Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte. The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centres (as an adjective, wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them.

Wuthering Heights

a!thea 

“Mr. Heathcliff you have nobody to love you; and, however miserable you make us, we shall still have the revenge of thinking that your cruelty arises from your greater misery.  You are miserable, are you not?  Lonely, like the devil, and envious like him?”

“and, though I’m used to being alone, I’d rather have some interesting company, if I can get it.”

“the blue sky and bright sun shining steadily and cloudlessly.  That was his most perfect idea of heaven’s happiness: mine was rocking in a rustling green tree, with a west wind blowing, and bright white clouds flitting rapidly above”

You really start to get a glimpse of how the outside world works beyond what you study in books and pages through your family, and at the age of 16 indeed

Miss Cathy, conversant with no bad deeds except her own slight acts of disobedience, injustice and passion, rising from hot temper, and thoughtlessness, and repented of on the day they were committed, was amazed at the blackness of spirit that could brood on, and cover revenge for years; and deliberately prosecute its plans, without a visitation of remorse.

though it's sad as well, though he always had that vibe where he can't control his anguish, he doesn't care about hurting other people as long as it benefits him, he doesn't even know how to love. he shouldn't use his background as an excuse to treat people badly and still keep doing revenge, where that revenge affects the very people who have nothing to do with it but have to deal with the pain their parents have to go through and the only thing left for them to endure..

I divined, from this account, that utter lack of sympathy had rendered young Heathcliff selfish and disagreeable, if he were not so originally; and my interest in him, consequently, decayed; though still I was moved with a sense of grief at his lot, and a wish that he had been left with us.

even the darkest of places feels like home for catherine. like no amount of money nor brightness of a palace may compare to her very home at wuthering heights. it's a place where there's always a storm around, and the sun barely shines, but it is still very dear to her heart. what a great contrast to how love can and will devour you.

“There was no moon, and everything beneath lay in misty darkness: not a light gleamed from any house, far or near all had been extinguished long ago: and those at Wuthering Heights were never visible—still she asserted she caught their shining.”

I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth

‘And he will be rich, and I shall like to be the greatest woman of the neighbourhood, and I shall be proud of having such a husband.’ ‘Worst of all! And, now, say how you love him?’

“still I couldn’t dote on Heathcliff, and I wondered often what my master saw to admire so much in the sullen boy; who never, to my recollection, repaid his indulgence by any sign of gratitude.”

“half angry to have listened at all, and vexed at having related my ridiculous nightmare, since it produced that agony; though "why" was beyond my comprehension.”

“Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather.  Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed”

Alexis Prowell

The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her!

clara

I’m wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it.

I have dreamt in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.

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.

"Why, she's a liar to the end! Where is she? Not there—not in Heaven-not perished-where? Oh! you said you cared nothing for my sufferings! And I pray one prayer— I repeat it till my tongue stiffens-Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest, as long as I am living! You said I killed you-haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe—I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!"

I’d rather be three months ill, than hear you frame a deliberate lie. 

Liam Collins

And I pray one prayer - I repeat it till my tongue stiffens - Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest, as long as I am living! You said I killed you - haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe - I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!

Emily Bronte's brutally passionate poetic masterpiece is about doomed love on the bleak Pennine moors. This haunting tale of uncontrolled, violent passion between the wilful Catherine Earnshaw and the wild, dark-natured Heathcliff has gripped readers since it was first published in 1847. An extraordinary novel in the Victorian Gothic tradition that every reader will love!

Liv Gliese Johnsen

‘ Mr Heathcliff, you have nobody to love you; and, however miserable you make us, we shall still have the revenge of thinking that your cruelty rises from your greater misery! You are miserable, are you not? Lonely, like the devil, and envious like him? Nobody loves you - Nobody will cry for you, when you die! I wouldn’t be you!’ 

‘I have not broken your heart - you have broken it - and in breaking it, you have broken mine’. 

‘ I seek no revenge on you,' replied Heathcliff less vehemently. That's not the plan - The tyrant grinds down his slaves and they don't turn against him, they crush those beneath them - You are welcome to torture me to death for your amusement, only, allow me to amuse myself a little in the same style’ 

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.'

Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange on bleak Yorkshire moors, is forced to seek shelter one night at Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord. There he discovers the history of the tempestuous events that took place years before: of the intense passion between the foundling Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and her betrayal of him.

I was not too keen on the second part since I absolutely adored Cathy (the OG) as a heroine but I actually think that the focus on the second generation was executed incredibly well as a means of exploring trauma (funny that I read this at the same time as Cassandra Clare's "Chain of Thorns").

The enclosed, horribly narrow, world of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange becomes the perfect system within which trauma and abuse, perpetuating the cycle and breaking the cycle, can be explored. The characters are fascinatingly monstrous and cruel but nothing but the product of their environment; this makes all the more important that this vicious cycle cannot end until a whole generation is dead and the newer one chooses kindness and companionship instead.

I was not too keen on the second part since I absolutely adored Cathy (the OG) as a heroine but I actually think that the focus on the second generation was executed incredibly well as a means of exploring trauma (funny that I read this at the same time as Cassandra Clare's "Chain of Thorns").

The enclosed, horribly narrow, world of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange becomes the perfect system within which trauma and abuse, perpetuating the cycle and breaking the cycle, can be explored. The characters are fascinatingly monstrous and cruel but nothing but the product of their environment; this makes all the more important that this vicious cycle cannot end until a whole generation is dead and the newer one chooses kindness and companionship instead.

A solid two stars really. It's nothing special and it's probably because I just didn't like the narrative style of the story where the entire book is narrated as a story, it's really odd and the whole time whilst reading it I was just reflecting about how odd it is to write in such a perspective? The plot...Has no plot. What is the plot? There is no plot. And it's not even character driven either, so what exactly is this book? Literatly nothing because it's got no meaning, no plot, no main character, no nothing. It follows to children who become adults who have kids of their own and then it follows them. This book definatly got the 2 stars because the ending was exactly what I wanted. Hareton and Catherine become very close finally and Heathcliffe the devil dies thank god. Hated this book, do no recommend. 

surtified™

I hated and loved Cathy and Heatcliff at the same time. I wanted the destruction of everyone and at the same time the salvation. I've never seen the line between love and destruction more blurried.

LIMEKI 

D D D 

Loved how much each character was molded by their childhood. I did not enjoy this much, because I felt that it dismantled love, which deeply offended me. 

Maybe i’m not a Bronte fan? I found this difficult to finish. Whenever I feel that way about a classic, I feel sooooo stupid. 

I don’t really like ghost stories.

“Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I can not live without my soul!”
----------------------------------

I first read Wuthering Heights more than 10 years ago, and I seem to have retained only flashes of what the story was about. I remember a gloomy mood, awful people, and a weird, tangled family tree where people had to marry each others’ cousins all the time for a lack of any other people around. And I remember being so surprised that this would be so many people’s favorite book; this awful, toxic, heinous group of characters.

Little was I prepared that on my second read, I would particularly enjoy the toxicity of the whole thing. Say what you will about my own personal development.

In all honesty, my second go at Wuthering Heights was much more enjoyable. And November was the perfect time to pick it back up, mirroring the cold outside with the book’s cold atmosphere that infuses into the bones and the howling winds ripping through the moors. Not to mention the ice-cold hearts of every single character in the story. It is shocking to see excessive physical and emotional abuse at every page, each character so unbearably selfish and irredeemable that it is hard to tear yourself away from it all. A sick obsession, all that brutal revenge and anger and wretchedness. AND FOR WHAT? For love? A love that you never confessed or fought for?

It is such a twisted drama, it was a wonder why I wasn’t so engulfed by this before. It feels as a proof that there is such a thing as the right timing when it comes to books.

The passionate love of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff mirrors the powerful moods of the Yorkshire moors.

Erin Darlyn

I went into this book knowing that it is not a love story, that people either love it or hate it, and that the characters would all be despicable. 

I hated it. It was not in the slightest a pleasurable reading experience and it felt like such a drudgery to keep turning pages. 

The story did not draw me in and I did not like the writing style at all (not for a lack of appreciation for classics, because I am very much enjoying reading classics now as an adult; but I truly cannot understand why the people who love this book praise its writing style so much). 

Every character is unlikeable, which I expected, but I also felt that the characters lacked depth and that their mental illnesses, evils, and overall character “arcs” were ill portrayed. 

As for the descriptions of the moors, which seem to be an aspect of the book that some readers find especially awe-inspiring, “I could never see anything extraordinary in them.” 

I shan’t be recommending it to anyone else.

dnf cuz i'm bored but i've read a bit more than half of it so im gonna log it sorry

Catherin Earnshaw's passionate declaration is the focus of a novel in which relations between men and women have never been more powerfully depicted. When young Heathcliff comes to live at Wuthering Heights he forms an intense bond with Catherine, who loves him but cannot tame his rought and uncouth ways. When she seems to spurn him, Heathcliff plans a terrible revenge on Edgar Linton, the man who has usurpted him, and on everyone connected with Linton. Only through the next generation can the promise of redemption be encatcted.

Emily Bronte's extraordinary novel has a haunting intensity forever linked with the grave-defying passion of Catherine and Heathcliff. Its ingenious strucuture, vivid evocation of landscape, and startling depction of men and women at their most depraved and exalted, have given it a unique place in English literature. This edition explores the novel's many interpretations and reproduces the authoritative Clarendon text.
(back cover)

désirée

had to listen to kate bush's wuthering heights because my chest physically fucking hurts

As darkness falls, a man caught in a snowstorm is forced to shelter at the strange, grim house Wuthering Heights. There he will come to learn about Cathy: how she was forced to choose between her well-meaning husband and dangerous Heathcliff, whom she had loved since she was young. And how her choice led to betrayal and terrible revenge.

Vintage Classics Bronte Series

emily brontë looked camp right in the eye

alice

In nineteenth-century Yorkshire, the passionate attachment between a headstrong young girl and a foundling boy brought up by her father causes disaster for them and many others, even in the next generation.

alice browne

so much good! surrounded by so much average!

Degrassi: Next Generation but during the 18th century.

La’Guyia

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics.

‘Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil?’

Set on the bleak moors of Yorkshire, Lockwood is forced to seek shelter at Wuthering Heights, the home of his new landlord, Heathcliff. The intense and wildly passionate Heathcliff tells the story of his life, his all-consuming love for Catherine Earnshaw and the doomed outcome of that relationship, leading to his revenge.

Poetic, complex and grand in its scope, Emily Brontë's masterpiece is considered one of the most unique gothic novels of its time.
Source: https://www.harpercollins.ca/9780007350810/wuthering-heights-collins-classics/#

Kath

𝐈𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 - 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐌𝐲 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

This novel is angsty. It's melodramatic. It should be the literal definition of 𝖊𝖒𝖔 in the dictionary. 

this-isnot-a-lovestory.com

Wuthering Heights is not a romance — unless you want to read it with that particular lens, then you'd grow heartless everytime you flip a page. It started as a narrative of desire and longing and as the story went on, these two themes were left behind and were estranged.

At first, I thought of this as a tale of revenge. But as I read on, I realized that I was very wrong: vengeance was only an element and not the tale itself. The Earnshaws, the Lintons, and the Heathcliffs are skeletons of human frailty and suffering imposed on one's self. They show us how the choices that we make — from how we have derived these decisions to the outcome of our resolves — create ripples. They remind us that a single action, even as small as a seed, can impact the lives of those who are yet to be born. And yet, Wuthering Heights isn't about mindfulness. It isn't about calculating the words from our lips or the gestures from our hands for posterity— it is about how we accept the extent of how we can shape our own destinies - of how we can change the track of our lives, or to at least try.

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 - 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔." - 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏
—
some tea
• i didn't like volume one at all! 🤣
• but fortunately, the second generation came through and i became hooked!
• i think it is a wonderful representation of how we get to learn stories of other people's lives and that is through gossiping 🤣 which was definitely how this story was narrated
• the character that i liked the most is Hareton; the least is Joseph because I DID NOT UNDERSTAND A SINGLE WORD HE SAID!!! 🤡
• if catherine and heathcliff wrote emo songs and formed a band instead in the early 2000s, i think people would've loved them more

Claudia Sinclair.

❝ The thing that irks me most is this shattered prison, after all. I’m tired of being enclosed here. I’m wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it. ❞
I was genuinely astonished to find out that this book was a Goth, in fact; I had assumed it would be a standard work of historical fiction. This novel is a complete tragedy but in a wonderful, fun way. I liked reading about people battling, perishing, and running around threatening to kill each other. I can readily relate to everything in this book because of the characters’ powerful human feelings, which contrast with the serene greyness of their surroundings. This reduces distractions and heightens the intensity. I really like that this book wasn’t just about the romantic relationship between two people; it also included family ties, relationships with individuals they love and hate, relationships with those who look out for them, and relationships with those with whom they share an unbreakable bond—whether or not they want it.

Betty

Katie

isa/bella

i had this copy-pasted in my notes about this book (probably from another's review): "it's about the level of passion, the size of the grand romantic gesture; devoting your life to destroying the people who kept you from your true love is an amazingly grand gesture"

Amanda Jones

Wuthering Heights is a victorian classic that is unlike the rest. Almost everything about it is different compared to a normal victorian classic. For the first 5 chapters i was super confused on what was happening but soon it clicked. This novel is definitely for readers who can appreciate unlikeable characters; readers who don’t have to like someone to achieve an understanding of them. Emily Brontë didn’t create the characters to be liked or for them to earn forgiveness. This dark novel deals with complicated people who have all gone through a lot. The ending that is written gives the possibility of peace and happiness to the characters in a way! overall this novel won’t be for everyone but i really enjoyed it.
~
“We must be for ourselves in the long run; the mild and generous are only more justly selfish than the domineering.”

That Nelly Dean had a good memory didn't she

I think the song hyped me up way too much for this one.

Counter Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, the year before the author's death at the age of thirty, endures today as perhaps the most powerful and intensely original novel in the English language. The epic story of Catherine and Heathcliff plays out against the dramatic backdrop of the wild English moors, and presents an astonishing metaphysical vision of fate and obsession, passion and revenge. "Only Emily Brontë," V. S. Pritchett said, "exposes her imagination to the dark spirit." And Virginia Woolf wrote, "Hers...is the rarest of all powers. She could free life from its dependence on facts...by speaking of the moor make the wind blow and the thunder roar." This edition also includes Charlotte Brontë's original Introduction.

Laura Mauler

Every character is horribly selfish and cruel, and I found the whole book extremely irritating. The only reason I stuck it out was because my coworkers love it and I wanted to try to love it for their sakes. 

**********UPDATE********

Saw this article and it perfectly captures the essence of Wuthering Heights. Specifically, it's the first paragraph which is perfection, and I'll copy it here in case the link ever dies:

"Wuthering Heights is the story of a group of people who eat the most miserable meals imaginable, and cannot experience love as a result. Sometimes they have tea, but more often they are merely offered it, and decide they are too furious to have tea, and die instead. Here is every meal the characters of Wuthering Heights almost eat before being interrupted by sex-rage and dying." -Mallory Ortberg, The Toast

Alla är outhärdliga men jag älskar den ändå

Wilma Christensen

The fact this book seems to be intentionally centred around insufferable characters made it all the more impossible to read. 

Robyn Claridge

Hannah Yang

I have very mixed feelings about this classic. 

On one hand, I can appreciate what Emily May says in her (great) review about the appropriately wild setting and the rawness/honesty of the book. I definitely found Wuthering Heights interesting to read in that it was different from all of the books I've ever read before: in characters, in plot, and in setting. I did like how it was positioned as a love story for Catherine and Heathcliff, making (Edgar) Linton a 'villain' despite his being perhaps the most reasonable person in the story. That was interesting. I also liked the parallels between Catherine/Linton/Heathcliff and Catherine/Linton/Hareton. 

And I understand that the characters are not made to be likeable. However, I couldn't understand, relate to, sympathize or empathize with, or interact in any meaningful way with the characters Wuthering Heights. One reason for this could have been the way the story was told. I think if Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean were removed from the picture, this could have been a much better paced and more interesting novel. I would have liked to see more of the inner turmoil of characters such as the older Catherine and Heathcliff, which of course could not have been accessible by Nelly Dean's storytelling. I think that if I had the chance to read more of the characters' thoughts, I would have been able to relate to and understand each character more (though I doubt I would have liked them more).

The plot itself is... interesting enough? I was curious enough about the story to want to continue reading. However, I wish I felt like I got more out of this. With other classics, such as The Count of Monte Cristo, there were moments in the story where I had to sit back and think "Oh." (These moments don't have to be applicable to real life, but they still provoke thoughts about people and life and society and whatnot!) With Wuthering Heights, I'm not sure what insight I gleaned from the story. Perhaps Heathcliff shows that nurture is far more important than nature? That people are cruel to each other not necessarily out of hatred but out of desperation, circumstance, lack of self worth..? Catherine the first shows that money and stability cannot always make people happy, or maybe that conforming to societal standards when they conflict with your values and person will be miserable?

I don't know! I'm confused! I felt like this took too long to get through and I wasn't particularly interested in it but I still enjoyed it! Maybe if I read it again in ten years I'll have a clearer opinion.

Wuthering Heights

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