Wuthering Heights，the only fiction of Emily Bronte, was published in 1847. It is a story about love and revenge. After finishing the novel, most people including me would appreciate Heathcliff for his pure, simple and untamed love which would never change until death. On the other hand, it is difficult to understand his abnormal, callous and his love for Catherine. Heathcliff was an illiberal and unscrupulous person. He loved Catherine and was willing to give up everything for her. In the north of England where the wind blew hard, the black and dirty child, Heathcliff, fell in love with a little girl, Catherine who gave him love and also misery.
Wuthering Heights is an ideal heaven for those misanthropists to escape from the real life. In this beautiful but desolate world, Heathcliff as a stranger appeared. When he was 6 or 7 years old and at the edge of starving, Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of wuthering heights, saved him. Heathcliff’s childhood was unfortunate. Before he came to the wuthering heights, he was almost dead. When he was at Mr. Earnshaw’s home, he was bullied and maltreat by Mr. Earnshaw’s son, Hindley Earnshaw. However, at that moment, Catherine Earnshaw saved him, and everything became different. Catherine was a crazy and wild girl. The writer described as follows: Her spirits were always at high-water mark, her tongue always going--singing, laughing, and plaguing everybody who would not do the same. A wild, wicked slip she was. However, she was goodness and pretty. The relationship between them was developing under the lack of civilized education. Their life was tightly held together, they had to face Hindley. But their friendship broke when Catherine was 12 years old, when she met Edgar Linton a wealthy and handsome boy from Thrushcross Grange. Three years later, she agreed to marry Edger. In Heathcliff’s mind, it was Edgar who bore away his love. Thus, when he came back to wuthering heights and began his cruel revenge.
Catherine lost her childhood at the time when she started to consider her future. She totally knew that it was impossible to be together with Heathcliff. She had to find the future, a wealthy, handsome husband who could give her steady life and reputation while Heathcliff had nothing. But when she married Edgar, she didn’t feel happy at all. She remembered that she had betrayed Heathcliff and herself. Money and house brought her into nothingness. She began to cherish the memory of Heathcliff, cherished the little boy stood by her. There was no etiquette and standard but sincerity. In the wuthering heights, happiness was gone forever. Because of Hindley, Heathcliff lost the chance to learn and he was almost lost himself. Fortunately, Catherine did not give up him. He abandoned himself for his self-abased. In their love, even at that storming night, Heathcliff left. They never thought about their future, their life. Thus, shall we ask that love should be based on what? Catherine loved Edgar, but she also said to Nelly: you think me a selfish wretch; but did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars? whereas, if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother"s power. Before the difficulty, she chose to confront. On the contrary, Heathcliff chose to escape, because he had no courage to overcome it. Catherine was 15 while Heathcliff was 16, they were children. They didn’t understand what love was. They just found the happiness they had in common.
We can suppose that if Heathcliff didn’t leave, and he lived with Catherine, were they happy? Were they at ease? What life did they live? Can they run crazily on the wild land? Catherine looked down upon Heathcliff’s cowardice, once she talked about Heathcliff to Isabella: Tell her what Heathcliff is: an unreclaimed creature, without refinement, without cultivation: an arid wilderness of furze and whinstone. But she had never suspected her courage. She loved Heathcliff undoubtedly, but she was afraid to be with him. Heathcliff had questioned her: You teach me now how cruel you"ve been--cruel and false. Why did you despise me? Why did you betray your own heart, Catherine? If they loved each other, why did cheat their heart? Compared with Catherine, is Heathcliff more forgivable for his insistence and self-abased?
In the end, Catherine died. She was 19, and Heathcliff was 20. However, the story was not end. After Catherine’s death, Heathcliff was not likable. His maniac revenge seemed no endless. He even took vengeance on their children. Is this love? Is this resentment? Did Heathcliff love Catherine more or he hate the world more? What did he revenge for? Does for Catherine or him? They tortured each other, but they still loved each other. We can not find out the answer. But we can know that at last, they finally stayed with each other and no one can take them apart. And if she had been dissolved into earth, or worse, what would you have dreamt of then?" I said. Of dissolving with her, and being more happy still!" he answered. No matter how much misunderstanding, regret and pain they received before, now they rest in peace. Just like Catherine said: Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same。
When I finished reading this book and begin to chew the profound meaning and the essence in this book, I find that I have learned a lot of life truth. For my part, love is to learn tolerance. If you really fall in love with someone, you will understand if she or he can get happiness and have ever loved you, that is enough. Reading a classic is a really tired and joyful thing. When I am moved by the figure’s emotion, I will feel sad and also gain enlightenment. In addition, which moves me most is that it teaches me to keep the dignity of life and the heart of freedom. No matter how austere the challenge we meet, we should yearn for freedom.
my 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。
Published 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.
Published 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.
The Gothic Setting in Wuthering heights
After all this term’s learning on English literature , Wuthering height may be the most impressive novel to me . So I will discuss something special in this book , the gothic setting.
What is gothic setting ?
Gothic setting is one of the fiction genres which first begin at the middle of 19 century in England . Sa一vage , mystery , terror , backward , dark , family curse , supernatural and suspense are the signal features of this kind of fiction genre . It mainly talks something about the dark side of society such as family hatred and succession race . The story in this style usually happens in remote place that far away from city .
What do we know about gothic setting in Wuthering heights ?
In fact , what impresses me most in this novel is the description of the environment . It is full of gothic setting . We can find that there is no sunshine in Wuthering heights all the year around , the haze and atmosphere there make people feel mystery and depressive . The weather is always changing according to the plot . When there is something badly happen , the environment will be influenced . For example, rain comes at once after Catherine’s betray . When it comes to Catherine’s death , it changes quickly and suddenly to hea一vy rain and strong wind . All in all , I think all this gothic setting is to show the feeling of writer .
The gothic setting in the book not only shows us the mystery of the environment , but also tells us the society stage and the different life style between different classes in that period . To Catherine , Heathcriff who belongs to the lower class represents spiritual love while Linton in the upper class represents material . She is in a dilemma to make a decision . On one hand , all of us know Catherine loves Heathcriff deeply . On the other hand , Linton can give her the life she expects , a rich and comfortable life and be respected by people . Material wins in the end .
What do we learn from this novel ?
True love or material , this is a question . In the novel , Catherine sacrifice her love to pursue a comfortable live . Actually material is usually the first choice I think when most of the women come to this decision . This was one of the hotest topic at 2010 after a women said on TV she would rather to cry in a BMW than to laugh on a bicycle . What she said liked a big stone thrown into a peaceful lake . Can money really replace love ? A lot of people argue on this question whether it is worthy of sacrificing on the Internet .
As far as I’am concerned , nothing can take the place of our love . Though material is necessary , too much money can not make people happier . It is ordinary for us to persue a better life . But do we really ha一ve to sacrifice our love ? Why can’t we make our life comfortable through our hands or with our lover . Maybe we will come to some trouble . But all these obstacles are just to make us stronger . Though the process is difficult , it maybe the most precious memory and our treasures after overcoming all this difficulties .
Published 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.