WUTHERING HEIGHTS

BY EMILY BRONTË

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EMILY BRONTË 1818-1848 Born in northern England; grew up near the Yorkshire moors;

one of six children Daughter of a reverend and his wife; her mother died when

she was three Reclusive: had few friends outside of family, but was

exposed to a microcosm of society through her father’s congregation

Never had a career or married, and rarely left her home People in her home of Haworth, Yorkshire were characterized

as being blunt, passionate, and using colorful speech; much of this language is reflected in Wuthering Heights

Modern critics place Brontë among the best of Victorian writers.

While her sister Charlotte was more popular during the time period in which they lived, Emily is now looked at as the more talented of the two

Emily’s sisters were Charlotte and Anne Brontë; the three sisters published poems under the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell Emily wrote Wuthering Heights (1846) Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre (1847) Anne wrote Agnes Grey (1847)

Emily Brontë tended to her brother, Branwell, who was dying from alcoholism and drug abuse

She caught a severe cold at his funeral, which developed into tuberculosis. She died shortly after him in 1848

Setting - Yorkshire EnglandWuthering Heights is set in three

locations: Wuthering Heights Thrushcross Grange The Yorkshire Moors

THRUSHCROSS GRANGE

WUTHERING HEIGHTS AND THRUSHCROSS GRANGE

Brontë emphasizes the relationship of each house to the natural world around it

Wuthering Heights is located on top of a hill where it is exposed to the harsh weather and is dark and gloomy

Thrushcross Grange is located in a valley where it is protected by a stone wall; the Grange is also luxuriously decorated

The contrasting houses also directly reflect the inhabitants who live inside

Wuthering Heights- Earnshaws; Thrushcross- Lintons

YORKSHIRE MOORS “Wuthering” means stormy or

turbulent/wild The moor is an essentially hostile

environment but also beautiful; characterized by rugged hills with scattered, hard, black stones with little vegetation

A desolate and isolated part of England The setting in Wuthering Heights reflects

the area where Emily Brontë grew up

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Victorian Age refers to the period in England when

Queen Victoria reigned (1837-1901) The British Empire had reached its height and ruled one

quarter of the world During this time, the Industrial Revolution created

profound economical changes in society England changed from a primarily agricultural country to

an industrial one which created a great social upheaval While wealth had traditionally been measured by land

ownership, the eighteenth century had begun a trend toward a cash-based economy, creating a middle class who were more economically powerful than its landowning superiors (gentry)

The power of yeomen, or the respectable farming class, as well as the traditional power-holding gentry was challenged by the newly wealthy capitalists

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND SOCIAL CLASS Wuthering Heights was written in 1847, a time when

Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution were the dominant forces of the British economy and society. It was a time of rapid, often confusing change that led to violence. As a result of the changing economy, the traditional relationships between classes and the social structure began to change

New class distinctions emerged from the growth of industrial production. A new middle class began to emerge.

Each of the classes is represented in the novel Upper class and gentry – landowners; farming class Middle class – shopkeepers and the merchants Low class and the poor – factory workers or the

unemployed

WOMEN’S RIGHTSDuring this time period women’s rights were changing

Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights during the beginning of the women’s rights movement in England

The primary concerns of the movement were the lack of women’s right to vote and the lack of married women’s property rights. The latter issue arises in Wuthering Heights

ROMANTICISM AND GOTHICISM The novel depicts the dark side of human nature

through violence and obsessive love The novel deviates from the norm of the Victorian

period and included: sinister realism dark overtones

In the July 1848 issue of Graham’s Magazine , the novel was described as portraying “vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors”

The novel was met with much criticism when first published

Characters were classless, rough in nature, and angry, however, the characters are true-to-life and Brontë’s portrayal of the time period and laws are accurate

ROMANTICISMElements of a Romantic novel:

nature as a powerful spiritual force descriptions of the countryside elevated emotional levels and passion a desire to rise above the limitations of

ordinary human existence a strong interest in death a portrayal of opposites – escape and

pursuit, life and death isolation, both emotional and geographical elements of the supernatural

GOTHICISMElements of a Gothic novel:

a castle, sometimes ruined or haunted sinister, ruined buildings extreme landscape and weather death and madness omens ancestral curses terrifying events taboo and sensational topics a suggestion of the supernatural a villain or villain-hero (Byronic hero) driven by

passion a heroine wooed by both a good and a dangerous

suitor revenge

BYRONIC HERO Heathcliff is regarded as a classic Byronic

hero. The Byronic hero was defined by Lord Byron’s epic narrative poem , Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812.

Elements of the Byronic hero: a distaste for social institutions and social

norms conflicting emotions or moodiness high levels of intelligence and cunning self-criticism mysterious origins and a troubled past self-destructive tendencies a loner, rejected from society

THEMES Spiritual love vs. superficial love Constraint vs. freedom Revenge and retribution for past sins Destructiveness of a possessive love Precariousness of social class Impermanence of self and the

permanence of something larger than self(impermanence means temporary or not lasting)

FRAMEWORK STORY Wuthering Heights is highly praised for the unique

narrative technique Emily Brontë used to execute the novel, often referred to as a “frame narrative.”

The two main narrators are Lockwood and Nelly Dean, but other narrators arise throughout the novel when Nelly quotes what other characters have told her

The frame narrative form of the novel adds complexity for the reader. Lockwood is the outer layer and Nelly the inner layer

Since the story passes through layers, the reader must question the reliability of all that he or she reads. Example: Nelly glosses over events to minimize her

own guilt Example: Lockwood is naïve and lacks good judgment

NOVEL STRUCTURE

Wuthering Heights is told in medias res (Latin for "into the middle of things”). It usually describes a narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the middle — usually at some crucial point in the action. The purpose in Wuthering Heights is to add a sense of mystery

CHARACTERS Mr. Lockwood: first narrator of the story

Nelly Dean takes over; Heathcliff’s tenant at Thrushcross Grange; well-educated but doesn’t like to be around people

Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean: second narrator of the story; once lived at Wuthering Heights, then became housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange for Earnshaws; sensible and trusted by most characters in the story (all characters confide in her); also referred to as Ellen Dean; grows up serving Catherine and later serves Heathcliff; narrates the past action of the story to Lockwood

Heathcliff: brought to Wuthering Heights as a young boy by old Mr. Earnshaw; has a wild, uncontrollable nature; consumed by his love for Catherine Earnshaw

CHARACTERS Catherine Earnshaw: a wild girl growing up at

Wuthering Heights; befriends Heathcliff as a child; attracted to the refined life at Thrushcross Grange; recognizes that she loves Heathcliff but is married to Edgar Linton

Edgar Linton: a pampered, somewhat spoiled boy living at Thrushcross Grange; polite and well educated; attempts to “civilize” Catherine but does not understand her passionate personality

Isabella Linton: sister of Edgar Linton; raised at Thrushcross Grange; shallow and weak; later becomes abusive and vengeful after marrying Heathcliff

Hindley Earnshaw: despises Heathcliff for being favored by his father Mr. Earnshaw; unkind and self-destructive; mistreats and humiliates Heathcliff

CHARACTERS Joseph: elderly servant at Wuthering Heights;

prone to evangelical ravings about sin/religious fanatic; speaks with a thick Yorkshire accent (sounds Scottish)

Hareton Earnshaw: son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw; used as a pawn by Heathcliff to wreak revenge on Hindley; grows up to be big and strong with a bad temper

Cathy Linton: daughter of Catherine Earnshaw and Edgar Linton; sheltered upbringing at Thrushcross Grange; eventually brings peace and happiness to Wuthering Heights

Linton Heathcliff: the sickly son of Isabella Linton and Heathcliff; self-centered and unable to love anyone

FAMILY TREEMr. Linton

d. 1780

Mrs. Earnshaw

d. 1773

Linton

b. 1784

d. 1801

Hindley

b. 1757

d. 1784

Edgar

b. 1762

d. 1801

Mrs. Linton

d. 1780

Heathcliff

b. 1764

d. 1802

Isabella

b. 1765

d. 1797

Catherine

b. 1765

d. 1784

Catherine

b. 1784

Mr. Earnshaw

d. 1777

Frances

d. 1778

Hareton

b. 1778

LITERARY ELEMENTS AND TECHNIQUES Structure: The first half of the novel tells the

story of Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, and Edgar Linton. The second half mirrors the first by describing the actions of the children of the characters in the first half (Cathy Linton, Linton Heathcliff, and Hareton Earnshaw).

Symbols: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange

Foreshadowing: the use of ghosts You will read for GENDER, RHETORICAL

LANGUAGE, and STYLE OF WRITING

REFERENCESPowerPoint created using:www.cinnaminson.comwww.skitsap.ewednet.eduwww.pennsburyk.12.pa.us