1. Intro to Wuthering Heights
What are the conventions of a Romantic Gothic and why are they important?
How can our passions destroy us?

2. Context Author: Emily Bronte Publish Date: 1847
Country of Publish: England
Style: Romantic Gothic Novel
Time Period: Victorian England (mid-late 1800s)
Post-Romanticism
Inspired by the French and American Revolutions, the Spanish Inquisition, Industrialization, Social Change, and Scientific Advancement
Interesting Facts:
Emily died a year after her novel was published
Emily and her sisters Charlotte and Ann were both accomplished writers, although they originally published under male pseudonymns

3. Brief Overview of Plot/Structure
Story: Follows the multi-generational love story of Heathcliff and Catherine
Setting: The wild moors of England
Structure—Frame Story: Begins from the perspective of Mr. Lockwood, an anti-social man renting a room from Heathcliff

4. Symbols, Motifs, Thematic Ideas
Doubling and Pairs
Repetition and Cycles
Nature vs. Culture OR Savage vs. Civilized
Symbols
Moors
Ghosts
Thematic Ideas
The precariousness of social class
The dangers of refusing to change
The destructiveness of nature
Destructive passion
Cycles of pain

5. Reception THEN… NOW… Too dark! Too violent! Too sexual!
Jane Eyre was waaayyy better!
Women can’t be writers!
NOW…
Finest example of a Victorian Gothic!
Women write the BEST Gothics!

6. The Victorian Gothic
Emerged from the Romantic tradition in the late 1700s-early 1800s
What is Romanticism?
Victorian Gothic=mid-late 1800s
Characteristics include the following:
The Supernatural
Extreme Emotion
Violent Passion
Aristocratic Decay
Evil
Mystery
Physical and Psychological Terror
Madness
Hereditary Curses
Doubling (duality within a character; good vs. evil)
The Victorian Gothic evolved from previous forms of Gothic in that it moved the elements of a traditional Gothic from fantastical to relatable/average settings and characters.
What is the effect of this move?

7. Influences on the Victorian Gothic
Skepticism towards traditional religious values
Corruption in the church
Developments in science, technology, and anthropology
Increase in beliefs in unconventional viewpoints
Evolutionary theory (Darwin)
Spiritualism
Atavism

8. The Byronic Hero: The Ultimate Bad Boy
Lord Byron
Inspired by Milton’s Satan (Paradise Lost) and Napoleon Bonaparte
Extreme version of the Romantic Hero
Think Indiana Jones
Examples of the Byronic Hero
Heathcliff, Captain Ahab, The Phantom, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dylan McKay
Characteristics of the Byronic Hero:
Highly intelligent (ruthless, arrogant, cynical, cunning, manipulative, doubting)
Self-Aware (self-critical, tortured, traumatized, prone to substance abuse, suicidal, do not acknowledge their good qualities)
Passionate (reckless, emotional, easily angered, violent, emotional, dark)
Attractive (sexually appealing, sensual, aggressive)
Strong values (unwavering belief in core beliefs, justice at any cost)
Anti-Authority (alienated, rebellious, vengeful)

9. Assignment Read Chapters 1-17 (Prologue=1-3; Childhood=1-17)
Maintain a two-sided reading journal of approximately 30 entries that addresses the following:
Interesting/important/
significant quotation OR specific text reference (chapter number and page number)
Explanation of how it progresses any of the following:
Victorian Gothic
Byronic Hero
Characterization
Symbol/Motif
Theme
Significant Personal Reaction

10. Resources University of Oxford New World Encyclopedia
Norton Anthology of English Literature