About the authoress: Emily was the second of the 3 Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Anne, and Emily). She published her only novel, Wuthering Heights, in 1847 under the
androgynous pen name Ellis Bell. It is worth knowing that both of her sisters also used pen name Bell in order to escape prejudice against female authors. In 1850, due to some acclaim, it was published under her real name, but by this time Emily was dead of TB.
About the novel: Wuthering Heights is known as a Gothic novel. Its plot is pretty complex (and a lot of characters with shared names doesn’t help), so my plot overview will be very brief. I figure a more indepth one would only be confusing.
Basically, Mr. Lockwood (the narrator) hears the story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff (only one name – I personally find that significant; think Derrida) from his landlady when visiting some lonely moors in the north of England. Catherine (Cathy) and Heathcliff knew each other since children, when Heathcliff was found by Catherine’s father and adopted into her privileged family. Heathcliff was always surly and rude. Cathy and Heathcliff were in love but were stubborn, but Cathy married rich and Heathcliff left in despair and anger. Things happened, they re-met, it was emotional, she died. Her husband blamed Heathcliff and vice-versa, things got ugly for years. Heathcliff wanted revenge on everyone because he felt alone without Catherine. He complained of being haunted by her, which was both a torture and a blessing.
Having recently re-read the book, I think that an anonymous reviewer from 1848 explained its popularity very well when he/she (presumably he) wrote “Wuthering Heights is a strange sort of book,—baffling all regular criticism; yet, it is impossible to begin and not finish it; and quite as impossible to lay it aside afterwards and say nothing about it”.1 In a sense, I left feeling strongly that of all the criticisms, the book most strongly defies post-structuralism: Heathcliff, after losing Cathy, desires to destroy beyond anything, yet his very connection to humanity will not allow him to do so. This very fact seems to hold some philosophical weight: he cannot be wholly evil, even if he wants to be.
I really want to wax philosophical about this (honestly, when I have time, I want to write a paper on this very subject), but I don’t have the space here. Let it merely be said for now that I think anyone who ever reads this should take the time to consider how important it is that an authoress (to all appearances) endeavored to create the ultimately evil human being and yet she was forced to inculcate in him instances of empathy, mercy, and consideration for others. Humans cannot be ‘completely evil’ in the philosophical sense that we use in my philosophy classes.
Two other interesting things worth noting: in the reviews I was reading from 1848, one critic praised effusively Brontë for being so manly in her choice of topics: “We detest the affectation and effeminate frippery which is but too frequent in the modern novel, and willingly trust ourselves with an author who goes at once fearlessly into the moors and desolate places, for his heroes; but we must at the same time stipulate with him that he shall not drag into light all that he discovers, of coarse and loathsome, in his wanderings, but simply so much good and ill as he may find necessary to elucidate his history”.1 Well, firstly, one must wonder whether this reviewer felt a bit foolish when he discovered that the writer he praised for avoiding effeminacy was, in fact, a woman (and those of us interested in feminist criticism must naturally consider the relevance of comments like these). Additionally, however, it is worth pointing out that Emily’s novel gained widespread attention for the very thing that this reviewer mentions: its focus on the cruelty and degradation of Heathcliff. That, of course, is a question still fully relevant today, although Wuthering Heights no longer appalls us. What standards should we hold in literature – should we portray the world as we see it, or as we wish to see it? What should be censored, and what should not?
What is the purpose of literature? For the wannabe theorists out there (myself included), it’s evident this question has been around for awhile, and Wuthering Heights was a part of the struggle.
1. Thompson, Paul. "Contemporary Reviews of 'Wuthering Heights'". The Readers Guide to 'Wuthering Heights'. 19 July 2010 http://www.wuthering-heights.co.uk/reviews.htm
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