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.