Reader Rayna

Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Brontë
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Publish Date: October 27, 2020
Genre: Classic
Pages: 352/14 hours
Format: Paperback/Audio

When Mr. Earnshaw, master of Wuthering Heights, returns from a trip with an unkempt orphan in tow, he announces that the child, Heathcliff, is now a member of the family. While young Catherine Earnshaw becomes close with Heathcliff, her older brother, Hindley, sinks into bitter resentment. As Catherine and Heathcliff mature, and their affection blossoms into desire, Hindley’s resentment boils over into hatred, setting the stage for a tragic drama whose aftermath will shake the foundations of their world.

Oh, where to start with this classic novel. I felt like I was reading about the Real Housewives of the Moors, let me tell you. It felt like a popcorn book almost the way some of the circumstances played out, but as I continued reading, the more horrified I felt, as practically one man single handedly made the lives of so many others bitter – and all for a “love” that was obsession and infatuation.

Mind you, I found this novel to be well laid out and intricately woven, as the narrative is being told from the point of view of a maid who has been in the employ of these families houses for a couple of decades now, which adds an extra layer of mystery because we don’t get to fully see the development between Heathcliff and Catherine, or any instances where characters were off on their own and weren’t seen for days but come back in a state befitting the dead. Having the maid, a person who is always lurking about, be the one to tell the story felt both authentic and maddening, in a way, because of wanting to know more about what was going on behind the scenes.

For characters, Heathcliff was often described as a “fiend” or “devil,” and by all accounts he very well may be. He has a very violent and nasty disposition which just horrified me and made me angry many times throughout the book, but it’s the type of horror that you can’t turn away from. You need to see what happens next, and you feel helpless to do something about it as the reader when even the characters, themselves, seem too weak willed to really do much about him. Though he was often the antagonist to many, I felt that I wanted to know more about what was going on in his head to drive him to these places. I wanted to know more about where he came from and how he came to be picked up by Catherine’s father. There’s a lot of unknowns as to why he turned out the way he turned out, though he was also treated poorly by many in the household when he was taken in, so I’m sure that didn’t help.

Catherine Earnshaw was often a crybaby, I found, and whined until she got her way. She could charm and sweet talk her way out of many things, but not all things. She had much a similar countenance as Heathcliff did, and that’s probably why the pair had such an unhealthy infatuation with each other. She was also not so often in the book as I was expecting, and was shocked what happened half way through. I didn’t know what to expect after that, but boy howdy did things take and even darker turn after that (not even) half way point.

I do wonder what would have happened if the two had married. What evils and bad deeds could they have gotten away with together?

The plot then switches focus once Catherine shows up more a specter than anything, and I felt that the plot got darker because Heathcliff wanted revenge so badly on his rivals and enemies that he used children to do so. His own, even! It was honestly kind of sickening, but again: I couldn’t turn away from it.

There was a lot of different forms of neglect or abuse that was alluded to or shown in the story, and there were often times that I questioned why people were so cruel or why someone didn’t actually stand up to Heathcliff or anyone else. Though one person did – Catherine Linton – and even she lost a lot of her brightness and spark due to the older man, her uncle.

As far as the writing went, I felt it was very accessible and easy to get into. Often times I feel that the language of classics is difficult to get into, and though I felt that there were run on sentences or things that just seemed excessive, this was how stories were written during Brontë’s time. I could see the story she wanted to share the more I read, and I could see just how much the craft of her writing was so carefully laid out. I really did enjoy myself, and recommend this book for anyone looking to get into classics but are unsure of where to start, especially if you’re looking for a literature pick, or something with a haunting atmosphere.