get to know is from the housekeeper’s point of view. Nix, the housekeeper, narrates Heathcliff and Cathy’s story to Mr. Lockwood, a tenant who rents a house from Heathcliff. Mr. Lockwood is also the only character who plays no role to the main story. He’s just a new tenant who after meeting Heathciff, is interested in finding out his story and Nix, who was particularly raised with Heathcliff and Cathy, knows all there is to know.

I was beyond shocked when I finished their story. Heathcliff and Cathy were two selfish and narcissistic characters who cared only for themselves. They were so miserable that made the people around them miserable as well. Especially Cathy who even after her death continued to torment the people who loved her. Heathcliff and Cathy surely deserved each other. What really surprises me though, is that these two had never had an actual love affair. I don’t even remember if they had kissed at all. Their “love” was possessive and based on narcissism.

Every character in this book, with the exception of Mr. Lockwood, is trapped between two houses. These two houses are the places that the story takes place. Even Nix, the narrator, is currently trapped to one of these two houses because of Heathcliff.

All in all, Wuthering Heights may not have been what I expected it to be but it surely lived up to my expectations. Truth be told, ever since Cathy died I expected Heathcliff to ask for forgiveness but he never did. I wasn’t much surprised that he didn’t but I thought that with Cathy gone, he would be at last free. In my opinion, Heathcliff himself destroyed his soul.

Highly recommended!