Okay this book is kind of confusing. One thing however I have seemed to pick up was the "immeadiate interest"(17) that Lockwood has in Catherine. She however is seems very cold. Lockwood does make a couple assumptions about her that are quickly corrected by Heathcliff and finds out she is the widow of Heathcliff's son. But what really made me notice this interest was when he asked his servant Nelly about the "pretty girl widow"(29). I predict that this is probably the romance that will develop in the novel. And Catherine's cold nature may complicate things a bit.
I somewhat want to kind of change my opinion on the romance that may be the focus of the story. Cathering and Heathcliff seemed to have developed a closer bond then brother and sister. This is most noticiable when they spy on the Linton family and they get caught. Heathcliff sat under the window sill for "hours" to make sure that no one harmed her. He refused to "leave without her". Then when Catherine returns from the Lintons the first person she asks for is Heathcliff. While she was away Hindley had been so mean to him, that he basically let himself go. When she sees Heathcliff shes shock at his "dirty boy" apperance and he is hurt at how she laughs at him. Even though it is not a real laugh. They both "cried" when they realized that things had changed between them. Also Heathcliff also decides that once Catherine is back he wants to be a "good clean boy". This is the first time that Heathcliff shows a reason to be civil and clean. This love they have between them is so obvious. However it would most likely be forgiven becasue they have been brought up like brother and sister. Also Heathcliff would not actually inherit any money so he is going to be poor. Particualrly be Hindley is so mean to him. I think that Heathcliff is so bitter becasue most likely Catherine is going to break his heart.
I agree with Annie saying that the book is pretty confusing, but I was able to find some symbolism. The weather in this story is very cold and gloomy the whole time that Lockwood is at Wuthering Heights. This weather reflects on how the people on the property are treating him. Heathcliff leaves him alone in the room with dogs, Heathcliff's daughter-in-law refuses to share any conversation with him, and no one will give him directions back to Thrushcross Grange while it is blizzarding outside.
I also found a connection to Jane Eyre where the ghost comes into Lockwoods room as he is sleeping. This meeting is more on the violent side. I was wondering what everyone thought about the reasons that this ghost was trying to come in Lockwood's room.
I think that the bond that they share is very much in the romantic sense than in the brother and sister bond. I think that he developed a love for her when she was the only person in his "new family" to accept and love him. I also think that the feelings that Heathcliff had for Catherine were dwindling down until he sees her again and she calls him "dirty" in comparison to the Liston boys that she was used to. He acts if he was not mad, but then makes sure that he is dressed up in his nicest outfit when he sees her again.
I think this relationship can be seen as taboo because they were raised as brother and sister, but I feel like their relationship is on a higher level. Since Heathcliff would not inherit any of the money like Annie mentioned, that makes him bitter because rich Catherine would never be able to go for poor Heathcliff because of the social differences that are very important to these types of people.
To comment on the weather. Anytime Bronte puts weather into the story it is raining. There is even a thunder storm the night Heathcliff leaves, that is so "violent" that it "knocked off a portion of the east chimmney." This was a symbol of the anger and hurt Heathcliff must have felt upon hearing that Catherine say it would "degrade" her to marry him.
The ghost part of the story really confused me. I thought maybe it was the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw. I have seen many similarities bewtween Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
Another thing that I was thinking about was the narration of Wuthering Heights. I know that its a third person narration over what Lockwood has read in the diary and learned for Nelly. Is the narrator as trustworthy as he wants to seem to the audience? Heathcliff is described sarcastically as someone in high status with a house full of servants but in reality, he is rough and cold and has a house full of dogs. It makes the audience wonder if he was being sarcastic and exaggerating about any other points in the book. What does everyone else think? Can Lockwood be completetly trusted even though he does not seem like an unbiased narrator since he is also listening to Nelly who may have had an opinion on some of the events?
I would have to agree that it does rain quite a bit but I want to question that rain. In How to Read Lit. it says that rain can purify but that does not seem to be the case. While I'm not sure if I agree that the weather/rain, "reflects on how the people on the property are treating" Lockwood, I can't help put think that it does have to do with the characters attitudes toward one another. So rain is usually used to represent rebirth or as a restorative but perhap in this case, rain or even the snow storm from the beginning of the sotry pushes the characters together. After all, Lockwood finds out a bit about the night he spends at Wuthering Heights. I guess it's like Foster says in How to Read Lit., "It's never just rain".
To respond to steph113 asking, "what everyone thought about the reasons that this ghost was trying to come in Lockwood's room", I think that it may have simply been a continuation of Lockwood's dreaming. Before going to sleep he reads the diary so it seems likely that he was dreaming of Catherine. Although it is confusing because there are three Catherines and when he asks the ghost "who are you?" Lockwood hears the reply "Catherine Linton". He then goes on to think, "why did I think of Linton? I had read Earnshaw twenty times for Linton"(22), which leads me to think that he is in fact dreaming the whole thing.
I think the reason the ghost was there, dream or not, is that it is part of Heathcliff's past, as he calls for the ghost to, "come in!.. Cathy, do come. Oh do-once more! Oh! my heart's darling! hear me this time, Catherine, at last!" (25), and as a part of his past it may become an important to the story as Lockwood gets to know those at Wuthering Heights better.
In regards to my previous post, it has now become clear as to why the ghost of Catherine was trying to get through the window the night Lockwood stayed at Wuthering Heights. In chapter XII (snow day got me in a reading mood so I read ahead a bit)Catherine becomes sick after her fight with Heathcliff. When she asks Nelly to open the window she refuses saying, "I won't give you your death of cold" (115). However, Catherine rushes to the window and flings it open, thinking she can see Wuthering Heights, she says, "Heathcliff, if I dare you now, will you venture? Pf you do, I'll keep you. I'll not lie there by myself: they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but I won't rest till you are with me. I never will" (116). That is why her ghost was at the window that night at the start of the book, she was coming for Heathcliff. She swore she would not rest until he was with her.
On another note I wanted to ask why Bronte uses two narrators, Lockwood and Nelly, when telling the story. It seems that by having Nelly narrate the past portions of the story the reader gets a better sense of what when on in that time, while having Lockwood narrate shows an outsiders point of view in regards to Heathcliff and the past of Wuthering Heights. It is obvious by now that while Lockwood is a character of the story his importance is that of being a narrator, that is his purpose in the book. Much like the character Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby who is most important as a narrator as he divulges what occurs thoughout the book.
To answer Steph’s question “Can Lockwood be completely trusted even though he does not seem like an unbiased narrator since he is also listening to Nelly who may have had an opinion on some of the events?” I believe that he can not be trusted, you must read between the line of whatever he says in order to understand the events.
The narration is one of the most important aspects of the novel because nothing in the novel is ever simply from the view of just one character. The story needs both second- and third- hand narration in order to establish the complexity of the relationships between the characters.
Reading into the book, I was able to answer the questions I had on the last time I posted. We were wondering about the ghost and what it meant. We find out the Catherine is freaking out and thinking she is going to die. She forces the window open and thinks she can see Wuthering Heights. She says that her soul won't rest til she is with Heathcliff and I'm guessing that ghost getting in the window is Catherine trying to be with Heathcliff.
Another thing I found interesting is that Heathcliff elopes with Isabella knowing that he can't be with Catherine. We find out that he blames Edgar for Catherine's illness but can only punish Isabella for it. I was wondering if Heathcliff feels guilty that Catherine got sick and that he couldn't be there for her..? What do you guys think?
To steph113's question,, "if Heathcliff feels guilty that Catherine got sick and that he couldn't be there for her..?", I think that he may feel guilty but he is so entangled in his thoughts of revenge that he uses that guilt to exact his revenge on Edgar by marrying his sister and being cruel to her. His acts of revenge seem to have caused his miserable situation at the start of the book, the loneliness and bitterness, when we are first introduced to the characters.
When I was reading, I found in interesting but also predictable that Heathcliff still loved Catherine after she had betrayed him. I found it surprising that he did not completely forgive Catherine because she was murdering herself with what she did and he could not forgive the person who was murdering her. I also saw how Heathcliff resorted back to his youth when he waited in the garden to make sure Catherine was okay, which is similar to when he sat outside Catherine's window when she was hurt.
I also was wondering if Heathcliff was waiting until Catherine was gone before he acted on his plan to kill Hindley? Since he now longer had to protect Catherine and make sure he still looked good in his eyes, was that a warrant for him to go after Hindley and do what he had wanted to his whole life?
Since our group is about "overcoming affliction", I wanted to pose the question of whether Catherine overcame her afflictions?
After becoming ill and not fully recovering Catherine had become miserable. When Heathcliff comes to see her in chapter XV, Catherine says, "I'm tired, 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", expressing her want to break free from her afflictions. When she adresses Nelly and says, "you are sorry for me-very soon that will be altered. I shall be incomparably beyond and above you all" (147). Nowing that she's dying, is Catherine saying that, by dying (she expires within the first paragraph of the next chapter) she is overcoming her afflictions while the others, mostly Heathcliff, must stay and suffer as Heathcliff says a, "future-death and hell" (137)?
I think that since the genre of this novel is overcoming obstacles, then Catherine and Heathcliff both must do so since the story revolves around both of them. I agree with courtney when she says that Catherine will be overcoming her afflictions with dying and escaping her illness. I think that Heathcliff must also be escaping his afflictions. I think that it will come at the end of the book when he escapes his troublesome past completely. I would want to think that Catherine and Heathcliff will be together at the end of the book, but I just think that they will escape their problems on their own and go their seperate ways.
Heathcliff is starting to kind of get on my nerves.
He elopes with Isabella, and leaves Catherine ill. I understand that he is bitter for Cathering choosing Edgar obviously and his elope is clearly a revengeful move however I dont understand, why he is going to ruin Isabella's life and lead her on. He doesnt love her and he is not a nice man. What is his motive, aside from making Catherine jealous. there was a quote from the begginng of the book that says "pride only breeds sorrows". this quote i belive directly aims at Heathcliff in this part of the book, beacsue he has eloped to instead of staying around and waiting for Catherine.
SO throughout this book, Hindley has not changed at all. He grew up a sneaky sly child, and now he plots to kill Heathcliff and take his fortune. Once again his jealousy shows through, just like when Heathcliff was originally brought back to the house when he was only a child. Now he wants to murder him.
Catherine, i don't think is overcoming any affliction at all. Her sickness is a reflection of her "behavoir". Instead of fighting this she is willingly excepting the fact that she chose Edgar over Heathcliff. I think that this is selfish of her. This makes me like Heathcliff even more beacsue he has suffered so much. First he was deserted by Catherine, now she is dying on him and he is left to live without her for the rest of his life.
I think that by Nelly givng the letter to Catherine, that she does have a soft spot for Heathcliff. i know that he bascially threatedned her but i belive thatt he could have found a way around it .
I want to comment on the birth of Catherine's baby. I want to make predictions and say that Heathcliff may fall inlvoe with the child. I was wondering if anyone thought that she might be a symbol of Cahterine's peace offering for breaking Heathcliff's heart. As Cahterine leaves she leaves the baby behind and she is premature, which seems as though this shows that Catherine wasn't going to let Heathcliff live on the earth without atleast a piece of her.
I still beleive that Heathcliff is the sole overcoming character in this book. and i would like to take back that he was annoying me, becasue now i understand that he can be as mean as he wants, beacsue he is completely broken hearted.
In all of Heathcliff's revenge, he has created the same situation that was brought upon him as a child. He was despised by Hindley and is determined to treat Hareton just as cruelly, telling him, "Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it!" (171-172). Bronte utilizes the trees to represent both Heathcliff and Hareton and the twisting wind as the cruelty forced upon them. Heathcliff is saying he that he will subject Hareton to the same treatment he faced simply to exact his revenge on the already dead Hindley.
Heathcliff has become so obsessed with revenge that he has entered a viscious circle of repetition, he is acting the same if not worse than Hindley was to him. Though he is now rich and in charge, he is no better for it. It seems that overcoming the afflictions set by Hindley, or perhaps the way Heathcliff goes about doing it, leaves him and those around him worse off.
So the end of Wuthering Heights is near, depending on how far you've read at this point. Anyways, on to blogging...
In my previous post (the one above this one) I mentioned when Heathcliff told Hareton, "Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it!" (171-172). I mentioned how the trees represented both him and Hareton and the wind was the cruelty placed upon them. While reading chapter XXII I noticed a passage that seemed connected to the one from my previous comment. While Nelly is out walking with Catherine she notices, "hazels and stunted oaks, with their roots half exposed, held uncertain tenure: the soil was too loose for the latter; and strong winds had blown some nearly horizontal" (211). This passage seems to show that Heathcliff kept his word and not only twisted and mangled Hareton's life but the lives of the others as well. To continue this, Nelly sees a flower in the roots of the tree and calls to Catherine saying, "Winter is not here yet. There's a little flower, up yonder, the last bud from the multitude of blue-bells that clouded those turf steps in July with a lilac mist. Will you clamber up, and pluck it to show papa?" (211). Bronte uses this last flower to symbolize the last chance of happiness left of what once was an abundance, before "winter", presumably Heathcliff's evil doing. It is worrisome that Catherine replies with a "no" and continues on.
To answer your question Courtney, I'd like to say that i think your right. To go along with that i thnk that it is obvious that we can compare Hareton to Heathcliff and young Catherine to her mother. Heathcliff has turned Hareton into a miserable soul just like him. This was evident earlier in the book when Nelly had rocks thrown at her and swore at by him. Young Catherine seems to have the same energy in her as her mother. It isn't exactly a full out rebellion but hint of her own independence. The real similarities between these parallels is te relationships. Right away Young Catherine is fond of him. Her bitterness about the flower shows how she is not happy about having to leave hareton, and resents her father for not being able to to mention to him about her meeting and new friendship with him. Which obviously means she is unsure when they will be seeing each other again. I also think that the refusing of the flower foreshadows that young Catherine may casue trouble in the future.
I have most likely mentioned it before but one of the biggest themes for this book seems to be repetition. Hindley was cruel to Heathcliff, then Heathcliff was to Hareton. Heathcliff and Catherine were friends, grew apart and fell in love, so do young Catherine and Hareton. Like Catherine, Heathcliff becomes "ill" and delusional and then dies. The only difference seems to be that Catherine and Hareton got married and had a happy ending. They seem to have broken the circle that Heathcliff created when he first sought revenge.
(Side Note:This kind of reminds me of Mrs. Dalloway and the repetition of time).
Though Catherine and Hareton got their happy ending, I want to know if you guys thought that, by dying and being laid to rest next to Catherine, Heathcliff finally received happiness as well?
Something I found to be interesting was that Heathcliff won't give up on his love for Catherine, even after she has died. Catherine said earlier that she could not be content unless she was with Heathcliff, and many years later, he tells that he still loves Catherine and will not be happy until he is dead and buried beside her.
Something that I wanted to point out was how Heathcliff does not treat young Catherine as well as he treated his beloved Catherine. I was thinking that the reason he does that is because that young Catherine symbolizes an ending of the love between himself and Catherine. What do you guys think?
To continue on the theme of paralelling, I would like to add the incident between Hareton, Catherine and Linton. Hareton is upset becsue Catherine called him a "dunce" (229). He then goes and Harasses Linton and bullies him. "He swore" (230) and threw Linton in to the kitchen. After scaring them enough into leaving, Hareton tries to apologize but Cathering won't hear it. This is exactly like the time when Catherine had come back from the Linton's and it was Christmas and Heathcliff attacked Edgar. The circles that this book run in are never-ending. The cycle of behavoir from one genreation is the same. All of these three young characters represent an older one and in the same manner.
I do somewhat agree with courtney about Hareton and Catherine being together finally. I think that he saw himself and Catherine in the two young children, and although he would never come out and say it i do belive that he was satisfied. As being laid next to Catherine that to showed that in the end they truly did belong together and that they finally were laid to rest with the right person. Instead of living in a denial. They laid dead together.
To go with Courtney's blog, I think that Heathcliff and Catherine will finally experience their happiness when they both die. Heathcliff, as we said plenty of times, was a bitter person. I think that him dying was a way to escape the world where he could not get what he wanted (love with Catherine.)I think that the is the only way that these two people could leave their past mistakes of missing out on all the opportunities they had to love each other. I feel like once they are both dead they are away from all of the people that got in the way of their love.
Lastly, like I said in my last blog, Catherine and Heathcliff have both said during one part of the book that they will not be content until they are together and death will make them happy.
So I guess that's how they overcame their obstacles? by dying?
I must say that I don't think that Catherine and Heathcliff overcame anything. Heathcliff lived through it which was okay. However he was bitter and mean to people. He trained Hareton to be just like him. He made money and lived with a broken heart but he didn't become a better person for it. Catherine didn't overcome anything she just let her self die completley. She let go when she realized that no matter what she wasn't going to be with Heathcliff even know that was what was meant to be. Young Catherine and Hareton however did break the "circle" that Catherine and Heathcliff ran in. This is what makes them overcome the obstacle. Hareton was not educated and he himself like heathcliff was bitter and rude. Cathering was proper and brought up sheltered from alot of the harsh world. No one was rooting for them to be together. but they step outside the "social rules" of the time and be with each other. That sometimes is one of the hardest obstacles to over come.
Wow, I think this is the first time I'm disagreeing with someone on the blog!
I have to disagree with Annie on Catherine and Heathcliff not overcoming their afflictions. Believing that one of their main afflictions was their love and their inability to act on it, I disagreed when Annie said that, "Catherine didn't overcome anything she just let her self die completley. She let go when she realized that no matter what she wasn't going to be with Heathcliff even though that was what was meant to be". I believe that, in dying, Catherine overcame the inability to be with Heathcliff in life. The same goes for Heathcliff. After all, they ARE rejoined in the "after life".
Hey, nobody said that overcoming affliction was always the best thing to do, atleast in Heathcliff's case.
Okay well I think I'm kind of on the fence on whether Heathcliff and Catherine overcame any obstacles. In the other two stories that we read, the protagonists overcame their biggest obstacles - while they were alive, unlike Wuthering Heights where they died to overcome their stuggles.
To me, I think that Catherine and Heathcliff did overcome the problem of not being together and being able to love each other and like I said in my last blog, they needed to die to be together and happy. Annie said that Heathcliff was a bitter person and never became better but I think he did become less bitter about the love between Young Catherine and Haerton that he never got to have when he gave up on trying to keep them apart and let them create their love.
I feel like Heathcliff and Catherine did overcome obstacles but not in the way we wanted or expected.
30 Comments:
Okay this book is kind of confusing. One thing however I have seemed to pick up was the
"immeadiate interest"(17) that Lockwood has in Catherine. She however is seems very cold. Lockwood does make a couple assumptions about her that are quickly corrected by Heathcliff and finds out she is the widow of Heathcliff's son. But what really made me notice this interest was when he asked his servant Nelly about the "pretty girl widow"(29). I predict that this is probably the romance that will develop in the novel. And Catherine's cold nature may complicate things a bit.
Okay so..
I somewhat want to kind of change my opinion on the romance that may be the focus of the story. Cathering and Heathcliff seemed to have developed a closer bond then brother and sister. This is most noticiable when they spy on the Linton family and they get caught. Heathcliff sat under the window sill for "hours" to make sure that no one harmed her. He refused to "leave without her". Then when Catherine returns from the Lintons the first person she asks for is Heathcliff. While she was away Hindley had been so mean to him, that he basically let himself go. When she sees Heathcliff shes shock at his "dirty boy" apperance and he is hurt at how she laughs at him. Even though it is not a real laugh. They both "cried" when they realized that things had changed between them. Also Heathcliff also decides that once Catherine is back he wants to be a "good clean boy". This is the first time that Heathcliff shows a reason to be civil and clean. This love they have between them is so obvious. However it would most likely be forgiven becasue they have been brought up like brother and sister. Also Heathcliff would not actually inherit any money so he is going to be poor. Particualrly be Hindley is so mean to him. I think that Heathcliff is so bitter becasue most likely Catherine is going to break his heart.
I agree with Annie saying that the book is pretty confusing, but I was able to find some symbolism. The weather in this story is very cold and gloomy the whole time that Lockwood is at Wuthering Heights. This weather reflects on how the people on the property are treating him. Heathcliff leaves him alone in the room with dogs, Heathcliff's daughter-in-law refuses to share any conversation with him, and no one will give him directions back to Thrushcross Grange while it is blizzarding outside.
I also found a connection to Jane Eyre where the ghost comes into Lockwoods room as he is sleeping. This meeting is more on the violent side. I was wondering what everyone thought about the reasons that this ghost was trying to come in Lockwood's room.
I think that the bond that they share is very much in the romantic sense than in the brother and sister bond. I think that he developed a love for her when she was the only person in his "new family" to accept and love him. I also think that the feelings that Heathcliff had for Catherine were dwindling down until he sees her again and she calls him "dirty" in comparison to the Liston boys that she was used to. He acts if he was not mad, but then makes sure that he is dressed up in his nicest outfit when he sees her again.
I think this relationship can be seen as taboo because they were raised as brother and sister, but I feel like their relationship is on a higher level. Since Heathcliff would not inherit any of the money like Annie mentioned, that makes him bitter because rich Catherine would never be able to go for poor Heathcliff because of the social differences that are very important to these types of people.
To comment on the weather. Anytime Bronte puts weather into the story it is raining. There is even a thunder storm the night Heathcliff leaves, that is so "violent" that it "knocked off a portion of the east chimmney." This was a symbol of the anger and hurt Heathcliff must have felt upon hearing that Catherine say it would "degrade" her to marry him.
The ghost part of the story really confused me. I thought maybe it was the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw. I have seen many similarities bewtween Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
Another thing that I was thinking about was the narration of Wuthering Heights. I know that its a third person narration over what Lockwood has read in the diary and learned for Nelly. Is the narrator as trustworthy as he wants to seem to the audience? Heathcliff is described sarcastically as someone in high status with a house full of servants but in reality, he is rough and cold and has a house full of dogs. It makes the audience wonder if he was being sarcastic and exaggerating about any other points in the book. What does everyone else think? Can Lockwood be completetly trusted even though he does not seem like an unbiased narrator since he is also listening to Nelly who may have had an opinion on some of the events?
I would have to agree that it does rain quite a bit but I want to question that rain. In How to Read Lit. it says that rain can purify but that does not seem to be the case. While I'm not sure if I agree that the weather/rain, "reflects on how the people on the property are treating" Lockwood, I can't help put think that it does have to do with the characters attitudes toward one another. So rain is usually used to represent rebirth or as a restorative but perhap in this case, rain or even the snow storm from the beginning of the sotry pushes the characters together. After all, Lockwood finds out a bit about the night he spends at Wuthering Heights. I guess it's like Foster says in How to Read Lit., "It's never just rain".
To respond to steph113 asking, "what everyone thought about the reasons that this ghost was trying to come in Lockwood's room", I think that it may have simply been a continuation of Lockwood's dreaming. Before going to sleep he reads the diary so it seems likely that he was dreaming of Catherine. Although it is confusing because there are three Catherines and when he asks the ghost "who are you?" Lockwood hears the reply "Catherine Linton". He then goes on to think, "why did I think of Linton? I had read Earnshaw twenty times for Linton"(22), which leads me to think that he is in fact dreaming the whole thing.
I think the reason the ghost was there, dream or not, is that it is part of Heathcliff's past, as he calls for the ghost to, "come in!.. Cathy, do come. Oh do-once more! Oh! my heart's darling! hear me this time, Catherine, at last!" (25), and as a part of his past it may become an important to the story as Lockwood gets to know those at Wuthering Heights better.
In regards to my previous post, it has now become clear as to why the ghost of Catherine was trying to get through the window the night Lockwood stayed at Wuthering Heights. In chapter XII (snow day got me in a reading mood so I read ahead a bit)Catherine becomes sick after her fight with Heathcliff. When she asks Nelly to open the window she refuses saying, "I won't give you your death of cold" (115). However, Catherine rushes to the window and flings it open, thinking she can see Wuthering Heights, she says, "Heathcliff, if I dare you now, will you venture? Pf you do, I'll keep you. I'll not lie there by myself: they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but I won't rest till you are with me. I never will" (116). That is why her ghost was at the window that night at the start of the book, she was coming for Heathcliff. She swore she would not rest until he was with her.
On another note I wanted to ask why Bronte uses two narrators, Lockwood and Nelly, when telling the story. It seems that by having Nelly narrate the past portions of the story the reader gets a better sense of what when on in that time, while having Lockwood narrate shows an outsiders point of view in regards to Heathcliff and the past of Wuthering Heights. It is obvious by now that while Lockwood is a character of the story his importance is that of being a narrator, that is his purpose in the book. Much like the character Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby who is most important as a narrator as he divulges what occurs thoughout the book.
To answer Steph’s question “Can Lockwood be completely trusted even though he does not seem like an unbiased narrator since he is also listening to Nelly who may have had an opinion on some of the events?” I believe that he can not be trusted, you must read between the line of whatever he says in order to understand the events.
The narration is one of the most important aspects of the novel because nothing in the novel is ever simply from the view of just one character. The story needs both second- and third- hand narration in order to establish the complexity of the relationships between the characters.
Time to start round two!
Reading into the book, I was able to answer the questions I had on the last time I posted. We were wondering about the ghost and what it meant. We find out the Catherine is freaking out and thinking she is going to die. She forces the window open and thinks she can see Wuthering Heights. She says that her soul won't rest til she is with Heathcliff and I'm guessing that ghost getting in the window is Catherine trying to be with Heathcliff.
Another thing I found interesting is that Heathcliff elopes with Isabella knowing that he can't be with Catherine. We find out that he blames Edgar for Catherine's illness but can only punish Isabella for it. I was wondering if Heathcliff feels guilty that Catherine got sick and that he couldn't be there for her..? What do you guys think?
To steph113's question,, "if Heathcliff feels guilty that Catherine got sick and that he couldn't be there for her..?", I think that he may feel guilty but he is so entangled in his thoughts of revenge that he uses that guilt to exact his revenge on Edgar by marrying his sister and being cruel to her. His acts of revenge seem to have caused his miserable situation at the start of the book, the loneliness and bitterness, when we are first introduced to the characters.
When I was reading, I found in interesting but also predictable that Heathcliff still loved Catherine after she had betrayed him. I found it surprising that he did not completely forgive Catherine because she was murdering herself with what she did and he could not forgive the person who was murdering her. I also saw how Heathcliff resorted back to his youth when he waited in the garden to make sure Catherine was okay, which is similar to when he sat outside Catherine's window when she was hurt.
I also was wondering if Heathcliff was waiting until Catherine was gone before he acted on his plan to kill Hindley? Since he now longer had to protect Catherine and make sure he still looked good in his eyes, was that a warrant for him to go after Hindley and do what he had wanted to his whole life?
Since our group is about "overcoming affliction", I wanted to pose the question of whether Catherine overcame her afflictions?
After becoming ill and not fully recovering Catherine had become miserable. When Heathcliff comes to see her in chapter XV, Catherine says, "I'm tired, 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", expressing her want to break free from her afflictions. When she adresses Nelly and says, "you are sorry for me-very soon that will be altered. I shall be incomparably beyond and above you all" (147). Nowing that she's dying, is Catherine saying that, by dying (she expires within the first paragraph of the next chapter) she is overcoming her afflictions while the others, mostly Heathcliff, must stay and suffer as Heathcliff says a, "future-death and hell" (137)?
What do you guys think?
I think that since the genre of this novel is overcoming obstacles, then Catherine and Heathcliff both must do so since the story revolves around both of them. I agree with courtney when she says that Catherine will be overcoming her afflictions with dying and escaping her illness. I think that Heathcliff must also be escaping his afflictions. I think that it will come at the end of the book when he escapes his troublesome past completely. I would want to think that Catherine and Heathcliff will be together at the end of the book, but I just think that they will escape their problems on their own and go their seperate ways.
Heathcliff is starting to kind of get on my nerves.
He elopes with Isabella, and leaves Catherine ill. I understand that he is bitter for Cathering choosing Edgar obviously and his elope is clearly a revengeful move however I dont understand, why he is going to ruin Isabella's life and lead her on. He doesnt love her and he is not a nice man. What is his motive, aside from making Catherine jealous. there was a quote from the begginng of the book that says "pride only breeds sorrows". this quote i belive directly aims at Heathcliff in this part of the book, beacsue he has eloped to instead of staying around and waiting for Catherine.
SO throughout this book, Hindley has not changed at all. He grew up a sneaky sly child, and now he plots to kill Heathcliff and take his fortune. Once again his jealousy shows through, just like when Heathcliff was originally brought back to the house when he was only a child. Now he wants to murder him.
Catherine, i don't think is overcoming any affliction at all. Her sickness is a reflection of her "behavoir". Instead of fighting this she is willingly excepting the fact that she chose Edgar over Heathcliff. I think that this is selfish of her. This makes me like Heathcliff even more beacsue he has suffered so much. First he was deserted by Catherine, now she is dying on him and he is left to live without her for the rest of his life.
I think that by Nelly givng the letter to Catherine, that she does have a soft spot for Heathcliff. i know that he bascially threatedned her but i belive thatt he could have found a way around it .
I want to comment on the birth of Catherine's baby. I want to make predictions and say that Heathcliff may fall inlvoe with the child. I was wondering if anyone thought that she might be a symbol of Cahterine's peace offering for breaking Heathcliff's heart. As Cahterine leaves she leaves the baby behind and she is premature, which seems as though this shows that Catherine wasn't going to let Heathcliff live on the earth without atleast a piece of her.
I still beleive that Heathcliff is the sole overcoming character in this book. and i would like to take back that he was annoying me, becasue now i understand that he can be as mean as he wants, beacsue he is completely broken hearted.
In all of Heathcliff's revenge, he has created the same situation that was brought upon him as a child. He was despised by Hindley and is determined to treat Hareton just as cruelly, telling him, "Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it!" (171-172). Bronte utilizes the trees to represent both Heathcliff and Hareton and the twisting wind as the cruelty forced upon them. Heathcliff is saying he that he will subject Hareton to the same treatment he faced simply to exact his revenge on the already dead Hindley.
Heathcliff has become so obsessed with revenge that he has entered a viscious circle of repetition, he is acting the same if not worse than Hindley was to him. Though he is now rich and in charge, he is no better for it. It seems that overcoming the afflictions set by Hindley, or perhaps the way Heathcliff goes about doing it, leaves him and those around him worse off.
So the end of Wuthering Heights is near, depending on how far you've read at this point. Anyways, on to blogging...
In my previous post (the one above this one) I mentioned when Heathcliff told Hareton, "Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it!" (171-172). I mentioned how the trees represented both him and Hareton and the wind was the cruelty placed upon them. While reading chapter XXII I noticed a passage that seemed connected to the one from my previous comment. While Nelly is out walking with Catherine she notices, "hazels and stunted oaks, with their roots half exposed, held uncertain tenure: the soil was too loose for the latter; and strong winds had blown some nearly horizontal" (211). This passage seems to show that Heathcliff kept his word and not only twisted and mangled Hareton's life but the lives of the others as well. To continue this, Nelly sees a flower in the roots of the tree and calls to Catherine saying, "Winter is not here yet. There's a little flower, up yonder, the last bud from the multitude of blue-bells that clouded those turf steps in July with a lilac mist. Will you clamber up, and pluck it to show papa?" (211). Bronte uses this last flower to symbolize the last chance of happiness left of what once was an abundance, before "winter", presumably Heathcliff's evil doing. It is worrisome that Catherine replies with a "no" and continues on.
What do you guys think about it?
To answer your question Courtney, I'd like to say that i think your right. To go along with that i thnk that it is obvious that we can compare Hareton to Heathcliff and young Catherine to her mother. Heathcliff has turned Hareton into a miserable soul just like him. This was evident earlier in the book when Nelly had rocks thrown at her and swore at by him. Young Catherine seems to have the same energy in her as her mother. It isn't exactly a full out rebellion but hint of her own independence. The real similarities between these parallels is te relationships. Right away Young Catherine is fond of him. Her bitterness about the flower shows how she is not happy about having to leave hareton, and resents her father for not being able to to mention to him about her meeting and new friendship with him. Which obviously means she is unsure when they will be seeing each other again. I also think that the refusing of the flower foreshadows that young Catherine may casue trouble in the future.
I have most likely mentioned it before but one of the biggest themes for this book seems to be repetition. Hindley was cruel to Heathcliff, then Heathcliff was to Hareton. Heathcliff and Catherine were friends, grew apart and fell in love, so do young Catherine and Hareton. Like Catherine, Heathcliff becomes "ill" and delusional and then dies. The only difference seems to be that Catherine and Hareton got married and had a happy ending. They seem to have broken the circle that Heathcliff created when he first sought revenge.
(Side Note:This kind of reminds me of Mrs. Dalloway and the repetition of time).
Though Catherine and Hareton got their happy ending, I want to know if you guys thought that, by dying and being laid to rest next to Catherine, Heathcliff finally received happiness as well?
Something I found to be interesting was that Heathcliff won't give up on his love for Catherine, even after she has died. Catherine said earlier that she could not be content unless she was with Heathcliff, and many years later, he tells that he still loves Catherine and will not be happy until he is dead and buried beside her.
Something that I wanted to point out was how Heathcliff does not treat young Catherine as well as he treated his beloved Catherine. I was thinking that the reason he does that is because that young Catherine symbolizes an ending of the love between himself and Catherine. What do you guys think?
To continue on the theme of paralelling, I would like to add the incident between Hareton, Catherine and Linton. Hareton is upset becsue Catherine called him a "dunce" (229). He then goes and Harasses Linton and bullies him. "He swore" (230) and threw Linton in to the kitchen. After scaring them enough into leaving, Hareton tries to apologize but Cathering won't hear it. This is exactly like the time when Catherine had come back from the Linton's and it was Christmas and Heathcliff attacked Edgar. The circles that this book run in are never-ending. The cycle of behavoir from one genreation is the same. All of these three young characters represent an older one and in the same manner.
I do somewhat agree with courtney about Hareton and Catherine being together finally. I think that he saw himself and Catherine in the two young children, and although he would never come out and say it i do belive that he was satisfied. As being laid next to Catherine that to showed that in the end they truly did belong together and that they finally were laid to rest with the right person. Instead of living in a denial. They laid dead together.
To go with Courtney's blog, I think that Heathcliff and Catherine will finally experience their happiness when they both die. Heathcliff, as we said plenty of times, was a bitter person. I think that him dying was a way to escape the world where he could not get what he wanted (love with Catherine.)I think that the is the only way that these two people could leave their past mistakes of missing out on all the opportunities they had to love each other. I feel like once they are both dead they are away from all of the people that got in the way of their love.
Lastly, like I said in my last blog, Catherine and Heathcliff have both said during one part of the book that they will not be content until they are together and death will make them happy.
So I guess that's how they overcame their obstacles? by dying?
I must say that I don't think that Catherine and Heathcliff overcame anything. Heathcliff lived through it which was okay. However he was bitter and mean to people. He trained Hareton to be just like him. He made money and lived with a broken heart but he didn't become a better person for it. Catherine didn't overcome anything she just let her self die completley. She let go when she realized that no matter what she wasn't going to be with Heathcliff even know that was what was meant to be. Young Catherine and Hareton however did break the "circle" that Catherine and Heathcliff ran in. This is what makes them overcome the obstacle. Hareton was not educated and he himself like heathcliff was bitter and rude. Cathering was proper and brought up sheltered from alot of the harsh world. No one was rooting for them to be together. but they step outside the "social rules" of the time and be with each other. That sometimes is one of the hardest obstacles to over come.
Wow, I think this is the first time I'm disagreeing with someone on the blog!
I have to disagree with Annie on Catherine and Heathcliff not overcoming their afflictions. Believing that one of their main afflictions was their love and their inability to act on it, I disagreed when Annie said that, "Catherine didn't overcome anything she just let her self die completley. She let go when she realized that no matter what she wasn't going to be with Heathcliff even though that was what was meant to be". I believe that, in dying, Catherine overcame the inability to be with Heathcliff in life. The same goes for Heathcliff. After all, they ARE rejoined in the "after life".
Hey, nobody said that overcoming affliction was always the best thing to do, atleast in Heathcliff's case.
Okay well I think I'm kind of on the fence on whether Heathcliff and Catherine overcame any obstacles. In the other two stories that we read, the protagonists overcame their biggest obstacles - while they were alive, unlike Wuthering Heights where they died to overcome their stuggles.
To me, I think that Catherine and Heathcliff did overcome the problem of not being together and being able to love each other and like I said in my last blog, they needed to die to be together and happy. Annie said that Heathcliff was a bitter person and never became better but I think he did become less bitter about the love between Young Catherine and Haerton that he never got to have when he gave up on trying to keep them apart and let them create their love.
I feel like Heathcliff and Catherine did overcome obstacles but not in the way we wanted or expected.
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