Blog 4

I think that Emily Bronte highlights love throughout her novel Wuthering Heights in an idiosyncratic manner. Bronte speaks about the idea that true love will always be recognized, but only few can capture it; however, one won’t be content until they do (this is paradoxical, I know).  She illustrates this idea by reliving the same moments with different people: something that I was able to recognize throughout the novel.

As I spoke about before in Blog 2, the first major love relationship seems to happen between Edgar Linton and Catherine (for they become married). However, this gives a false interpretation, with Catherine stating, ““If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger,” illustrating the infatuation Catherine has for Heathcliff. On Catherine’s death bed, Heathcliff states “Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” Heathcliff is in desperation, for if she dies, then he will never be able to be with her. Thus, it will drive him mad, and he will have lost his soul.  On the other hand, Catherine also did not obtain her true love - for this reasons she died ill-content, with Mrs. Dean stating (to Mr. Lockwood), “‘She’s fainted or dead,’ I thought: ‘so much the better. Far better that she should be dead, than lingering a burden and a misery-maker to all about her.” Catherine died in despair and anguish, unable to capture who she really loved. Heathcliff, who was still alive, suffered from this desolation throughout the rest of the book. At one point, Heathcliff has the sexton un-bury Catherine so he could make sure she “looked the same,” and make sure she wasn't “haunting him.” Later in the novel, Heathcliff states to Mrs. Dean, “‘ It is not my fault that I cannot eat or rest,’ he replied. ‘I assure you it is through no settled designs. I’ll do both, as soon as I possibly can. But you might as well bid a man struggling in water rest within arms’ length of the shore! I must reach it first, and then I’ll rest.’” Heathcliff is still brooding over Catherine, and he is so close to salvation. And, although he does not literally capture his true love, he does capture her in essence  - when he dies he dies in peace. I sense this because he dies in rain: “the bed-clothes dripped, and he was perfectly still.” From Foster, rain represents transformation, fertility and repose.

There also is a different love story in the novel - one that is impeded as well by another character (but the reader doesn’t know it is impeded till the end). At first, Cathy Linton falls in love with Linton Heathcliff. This relationship soon dissipates, with Catherine coming to the realization that Linton is not confident in himself, and is eternally under the authority of his father, Heathcliff. (Linton also dies which is another reason the relationship didn’t work).  However, in the end, she falls in love with another person: Hareton Earnshaw. Although it took her growth as well as transformation (the first time that they saw each other Cathy was “disgusted” to call him her cousin),  she finally did find her true love (I think this is what Bronte wants us to think because 1) Linton dies and 2) when Linton dies Cathy did not muse over Linton’s death like Heathcliff does over Catherine's).

The juxtaposition that Bronte suggests with these different love stories are very similar, but also different as well. They are both love stories, and both have characters thwarting the intimacy. However, on the other hand, they are also very different. For one, the first relationship (between Catherine and Heathcliff) is rooted in eternal love, and an everlasting relationship. However, on the other hand, the second relationship is rooted in transformation and change (both of these surmises are elaborated on in the able paragraphs). Furthermore, in the first relationship the “true-love” was never found - in the second, it seems that the true love was found. This suggests that the second relationship served as a ‘revision’ of the first - a very interesting idea.

Certain methods helped me to closely read this story. For one, I didn't identify with a character, which Nabokov tells us to do. This was important, because if I did, I would be ‘rooting’ for a specific person - such as Edgar Linton or Heathcliff - and to completely understand the story, I needed to have an unbiased view on the situation. Both Edgar and Heathcliff were at faults at times, and the reader needs to recognize this. Furthermore, I had to “acquire a certain language for reading,” which is something Foster recommends. There is a specific language that Bronte uses in this novel (it was written in 1847), and to fully understand what characters are saying (especially the housekeeper Jim) I needed to be in this mindset - looking for tropes and other words that had a somewhat different meaning back then. Furthermore, rereading was key in this piece - this is a strategy that Prose tells us to do. To comprehend what people were saying, and to whom they were saying it (there were so many characters) was paramount in this piece. Sometimes I needed to go back full pages to remember who were the two characters in conversations.

I definitely recommend this novel for a reader looking to be challenged. The way it was written is genius - having a ‘story within a story’ (which I talk about more in Blogs 1 and 3) as well as having two different narrators, make this novel unbelievably creative. If you want to read Wuthering Heights, just make sure to keep a dictionary by your side, and to be in the 19th century mindset.

Blog 3

The way that the novel is written is very intriuging. Starting off with the "real" story (although stories are never really real), and then transitioning into a reminiscence of a character makes me ponder what Emily Bronte's purpose with this was. Expecting a short tangent from the story at hand, Mrs. Dean's story proved to be much more - her story is the story I think of when I think of the book Wuthering Heights. Its unusual to represent a novel with a story inside of it rather than the novel itself. 

So what was Bronte's purpose with this? She must have had reason for not just starting with Mrs. Dean's story. 

One explanation for this could be the audience being more interested - at some points I even feel like Mr. Lockwood. For example, the in the first pages, Mr. Lockwood states, "Mr. Lockwood, your new tenant, sir. I do myself the honour of calling as soon as possible after my arrival, to express the hope that I have not inconvienced you...." This statement not only commences Mr. Lockwood's first presence, but our presence as well. We know nothing about Mr. Lockwood's past, just as Bronte knows nothing about us. As the dwindling Mr. Lockwood becomes more impersonal to us, we are once again snapped into place with Mrs. Dean stating things like, "But, Mr. Lockwood.....I'm annoyed now I should dream of chattering on at such a rate; and your gruel cold, and you nodding for bed!" However, we, as the audience, are still fascinated, just like Lockwood, with stating "'Sit still, Mrs. Dean,' I cried.; 'do sit still another half-hour. You've done just right to tell the story leisurely.'" I imagine the scene as I am the audience for Mrs. Dean's story. Another reason I resonate with the Mr. Lockwood character is because of the actual scene taking place. The whole book is seeminly being told at only a few sittings, and just as Lockwood sits down to divulge himself is her story, we do as well.

Another explanation for the purpose of the "story inside a story" is the idea that storytelling always seem to get the audience more connected. As we felt in The Things They Carried, this idea of the "telling" of stories evokes a stronger sentiment from the reader. I think that a big part of this is point of view. In Mrs. Dean's stories, the usage of "I" suggests that we are listening to her pour out how she felt the story went. Of course there is bias, of course some parts are opiniated. However it doesn't matter, and might actually personalyze the story greater. We are not gleaning the shear facts, we are gleaning how one person believe it went. For example, at one point in the novel, Hindley and Mr. Heathcliff get into a fight. Mrs. Dean states, "To my joy, he [Heathcliff] left us...and Hindley stretched himself on the heartstone. I departed to my own room, marvelling that I had escaped so quickly." Phrases such as "To my joy" and "marveling that I had escaped so quickly" suggest that biased and personal opinion of Mrs. Dean.

The novel of Wuthering Heights is very percular in the way that the story is told. It is told within another story, an "inception" of sorts. By doing this, Bronte has created an in-story-representation of the reader - the audience of the Mrs. Dean's story. This resonates with the audience, and we as a group are able to further submerge into the story. 

Blog 2

Mrs. Dean's story continues focusing on four main characters: Mrs. Dean (herself), Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar. While reading, Catherine’s disposition intrigued me greatly; her temperamental feelings towards Heathcliff and Edgar are very interesting.
One first senses this abnormal relationship between Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar when Mrs. Dean states, "for when Heathcliff expressed contempt of Linton in his presence, she could not half coincide, as she did in his absence; and when Linton evinced disgust and antipathy to Heathcliff, she dared not treat his sentiments with indifference..." Catherine, distraught that he two best friends despise one another, is in an awkward situation. She is the mediator between two men who both are fighting for her affection. This quote epitomizes the antipathy of Heathcliff and Edgar towards one another.
The relationship between the three escalates more when Edgar Linton asks Catherine to marry him. Catherine first states [speaking about Edgar], "I love the ground under his feet, the air over his head, and everything he touches and every word he says." Notwithstanding this, Catherine later states, "In my soul and in my heart, I'm convince I'm wrong!" Catherine is conflicted, first stating that she loves Edgar, and then earnestly convinced that she is making the wrong move - this illustrates Catherine's changing disposition towards her vexing situation. Catherine states later in the chapter, "My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary!" While Catherine's love for Linton fluctuates, her love for Heathcliff is infinite. During this soliloquy, however, Catherine also states, "It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now." Frustrated by hearing this, Heathcliff leaves the house, not to be seen again for a very long time, in which Catherine and Linton get married.
Soon after the marriage, Catherine gets extremely ill.  Mrs. Dean states, "Mr. Kenneth, as soon as he saw her, pronounced her dangerously ill; she had a fever. He bled her, and he told him to let her live on whey and water gruel." At this point Catherine realizes that she rather be with Heathcliff, and her malady signifies that that. Catherine is sickened by knowing that she has to stay with Edgar the rest of his life. 

Catherine’s feelings towards Edgar and Heathcliff are ever changing, but she seems to finally find her true love. Nevertheless, Catherine is still confined to the little authority she has in her marriage with Edgar.  Hopefully, in the upcoming chapters, Catherine can transcend the bond that holds her to Edgar, and have a relationship with the man her heart desires.

Blog 1

The novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is written with a unique plot. It all begins with Bronte placing a lonely man, Mr. Lockwood, in the middle of a very lonely house, in the middle of a very lonely town with just two houses – his, and his landlords, Mr. Heathcliff’s. In the beginning chapters, Mr. Lockwood is sleeping at Mr. Heathcliff’s house, called Wuthering Heights: not because they are close friends, but because he is too scared to walk home in the dark. While there, he stays in a room with a “large oak case.” He wanders into this oak case and places his candle on a ledge, describing it as having, “a few mildewed books piled up in one corner; and covered with writing scratched on the paint. This writing, however, was nothing but a name repeated in all kinds of characters, large and small – Catherine Earnshaw.”

When he comes back to his home in the morning, called Thrushcross Grange, he questions his servant, Mrs. Dean, about the Heathcliff family. Mrs. Dean had lived with the Heathcliff family for 18 years. Mr. Lockwood states, “Well, Mrs. Dean, it will be a charitable deed to tell me something of my neighbours: I feel I shall not rest if I go to bed; so be good enough to sit and chat an hour.” Mrs. Dean complies happily.

The story that Mrs. Dean tells becomes the novel. In other words, the novel Wuthering Heights drastically changes perspective. First from the point of view from Mr. Lockwood, the novel now starts to be told from Mrs. Dean. It’s like a story inside a story. The point of view is still limited omniscient, but from another characters viewpoint.  The name “Mr. Lockwood” hasn’t come up since Chapter IV.
Although difficult to read, this novel is very captivating. The depiction of the characters is very interesting; Bronte has each character act in very distinct manners. One aspect of the novel that suggested this distinction in personality is the conflict Bronte presents. Throughout this novel (so far at least), the selfishness and jealousy of the characters - which directly is linked to the conflict - is the driving force of this novel. For example, when Mr. Earnshaw brings Heathcliff into the family for the first time both Catherine and Hindley despised him. Mrs. Dean states, "[Heathcliff] was hardened, perhaps, to ill-treatment: he would stand Hindley's blows without winking or shedding a tear" This was the first sight of discord in family, and is directly linked to the sense of hegemony Hindley had over Heathcliff. Another example of conflict is when Catherine comes home from the Linton’s house. She is in an intimate relationship with Edgar Linton. Mrs. Dean states to Heathcliff, "It looks as if you envied her, because she is more thought of than you." The conflict between Heathcliff and Catherine spawned from jealousy - Heathcliff is envious of Edgar. The conflicts in the novel are very important and presented excellently in the novel; they not only represent the selfishness and jealousy of the characters, but also the desires.