呼啸山庄英文读后感(精选25篇)
当阅读完一本名著后,相信大家一定领会了不少东西,是时候静下心来好好写写读后感了。但是读后感有什么要求呢?下面是小编精心整理的呼啸山庄英文读后感(精选25篇),欢迎阅读与收藏。
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇1The book was written by Emily Bronte, it published in 1847.But at that time, it seemed to hold little promise, selling very poorly and receiving only a few mixed reviews. I found this in our school library, I chose this book because the title attracted me. The book is structured around two parallel love stories, the first half of the novel centering on the love between Catherine and Heathcliff, while the less dramatic second half features the developing love between young Catherine and Hareton. In contrast to the first, the latter tale ends happily, restoring peace and order to Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. In the story, the two houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, represent opposing worlds and values.
I spent twenty days reading this book. After reading this book, I felt for Heathcliff at first. Heathcliff begins his life as a homeless orphan on the streets of Liverpool, and then he tyrannized by Hindley Earnshaw. But he bees a villain when he acquires power and returns to Wuthering Heights with money and the trappings of a gentleman. His malevolence proves so great and long-lasting. As he himself points out, his abuse of Isabella-his wife is purely sadistic, as he amuses himself by seeing how much abuse she can take and still e cringing back for more.
Catherine represents wild nature, in both her high, lively spirits and her occasional cruelty. She loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person. However, her actions are driven in part by her social ambitions, which initially are awakened during her first stay at the Lintons, and which eventually pel her to marry Edgar. Catherine is free-spirited, beautiful, spoiled, and often arrogant, she is given to fits of temper, and she is torn between her both of the men who love her. The location of her coffin symbolizes the conflict that tears apart her short life. She is buried in a corner of the Kirkyard. In contrast to Catherine, Isabella Linton-Catherine’s sister-in-law represents culture and civilization, both in her refinement and in her weakness. Ultimately, she ruins her life by falling in love with Heathcliff. He never returns her feelings and treats her as a meretool in his quest for revenge on the Linton family.
Just as Isabella Linton serves as Catherine’s foil, Edgar Linton serves as Heathcliff’s. Edgar grows into a tender, constant, but cowardly man. He is almost the ideal gentleman. However, this full assortment of gentlemanly characteristics, along with his civilized virtues, proves useless in Edgar’s clashes with his foil. He sees his wife obviously in love with another man but unable to do anything to rectify the situation. Heathcliff, who gains power over his wife, sister , and daughter.
The whole story make people’s mood heavy. Fortunately, the end is happy.
The author Emily Bronte lived an eccentric, closely guarded life. She was born in 1818, two years after Charlotte-the author of Jane Eyre and a year and a half before her sister Anne, who also became an author. Her father worked as a church rector, and her aunt, who raised the Bronte children after their mother died, was deeply religious. Emily Bronte did not take to her aunt’s Christian fervor, the character of Joseph, a caricature of an evangelical, may have been inspired by her aunt’s religiosity. The Brontes lived in Haworth, a Yorkshire village in the midst of the moors. These wild, desolate expanses-later the setting of Wuthering Heights-made up the Brontes daily environment, and Emily lived among them her entire life. She died in 1848, at the age of thirty.
I like this book because it rest on the unforgettable characters. Wuthering Heights is based partly on the Gothic tradition, a style of literature that featured supernatural encounters, crumbling ruins, moonless nights, and grotesque imagery, seeking to create effects of mystery and fear. I would like to remend this book to other readers.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇2Published in 1847, WUTHERING HEIGHTS was not well received by the reading public, many of whom condemned it as sordid, vulgar, and unnatural and author Emily Bronte went to her grave in 1848 believing that her only novel was a failure. It was not until 1850, when WUTHERING HEIGHTS received a second printing with an introduction by Emilys sister Charlotte, that it attracted a wide readership. And from that point the reputation of the book has never looked back. Today it is widely recognized as one of the great novels of English literature.
Even so, WUTHERING HEIGHTS continues to divide readers. It is not a pretty love story; rather, it is swirling tale of largely unlikeable people caught up in obsessive love that turns to dark madness. It is cruel, violent, dark and brooding, and many people find it extremely unpleasant. And yet--it possesses a grandeur of language and design, a sense of tremendous pity and great loss that sets it apart from virtually every other novel written.
The novel is told in the form of an extended flashback. After a visit to his strange landlord, a newer to the area desires to know the history of the family--which he receives from Nelly Deans, a servant who introduces us to the Earnshaw family who once resided in the house known as Wuthering Heights. It was once a cheerful place, but Old Earnshaw adopted a "Gipsy" child who he named Heathcliff. And Catherine, daughter of the house, found in him the perfect panion: wild, rude, and as proud and cruel as she. But although Catherine loves him, even recognizes him as her soulmate, she cannot lower herself to marry so far below her social station. She instead marries another, and in so doing sets in motion an obsession that will destroy them all.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a bit difficult to "get into;" the opening chapters are so dark in their portrait of the end result of this obsessive love that they are somewhat off-putting. But they feed into the flow of the work in a remarkable way, setting the stage for one of the most remarkable structures in all of literature, a story that circles upon itself in a series of repetitions as it plays out across two generations. Catherine and Heathcliff are equally remarkable, both vicious and cruel, and yet never able to shed their impossible love no matter how brutally one may wound the other.
As the novel coils further into alcoholism, seduction, and one of the most elaborately imagined plans of revenge it gathers into a ghostly tone: Heathcliff, driven to madness by a woman who is not there but who seems reflected in every part of his world--dragging her corpse from the grave, hearing her calling to him from the moors, escalating his brutality not for the sake of brutality but so that her memory will never fade, so that she may never leave his mind until death itself. Yes, this is madness, insanity, and there is no peace this side of the grave or even beyond.
It is a stunning novel, frightening, inexorable, unsettling, filled with unbridled passion that makes one cringe. Even if you do not like it, you should read it at least once--and those who do like it will return to it again and again.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇3my feelings after reading wuthering heights
wuthering heights is a well-written tragedy of love. after reading the whole story, i would like to talk about the main characters of the story?catherine earnshaw and heathcliff. catherine earnshaw and heathcliff love each other very much, but they do not have the right attitude towards love, which leads to the tragedy.
in catherine?s life, she made a very foolish decision——marrying to edgar.in fact, her love for edgar can never be pared to that for heathcliff. she did so, because she thought the wealth of edgar would be useful to heathcliff. but in reality, it did not work. she did not have a good understanding of love, which is something pure and saint. if anyone add any purpose into love, love itself lost its meaning. catherine?s wrong decision hurt two people who love her, and even destroyed the happiness of their offspring.
heathcliff is a man full of retaliation. he loved catherine very much, but what he did, on the contrary, added to the misery of catherine. in my opinion, if he really loved catherine, he should not walk into catherine?s life again after his disappearance. further more, after the death of catherine, what heathcliff did brought agony to catherine?s daughter, as well as his own son.
after reading, i have a better understanding of love. if you love really someone, his or her happiness is the thing that most matters.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇4Published in 1847, WUTHERING HEIGHTS was not well received by the reading public, many of whom condemned it as sordid, vulgar, and unnatural–and author Emily Bronte went to her grave in 1848 believing that her only novel was a failure. It was not until 1850, when WUTHERING HEIGHTS received a second printing with an introduction by Emily’s sister Charlotte, that it attracted a wide readership. And from that point the reputation of the book has never looked back. Today it is widely recognized as one of the great novels of English literature.
Even so, WUTHERING HEIGHTS continues to divide readers. It is not a pretty love story; rather, it is swirling tale of largely unlikeable people caught up in obsessive love that turns to dark madness. It is cruel, violent, dark and brooding, and many people find it extremely unpleasant. And yet–it possesses a grandeur of language and design, a sense of tremendous pity and great loss that sets it apart from virtually every other novel written.
The novel is told in the form of an extended flashback. After a visit to his strange landlord, a newcomer to the area desires to know the history of the family–which he receives from Nelly Deans, a servant who introduces us to the Earnshaw family who once resided in the house known as Wuthering Heights. It was once a cheerful place, but Old Earnshaw adopted a “Gipsy” child who he named Heathcliff. And Catherine, daughter of the house, found in him the perfect companion: wild, rude, and as proud and cruel as she. But although Catherine loves him, even recognizes him as her soulmate, she cannot lower herself to marry so far below her social station. She instead marries another, and in so doing sets in motion an obsession that will destroy them all.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a bit difficult to “get into;” the opening chapters are so dark in their portrait of the end result of this obsessive love that they are somewhat off-putting. But they feed into the flow of the work in a remarkable way, setting the stage for one of the most remarkable structures in all of literature, a story that circles upon itself in a series of repetitions as it plays out across two generations. Catherine and Heathcliff are equally remarkable, both vicious and cruel, and yet never able to shed their impossible love no matter how brutally one may wound the other.
As the novel coils further into alcoholism, seduction, and one of the most elaborately imagined plans of revenge it gathers into a ghostly tone: Heathcliff, driven to madness by a woman who is not there but who seems reflected in every part of his world–dragging her corpse from the grave, hearing her calling to him from the moors, escalating his brutality not for the sake of brutality but so that her memory will never fade, so that she may never leave his mind until death itself. Yes, this is madness, insanity, and there is no peace this side of the grave or even beyond.
It is a stunning novel, frightening, inexorable, unsettling, filled with unbridled passion that makes one cringe. Even if you do not like it, you should read it at least once–and those who do like it will return to it again and again.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇5Published in 1847, WUTHERING HEIGHTS was not well received bythe reading public, many of whom condemned it as sordid, vulgar,and unnatural--and author Emily Bronte went to her grave in 1848believing that her only novel was a failure. It was not until 1850,when WUTHERING HEIGHTS received a second printing with anintroduction by Emilys sister Charlotte, that it attracted a widereadership. And from that point the reputation of the book hasnever looked back. Today it is widely recognized as one of thegreat novels of English literature.Even so, WUTHERING HEIGHTS continues to divide readers. It is not apretty love story; rather, it is swirling tale of largelyunlikeable people caught up in obsessive love that turns to darkmadness. It is cruel, violent, dark and brooding, and many peoplefind it extremely unpleasant. And yet--it possesses a grandeur oflanguage and design, a sense of tremendous pity and great loss thatsets it apart from virtually every other novel written.The novel is told in the form of an extended flashback. After avisit to his strange landlord, a newcomer to the area desires toknow the history of the family--which he receives from Nelly Deans,a servant who introduces us to the Earnshaw family who once residedin the house known as Wuthering Heights. It was once a cheerfulplace, but Old Earnshaw adopted a Gipsy child who he namedHeathcliff. And Catherine, daughter of the house, found in him theperfect companion: wild, rude, and as proud and cruel as she. Butalthough Catherine loves him, even recognizes him as her soulmate,she cannot lower herself to marry so far below her social station.She instead marries another, and in so doing sets in motion anobsession that will destroy them all.WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a bit difficult to get into; the openingchapters are so dark in their portrait of the end result of thisobsessive love that they are somewhat off-putting.
But they feedinto the flow of the work in a remarkable way, setting the stagefor one of the most remarkable structures in all of literature, astory that circles upon itself in a series of repetitions as itplays out across two generations. Catherine and Heathcliff areequally remarkable, both vicious and cruel, and yet never able toshed their impossible love no matter how brutally one may wound theother.As the novel coils further into alcoholism, seduction, and oneof the most elaborately imagined plans of revenge it gathers into aghostly tone: Heathcliff, driven to madness by a woman who is notthere but who seems reflected in every part of his world--draggingher corpse from the grave, hearing her calling to him from themoors, escalating his brutality not for the sake of brutality butso that her memory will never fade, so that she may never leave hismind until death itself. Yes, this is madness, insanity, and thereis no peace this side of the grave or even beyond.It is a stunning novel, frightening, inexorable, unsettling,filled with unbridled passion that makes one cringe. Even if you donot like it, you should read it at least once--and those who dolike it will return to it again and again.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇6Many people in the world are trying to find a perfect companion.Some of these may marry and not know what their new husband or wife is like.This kind of situation often leads to separation or hostility. Other situations may develop between two friends that stem from jealousy, desire for revenge, uncaring parents, etc. Emily Bronts Wuthering Heights displays several characteristics of destructive relationships. Three of these are uncaring parents, marriage without knowing the person, and jealousy.
Uncaring or unsympathizing parents are shown throughout this story to be an element of destructive relationships. Because Heathcliff gained all the attention from Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley became disassociated from his father. This separation continued until after Mr. Earnshaw had died.Another example is between Hindley and Hareton. Hindley became such a drunk and a gambler that he could not properly care for young Hareton. This led to a separation between Hareton and his father as well. One primary example of an uncaring parent is shown between Heathcliff and his son Linton.Heathcliff did not even want his son for anything except enacting a part of his revenge. This is shown by Lintons fear of Heathcliff and Heathcliffs enmity toward his son. Linton even says "... my father threatened me, and I dread him - I dread him!"(244) to express his feeling about Heathcliff.The hostility and separation between father and son in this book shows that uncaring parents can cause serious damage in relationships with their children.
This element of destructive behavior may stem from an unhappy marriage in which the husbands or wives dont know each other. This had happened between Isabella and Heathcliff. Isabella did not really know Heathcliff when she married him, but after she had married him she saw that Heathcliff was not a gentleman at all. To declare her feelings she wrote "Is Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil? I shant tell my reasons for making this inquiry; but I beseech you to explain, if you can, what I have married ..."(125). Another example of this is when Catherine married Edgar Linton. Although she had been happy at the beginning of the marriage, she thought having parties all the time was going to be fun. Yet, after a while, she became bored. She also realized that she loved Heathcliff more than Edgar and would always love Heathcliff.This enlightenment created separation between Edgar and Catherine during the final hours of Cathys life. An additional marriage which was made that was doomed was the one between Catherine and Linton. Because this was a forced marriage, Cathy had not yet learned all she could about Linton.Because she did not know until after the marriage that Linton was selfish and inconsiderate, she became distressed and grew isolated in the house.These three failed marriages described in this novel show that knowing the person you will marry is very important.While these marriages took place, jealousy also took a hold in some relationships. One example of this is when Mr. Earnshaw starts to favor Heathcliff over his own son, Hindley. Because of this, Hindley becomes jealous of young Heathcliff and sets out to make Heathcliffs life a nightmare. Hindleys jealousy becomes evident when he says ,"... be damned you beggarly interloper! and wheedle my father out of all he has; only afterwards show him what you are, imp of Satan."(35). Jealousy was also found very notably in the relationship between Heathcliff and Edgar Linton.
The jealousy between them is expressed when Heathcliff and Edgar start a hostile conversation after Cathys homecoming at Christmas near the beginning of the book. As the story progresses these two become bitter enemies who will not speak to one another. Another relationship which jealousy ruined is the one between Hareton and Linton. These two become jealous of each other over Cathys affections. This relationship ends as Hareton and Linton hating each other. These relationships show that jealousy can ruin a relationship very quickly.
The jealousy, neglect, and unprepared nature of the many relationships in this book indicates that many of the relationships in this book have gone "sour". In spite of all these destructive elements one relationship may succeed. This is the one between Cathy and Hareton.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇7Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte, published in 1847.But at that time, it seemed that the book was neither popular nor disliked among people, but left out by the public with only a little mixed comments. However it became famous at last, though I don’t know why; I just came across with the book in the bookstore and somehow bought and shelved it on the top of my bookshelf until the book review homework came to me. Consequently the book didn’t give me a splendid fist impression, at least not better than Jane Iyre, which is always talked about and complimented among girls. However, after reading the book, the “never judge a book from its cover”theory was deeply rooted in my heart. The meaning of“cover ”here is not only limited to the coated paper that protects the book and attracts readers, but also the public comments on the book. I seldom hear of comments on Wuthering Heights, so I thought matter-of-factly that the book would be a boring stuff; however I was totally wrong.
Wuthering Heights demonstrates us a life profile in a deformed society, the distorted humanity in this society and various dreading events resulted from it, by the hand of a tragic love story. Actually the whole plot of the story can be divided into four parts which develops gradually: The first part narrates the childhood of Catherine and Heathcliff who lived together all the time, the special feeling in the special environment between an orphan and a miss, and the revolt against the tyranny of Hindley Earnshaw. The second part focuses on Catherine betrayed Heathcliff, married Linton Edgar and became the hostess of Thrushcross Grange. In the third part, the author uses a lot of time emphasizing on how did desperate Heathcliff turn the hostility in his chest into the practical plan and action to revenge. Although there’s nothing else important except the death of Heathcliff in the last part, the revival of humanity of Heathcliff after he saw the love between young Catherine and Hareton was prominently demonstrated, which make readers feel warm and relieved after the breathtaking desperation at last. The love, hatred, revenge and humanity recovery, hence, is the essence as well as an uniting thread of the whole novel.
Emily condensed her painstaking efforts on the image portrayal of Heathcliff, to whom she placed all of her indignation, sympathy and ideal. The orphan who was exploited of all the warmth he deserved cultivated strong emotion of love and hostility in his life; the mistreatment of Hindley taught him about the cruelty of the life, as well as yielding to his miserable fate silently. However, he chose to revolt with Catherine, who was his devoted partner, an genuine love germinated between them in the proceeding of resistance. However, Catherine at last betrayed Heathcliff and married a man she didn’t love at all. The immediate cause of this tragic love story is her ignorance and vanity, as a result buried her own love, her own youth, her own life, her own Heathcliff, even almost her own children. When Emily portrays the image of Catherine, her sympathy as well as wrath was apparently expressed; she was grievous for her unfortune but angry for her flaccidity at the same time, her emotion towards Catherine was full of contradiction. The biggest turning point of the whole story is the betrayal of Catherine and her miserable life after her marriage, which turned Heathcliff’s love into engraved hatred; and this hatred exploded and became the motivation to revenge for himself after Catherine’s death. His aim achieved: not only did he tortured Hindley and Edgar until they died and monopolized two manors, but the next generation was also suffered from his flame of vengeance. The crazy abreaction of wrath and hostility seemed to contradict with common sense but expressed his extraordinary rebellious spirit which was moulded by the special environment. The tragedy of Heathcliff was a tragedy of the society as well as the whole era.
Wuthering Heights ended with the suicide of Heathcliff after his purpose of revenge had achoeved. In my opinion, his death was the last expression of his love for Catherine--at least they were together after they died. What’s more, he abandoned his plan to mistreat the next generation before his death, which showed his good nature distorted by the cruel reality. The revival of humanity illustrates Emily’s noble humanitarian ideals.
Wuthering Heights has been regarded as “the most peculiar novel” on the English literature history due to the subversion of the sentimentalism style which was popular at that time, replacing pale melancholy with strong love and violent hatred and the ruthless revenge occured from them. It is just like a special lyric poem with abundant imagination and smashing emotion, and full of artistic power to strike people’s heart.
“I am the only being whose doom, No tongue would ask no eye would mourn; I never caused a thought of gloom, A smile of joy since I was born. In secret pleasure - secret tears, This changeful life has slipped away; As friendless after eighteen years, As lone as on my natal day.” This poem from Emily Bronte perfectly demonstrates the desperate loneliness of her. Different from his sister who created a world for everyone, she created a world for herself. On the wuthering field without anyone, she was also bursting her passion and youth, like a volcano with overwhelming power. Emily never curried favor with the aesthetic orientation of the public, she was extremely sensitive but also firm and resolute as a man. There was a classic remark on her character by Virginia Woolf: “Emily was inspired by some more general conception. The impulse which urged her to create was not her own suffering or her own injuries. She looked out upon a world cleft into gigantic disorder and felt within her the power to unite it in a book.”
Emily had got a kind of power form the loneliness in her own world. She solely stood out of the square forever, viewing the whole world with her indifferent but warm eyes. The observation had given Wuthering Heights an incomparable power which made us dread, excited and moved.
“My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliffs miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it. My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, Im well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! Hes always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.” This is the most moving part to me. The love between Catherine and Heathcliff was so incredible that they engraved themselves so deeply in each other’s spirit. Emily constantly searched for a way, a way to love over secularity and morality. The woman was doomed to be alone all her life because there would be no man can understand her splendid grief, there would be no strength can overwhelm the mysterious power from her spirit.
She was just like a hazy moonstone.
Catherine to some extent mabe the most bliss heroine. She found and was loved forever by another herself, she said,”I’m Heathcliff.”
Salute to the extraordinary Emily, as well as the extraordinary Wuthering Heights.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇8Published in 1847,WUTHERING HEIGHTS was not well received by the reading public,many of whom condemned it as sordid,vulgar,and unnatural--and author Emily Bronte went to her grave in 1848 believing that her only novel was a failure.It was not until 1850,when WUTHERING HEIGHTS received a second printing with an introduction by Emilys sister Charlotte, that it attracted a wide readership. And from that point the reputation of the book has never looked back. Today it is widely recognized as one of the great novels of English literature.
Even so,WUTHERING HEIGHTS continues to divide readers.It is not a pretty love story;rather,it is swirling tale of largely unlikeable people caught up in obsessive love that turns to dark madness.It is cruel,violent,dark and brooding,and many people find it extremely unpleasant.And yet--it possesses a grandeur of language and design,a sense of tremendous pity and great loss that sets it apart from virtually every other novel written.The novel is told in the form of an extended flashback.After a visit to his strange landlord, a newcomer to the area desires to know the history of the family--which he receives from Nelly Deans, a servant who introduces us to the Earnshaw family who once resided in the house known as Wuthering Heights. It was once a cheerful place, but Old Earnshaw adopted a "Gipsy" child who he named Heathcliff.And Catherine,daughter of the house,found in him the perfect companion:wild,rude,and as proud and cruel as she.But although Catherine loves him,even recognizes him as her soulmate, she cannot lower herself to marry so far below her social station. She instead marries another, and in so doing sets in motion an obsession that will destroy them all.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a bit difficult to "get into;" the opening chapters are so dark in their portrait of the end result of this obsessive love that they are somewhat off-putting.But they feed into the flow of the work in a remarkable way,setting the stage for one of the most remarkable structures in all of literature,a story that circles upon itself in a series of repetitions as it plays out across two generations.Catherine and Heathcliff are equally remarkable,both vicious and cruel,and yet never able to shed their impossible love no matter how brutally one may wound the other.As the novel coils further into alcoholism,seduction,and one of the most elaborately imagined plans of revenge it gathers into a ghostly tone:Heathcliff,driven to madness by a woman who is not there but who seems reflected in every part of his world--dragging her corpse from the grave,hearing her calling to him from the moors,escalating his brutality not for the sake of brutality but so that her memory will never fade,so that she may never leave his mind until death itself.Yes,this is madness,insanity,and there is no peace this side of the grave or even beyond.It is a stunning novel,frightening,inexorable,unsettling,filled with unbridled passion that makes one cringe.Even if you do not like it,you should read it at least once--and those who do like it will return to it again and again.
呼啸山庄英文读后感 篇9Published in 1847, WUTHERING HEIGHTS was not well received by the reading public, many of whom condemned it as sordid, vulgar, and unnatural–and author Emily Bronte went to her grave in 1848 believing that her only novel was a failure. It was not until 1850, when WUTHERING HEIGHTS received a second printing with an introduction by Emily’s sister Charlotte, that it attracted a wide readership. And from that point the reputation of the book has never looked back. Today it is widely recognized as one of the great novels of English literature.
Even so, WUTHERING HEIGHTS continues to divide readers. It is not a pretty love story; rather, it is swirling tale of largely unlikeable people caught up in obsessive love that turns to dark madness. It is cruel, violent, dark and brooding, and many people find it extremely unpleasant. And yet–it possesses a grandeur of language and design, a sense of tremendous pity and great loss that sets it apart from virtually every other novel written.
The novel is told in the form of an extended flashback. After a visit to his strange landlord, a newcomer to the area desires to know the history of the family–which he receives from Nelly Deans, a servant who introduces us to the Earnshaw family who once resided in the house known as Wuthering Heights. It was once a cheerful place, but Old Earnshaw adopted a “Gipsy” child who he named Heathcliff. And Catherine, daughter of the house, found in him the perfect companion: wild, rude, and as proud and cruel as she. But although Catherine loves him, even recognizes him as her soulmate, she cannot lower herself to marry so far below her social station. She instead marries another, and in so doing sets in motion an obsession that will destroy them all.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS is a bit difficult to “get into;” the opening chapters are so dark in their portrait of the end result of this obsessive love that they are somewhat off-putting. But they feed into the flow of the work in a remarkable way, setting the stage for one of the most remarkable structures in all of literature, a story that circles upon itself in a series of repetitions as it plays out across two generations. Catherine and Heathcliff are equally remarkable, both vicious and cruel, and yet never able to shed their impossible love no matter how brutally one may wound the other.
As the novel coils further in