September: Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Posted from the general Bronte thread, as an opening for discussion:

I'm almost finished with Wuthering Heights, my second Bronte book, after Jane Eyre. What I find fascinating about it is that, like Charlotte's book, it is often termed a love story ... but while I would not hesitate to call JE by that name, I think it's a mistake to think of WH in that manner. For one, the Cathy/Heathcliff relationship takes up only half the book at best. It's really a multi-generational saga about a never-ending cycle of obsession, hate, and retribution. Not an easy read, or even a pleasant one, but I can't deny that it is in its own way (and, again, a different way from JE) a great book.

here's the link to the Wuthering Heights discussion in the Somebody Explain it to Me group: http://www.librarything.com/topic/25435

and here's the link to the Jane Eyre vs Wuthering Heights thread in the Books Compared group: http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=22087#top

Hmm, you say the cycle is never-ending... do you think that is true with the ending Bronte gave us? I like to think the cycle finally ended with the full-circle relationship that concludes the novel, but I guess it's open to interpretation.

I wouldn't call WH a love story either, unless love is redefined as obsession. I've never understood the Heathcliff fangurls...

I haven't finished the book yet, so I probably shouldn't have used the term "never-ending." It seems never-ending. It seems hopeless. What I was getting at is the fact that the book isn't just about Catherine and Heathcliff (thank goodness!)

Can't say I understand the Heathcliff fangurls either. He's almost entirely pure villain, not misunderstood hero. But if you expect that, I don't think that should cause too much of a problem. Cathy A (as I call the mother) is another matter. Man, that girl must have been dropped on her head as a baby. One of the most annoying characters I've ever come across. When she passed out of the story, I was overjoyed. Less mewling and screaming.

So I can see where all the complainers are coming from. I don't think that makes it a bad book. And I don't hate it. But I don't love it, either. I have one and a half discs left in my ten-disc audiobook ... we'll see how it all winds up.

I re-read Wuthering Heights earlier this year and my love for it has only grown with the re-read. I do not hesitate to call Emily Brontë one of my favourite authors based on just this one novel.

I wrote a rather long review of Wuthering Heights after my re-read. My main idea about the book is this; this is not a mere love story. What Heathcliff and Catherine have between them can not be called simply love and be set aside. It is not love, no, it is a thirst, a hunger, an all consuming obsession, it desires to devour all and leave nothing. It is a selfish, monomaniacal fixation that tries to smash through all of the physical barriers and leap to freedom...

My full review is here,

http://www.librarything.com/review/58532727

Or my 50 book challenge thread,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/94041

As I've already told you, Porua, I absolutely adore that part of your review—the part about Heathcliff and Cathy's "love."

And pointing out that it was a reread for you is a very helpful thing to mention. This is definitely a book I plan to come back to, and I hope that a mature outlook will help me in understanding/enjoying it. But for now I can't really bring myself to like it, and I'm rather disappointed that I can't.

#6 The first time I read Wuthering Heights, I was in my teens. I loved it then. That was about six-seven years ago. Now in my twenties, I still love it. I don’t know if my outlook has changed. But I’m definitely noticing more of the little nuances that I had missed the first time.

hey ncgraham,
i totally agree wid u in d latter end if ur post. but wot i really wanna knw is how does heathcliff really die. its sooo mysterious it js doesnt make sense to me. and also the way cathy is born ders no description of catherine being pregnant anywhere.