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Wuthering
Heights
by Emily Bronte
The Setting - Yorkshire, England
The Setting, cont.
Wuthering Heights is set in
three locations:
• Wuthering Heights
• Thrushcross Grange
• The Yorkshire Moors
Wuthering Heights
A story of two Households…
Thrushcross Grange
Thrushcross Grange and the Moors
Gimmerton Valley near
Thrushcross Park
Looking from the
Valley toward the
Moors
Wuthering Heights
Framework Story
• Wuthering Heights is highly praised for the unique narrative
technique Emily Bronte used to execute the novel, often
referred to as a “frame narrative.”
• The two main narrators are Lockwood and Nelly Dean, but
other narrators arise throughout the novel when Nelly quotes
what other characters have told her.
• The frame narrative form of the novel adds complexity for the
reader. Lockwood is the outer layer and Nelly the inner layer.
• Since the story passes through layers, the reader must
question the reliability of all that he or she reads.
– Example: Nelly glosses over events to minimize her own guilt.
– Example: Lockwood is naïve and lacks good judgment.
Novel Structure
• Wuthering Heights is told in medias res (Latin
for "into the middle of things”). It usually
describes a narrative that begins, not at the
beginning of a story, but somewhere in the
middle — usually at some crucial point in the
action. The purpose in Wuthering Heights is
to add a sense of mystery.
Industrial Revolution and Social Class
• Wuthering Heights was written in 1847, which
was a time when Capitalism and the Industrial
Revolution were the dominant forces of the
British economy and society. It was a time of
rapid, often confusing, change that led to
violence. As a result of the changing
economy, the traditional relationships
between classes and the social structure
began to change.
Industrial, cont.
While wealth had traditionally been measured by land
ownership, the eighteenth century had begun a trend
toward a cash-based economy.
This created a middle class who were more economically
powerful than its landowning superiors (gentry).
The power of yeomen, or the respectable farming class,
as well as the traditional power-holding gentry was
challenged by the newly wealthy capitalists.
Social Changes...
Each of these classes is represented in the novel
by various characters.
• Hareton is a member of the respectable
farming class
• the Lintons are members of the gentry
• Heathcliff makes his fortune (somewhat
mysteriously) as a capitalist
Women’s Rights…
During this time period women’s
rights were changing.
Why this is relevant:
• Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights during the
beginning of the women’s rights movement in
England.
• The primary concerns of the movement were the
lack of women’s right to vote and the lack of
married women’s property rights. The latter issue
arises in Wuthering Heights.
Romanticism, the Gothic novel, and
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights contains elements of Romanticism and the
Gothic novel.
Romantic elements:
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nature as a powerful spiritual force
descriptions of the countryside
elevated emotional levels and passion
a desire to rise above the limitations of ordinary human existence
a strong interest in death
a portrayal of opposites – escape and pursuit, life and death
isolation, both emotional and geographical
elements of the supernatural
The Gothic novel
Elements of the Gothic novel
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a castle, sometimes ruined or haunted
sinister, ruined buildings
extreme landscape and weather
death and madness
omens
ancestral curses
terrifying events
taboo and sensational topics
a suggestion of the supernatural
a villain or villain-hero (Byronic hero) driven by passion
a heroine wooed by both a good and a dangerous suitor
revenge
Byronic Hero
Heathcliff is regarded as a classic Byronic hero. The Byronic hero
was defined by Lord Byron’s epic narrative poem , Childe
Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812.
Elements of the Byronic hero:
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a distaste for social institutions and social norms
conflicting emotions or moodiness
high levels of intelligence and cunning
self-criticism
mysterious origins and a troubled past
self-destructive tendencies
a loner, rejected from society
Keep In Mind…
• Keep track of dates and how the story progresses.
• Keep track of who is speaking. This will help you
keep your reading organized.
• Keep track of whether or not the story is flashback
mode or not.
• It is not necessary to understand all of Joseph’s
dialogue, but you need to keep in mind his
characterization and the meaning behind what he
says.