Wuthering Heights

1. Wuthering Heights “He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same” ~Cathy

2. Meet Emily Bronte • Born in 1818 in Yorkshire, England • Father- Patrick Bronte, a Cambridge-educated clergyman • Appointed to a church in Haworth, a remote village in Yorkshire • Mother – Maria Branwell Bronte • Died of cancer

3. Mr. Bronte sent his eldest daughters (Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte, and Emily) to boarding school • - Girls were frequently cold & undernourished • - Maria and Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis • Later sent home and died Emily Grows Up • Mr. Bronte sent his eldest daughters • (Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte, and Emily) • to boarding school - Girls were frequently cold & undernourished - Maria and Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis • Later sent home and died • Inspiration for the boarding school in Charlotte’s novel Jane Eyre

4. Haworth: the Brontes’ Home • Relatively isolated community • Children entertained themselves and created their own stories • They create their own fictitious world using toy soldiers

5. The Brontes Leave Home • 1830- Bronte children left home for study and work • Branwell became a self-destructive alcoholic • Emily pined for the moors • Charlotte fell in love with a married man • Anne was fired from her job as a governess • Mid 1840s-Bronte children moved back to Haworth parsonage

6. Pen Names • To protect their privacy and conceal that they were women, the girls published under pseudonyms • Currer (Charlotte), Ellis (Emily), and Acton (Anne) Bell

7. Successful Sisters • Charlotte published Jane Eyre in 1847 • Emily published Wuthering Heights in 1847

8. Literary Success? • When Wuthering Heights was published in 1847, critics called it “a disagreeable story.” • In 2007, a first edition of the novel sold for over $150,000.

9. Tragic Ending • 1848- Branwell dies of tuberculosis • Emily catches cold at his funeral and becomes ill with tuberculosis – she dies on December 15, 1848

10. Historical Background • Emily Bronte grew up during the Age of Romanticism • Romanticism was a reaction against the emphasis on reason and intellect of the 18th century.

11. Differences Between Age of Reason and the Age of Romanticism Age of Reason Age of Romanticism Stressed the importance of feeling rather than thinking Creepy irregularities of Gothic revival Poetry was lyrical and passionate Romanticism brought emphasis on emotions Humans could be vicious and perverse Focused on rural settings and lives of simplicity • Reason and intellect • Classic, symmetrical Georgian architecture • Poetry is very ordered and followed strict rules • Reason brought progress (industrialization) and ordered cities • City life was superior

12. Byronic Hero: Romantic “Bad Boy” • “A man proud, moody, cynical with defiance on his brow & misery in his heart, a scorner of his kind, implacable in revenge, yet capable of deep & strong affection.”

13. Byronic Hero: Romantic “Bad Boy” • George Gordon, Lord Byron • Gave his name to his devastatingly attractive, yet fatally flawed man.

14. Byronic Heroes Were… • Passionate, yet flawed individualists • Intellectually searching • Incapable of compromise • Brooding over mysterious past sins • Painfully, yet defiantly alone

15. Byronic Heroes in Film • James Dean – Rebel Without a Cause (1955) • Marlon Brando – • The Wild One (1954)

16. Byronic Heroes from Literature Tristan - Legends of the Fall (Brad Pitt) Mr. Darcy – Pride and Prejudice

17. Byronic Heroes from Literature Heathcliff -Wuthering Heights Edward Cullen - Twilight series

18. Cast of Characters

19. Cast of Characters: Heathcliff • Dark- featured gypsy foundling brought to live at Wuthering Heights by old Mr. Earnshaw (father or Hindley & Catherine) • Mr. Earnshaw prefers Heathcliff over his own son – leads to tragic consequences • An assault on Heathcliff’s dignity at the hands of the jealous Hindley and the loss of his true love Catherine (his adoptive sister) drive him to plan vengeance that dominates his life and his relationships.

20. Catherine Earnshaw • Wild, passionate beauty who roams the moors with Heathcliff as a child • Considers him her soulmate • Yet, she marries another man for his wealth and social position • Her death will haunt the two men who love her

21. Edgar Linton • Pampered, somewhat spoiled son of the owner of Thrushcross Grange • Polite, educated, refined young man • Civilizing influence on his wife, and later, daughter • Cannot satisfy his wife’s need for dramatically expressed passion that goes beyond the boundaries of reason

22. HaretonEarnshaw • First seen as a loving & lovable little boy, the son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw • Innocent Pawn used by Heathcliff to wreak revenge on his adoptive brother Hindley • Grows up to be big & strong, with a bad temper and a foul mouth • Is deliberately taught by Heathcliff to treat people cruelly, but nevertheless retains the capacity for love and devotion • Defends Heathcliff loyally

23. Isabella Linton • Pale, immature younger sister of Edgar • Disowned by him after she elopes with Heathcliff, who sees her as an instrument of revenge

24. HindleyEarnshaw • Lives life scarred by loss • Losses his father’s favor to Heathcliff- results in destructive jealousy • Losses wife Frances-sets him on a path of gambling and excessive drinking • Ultimately loses his son and Wuthering Heights to his enemy - Heathcliff

25. Catherine Linton • Known as Cathy • Catherine and Edgar Linton’s daughter • Inherits her mother’s beauty and vivacious spirit and her father’s generous nature • Falls prey to Heathcliff’s revenge, but is strong enough to overcome it

26. Linton Heathcliff • Pale, sickly son of Isabella and Heathcliff • Becomes an instrument of his father’s revenge

27. Nelly Dean • Servant whose mother also worked at Wuthering Heights • Playmate of Catherine and Hindley • Witnessed Heathcliff’s arrival • Confidante to Catherine, Heathcliff, and Cathy • Narrator of their story

28. Theme: Conflict Between Good and Evil • Evils depicted in the novel are greed, vengefulness, selfishness, and the failure to forgive • Characters who display evil thoughts & behavior are eventually punished • At first, it may seem that some characters are good (Edgar) and other characters are bad (Heathcliff). Events suggest there is good and evil in everyone. • Good eventually triumphs over evil

29. Theme: The Nature of Love • Different, conflicting definitions of love • Love is depicted as primarily spiritual rather than physical • Love at Thrushcross Grange – tender affection that seeks to protect the beloved from harm (could be seen as lukewarm, coming from the head, not the heart) • Love at Wuthering Heights – passionate search for total unity, no matter what it costs the lover or the beloved. • The happiest love is a blend of the two extremes • The greatest unhappiness comes form failing to love, or withholding total commitment to love.

30. Theme: The Darkness of the Human Soul • In every human, there is a hard core of darkness and violence. • Because this darkness is a universal condition of human nature, it can never be truly overcome, only limited or restrained. • The darkness of human nature is related to the emotion and stands in contrast to the light of reason. • The darkness of the human soul may turn outward, causing pain and sorrow to others. • At the same time, it causes as much or more suffering within.

31. Theme: Civilization Versus Primal Passion • The human animal is part of the natural environment, & human nature is as wild, mysterious, & uncontrollable as physical nature. • Natural tendency to humankind is to be passionate, even to the point of self-destruction • Civilization = destructive aspects of human nature can be controlled • Civilization’s calm pleasures (reading and listening to music) strengthen good in human nature and restrain evil impulses of violence and destruction • To reap the benefits of civilization, humans pay the price of repressing their emotions and ignoring, or underestimating, their power.

32. Setting • Wild and windy moors of northern Yorkshire • The power of the natural setting has an effect on its inhabitants • Moor= hostile environment, but has dramatic beauty • Open, bare, and rolling expanse of land • Left to grow wild • Dangerous expanse of land • Contains dangerous bogs/swamps in areas

33. Scenes from the Moors “In winter nothing more dreary, in summer nothing more divine, than those glens shut in by hills and those bluff, bold swells of heath”

34. Contrasting Settings Thrushcross Grange Wuthering Heights Top of the hill, exposed to the full brunt of the weather, almost a part of the inhospitable landscape All darkness and gloom • Lies in a protected valley and is encircled by a high stone wall (oasis of civilization) • All light and luxury • Rich colors and sparkle • Filled with music, books, and beautiful things • Inhabitants offer hospitality to the point of self-sacrifice

35. Point of View • 1st person narrative- Novel begins and ends with Mr. Lockwood’s narrative • Inside of this story, Nelly Dean tells the story of Catherine and Heathcliff

36. Structure of the Novel • Part 1: First half of the story deals with Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, and Edgar Linton • Ends with Catherine’s death on the night her daughter was born • Part 2: Focuses on the children of Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar Linton. • Also tells the story of Catherine Linton, Linton Heathcliff, and HaretonEarnshaw

37. Literary Devices • Diction – Choice of words • Lyrical style, simple diction which provides strong expression of feeling as clearly and directly as the language allows • Imagery – Using language to represent actions, person, subjects, and ideas descriptively. • Images of heaven / Images of hell • Dialect- Language of a particular district, class, or group of persons. • Joseph (servant at WH) – Yorkshire dialect • Reinforces the authenticity of the setting

38. Symbols • The Moors – twin faces of the natural world that are echoed in human nature: great beauty and equally great harshness • Also represent freedom – characters leave the comfort of their dwellings and venture to the moors • They may get lost, soaked with rain, or stranded by a storm; yet they still long for the freedom of the moors. • Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights – These two houses & their inhabitants symbolize complex relationships between light/dark, good/evil, civilization/the primal nature of humankind.