Gothic Unit: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Emily Bronte Key summary of novel.

Let’s start with the basics… Written in 1847. Designed to both horrify and fascinate readers with scenes of passion and cruelty; supernatural elements; and a dark, foreboding atmosphere; also realist fiction (incorporates vivid circumstantial detail into a consistently and minutely thought-out plot, dealing mostly with the relationships of the characters to one another)

Narrator Lockwood, a newcomer to the locale of Wuthering Heights, narrates the entire novel as an entry in his diary. The story that Lockwood records is told to him by Nelly, a servant, and Lockwood writes most of the narrative in her voice, describing how she told it to him. Some parts of Nelly’s story are narrated by other characters, such as when Nelly receives a letter from Isabella and recites its contents verbatim. Double narrative was a highly original technique

Point of view Most of the events of the novel are narrated in Nelly’s voice, from Nelly’s point of view, focusing only on what Nelly can see and hear, or what she can find out about indirectly. Nelly frequently comments on what the other characters think and feel, and on what their motivations are, but these comments are all based on her own interpretations of the other characters—she is not an omniscient narrator.

Tone It is not easy to infer the author’s attitude toward the events of the novel. The melodramatic quality of the first half of the novel suggests that Brontë views Catherine and Heathcliff’s doomed love as a tragedy of lost potential and wasted passion. However, the outcome of the second half of the novel suggests that Brontë is more interested in celebrating the renewal and rebirth brought about by the passage of time, and the rise of a new generation, than she is in mourning Heathcliff and Catherine.

Both Lockwood’s and Nelly’s narrations are in the past tense.

Setting – time and place The action of Nelly’s story begins in the 1770s; Lockwood leaves Yorkshire in 1802. All the action of Wuthering Heights takes place in or around two neighbouring houses on the Yorkshire moors—Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.

Chapter One: read together Opens with the date 1801: new beginning and diary entry. Lockwood is visiting as the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange. His landlord is Heathcliff (who lives at neighbouring Wuthering Heights).

How does Bronte describe the setting of Wuthering Heights? A01 and A02 Success Criteria: Technical accuracy and line of argument Analyse the meaning of language, structure and form. Full written answer- timed 35 minutes.

Lockwood as narrator: Make key notes about how Lockwood is presented. Self satisfied ‘Precious’

Critics C.P Sanger notes that Bronte is at great pains to reflect chronological exactitude. Setting in 1801: sets expectations for the novel as a story set in reality. This is then radically challenged throughout the novel. 1800s: ‘Old, rough farming culture based on a naturally patriarchal family life, was to be challenged, tamed and routed by social and cultural changes that were to produce the Victorian class consciousness and ‘unnatural’ idea of gentility.’ Q. D. Leavis. 1993)

Glossary misanthropist a person who hates or distrusts other people. perseverance continued effort in spite of discouragement. Go to the deuce go to the devil. causeway a raised way over wet ground. flags paving stones. soliloquize to talk aloud to oneself. ejaculation words spoken suddenly with emotion. advent arrival. wuthering exposed to the open air; here, used to describe the architecture of the farmhouse that endures assaults of nature (wind, snow, and rain).

grotesque artwork that distorts the usual human or animal form. griffins animals with the head and wings of an eagle and the hind legs and tail of a lion. countenance outward appearance. gaiters leg coverings that reach to the mid-calf. gypsy a member of a traditionally nomadic, or wandering, ethnic group. vis-à-vis face to face. physiognomy facial features. phlegm indifference. signet a mark left by a ring whose upper surface contains a signet, or seal, once used as a signature for marking documents.

3. Compare and contrast Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.

Homework: Read Chapters 4-6 Read the critical article (Mengham, 1988) and take notes.

How to approach reviews/ journals… Read the article, highlighting key areas. Summarise the article in your notes in no more than one paragraph. Take notes on each area of interest (context, language, perspective, opinions) What is the article arguing? Answer this.