Wuthering Heights: Wuthering Heights (Penguin English Library) (The Penguin English Library)

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Heathcliff either is, or is possessed by, a demon. The book is a supernatural gothic-horror tale. That he is, or is possessed by, a demon is the reason for his violent temper and his psychopathic cruelty.

The apartment and furniture would have been nothing extraordinary as belonging to a homely, northern farmer, with a stubborn countenance, and stalwart limbs set out to advantage in knee-breeches and gaiters. Such an individual seated in his armchair, his mug of ale frothing on the round table before him, is to be seen in any circuit of five or six miles among these hills, if you go at the right time after dinner. But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire: rather slovenly, perhaps, yet not looking amiss with his negligence, because he has an erect and handsome figure; and rather morose. Possibly, some people might suspect him of a degree of underbred pride; I have a sympathetic chord within that tells me it is nothing of the sort: I know by instinct, his reserve springs from an aversion to showy displays of feeling--to manifestations of mutual kindliness. He'll love and hate equally under cover, and esteem it a species of impertinence to be loved or hated again. No. I'm running on too fast: I bestow my own attributes over liberally on him. Mr. Heathcliff may have entirely dissimilar reasons for keeping his hand out of the way when he meets a would-be acquaintance, to those which actuate me. Let me hope my constitution is almost peculiar: my dear mother used to say I should never have a comfortable home; and only last summer I proved myself perfectly unworthy of one. Like most, I read this book in high school literature class. I remember liking this book due to the characters, which most authors try to make them likeable to the reader. This is not the case for this novel. I decided to give it a read again due to being older, thus being able to interpret things on another level from my adolescent self. Joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man: very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy. ‘The Lord help us!' he soliloquised in an undertone of peevish displeasure, while relieving me of my horse: looking, meantime, in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to digest his dinner, and his pious ejaculation had no reference to my unexpected advent.Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depths of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me vis-a-vis the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheep-dogs, who shared with her a jealous guardianship over all my movements. It is a novel that earns its title as a literary classic, never to go out of style. Though horse and carriage may no longer be the main mode of transportation in today's society, it still imparts some valuable insights. This book taught me a valuable lesson as a teenager that I still interpret to this day as an adult: Just because you love someone, does not mean you should be with them (if it isn't healthy and destructive). Wuthering Heights is a beautiful book. Though I think many do not know what it's about. This might be because the filmed versions tend to concentrate on the `love story' and leave out the rest of it. Who can blame the scriptwriters for this? Are they not giving us what they think we want? The book itself is deliberately confusing. You gradually piece together who each person is, and their role, the further you go into the book. I advise keeping a pen handy and try to jot down a family tree, but even then, it’s still difficult to place everyone. The similarity in names leads to much confusion, and even Catherine’s name confuses, right in chapter 3 when you see three Catherines with different surnames.

Before passing the threshold, I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especially about the principal door; above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins and shameless little boys, I detected the date ‘1500,' and the name ‘Hareton Earnshaw.' I would have made a few comments, and requested a short history of the place from the surly owner; but his attitude at the door appeared to demand my speedy entrance, or complete departure, and I had no desire to aggravate his impatience previous to inspecting the penetralium. This was a reread for me but it’s been years since I read it. I’d forgotten what a dark story it is. Heathcliff and Cathy’s obsessive love for each other wreak’s havoc on their lives and on everyone else around them. Even though Cathy declares, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same,” she makes the choice to marry Edgar Linton for his respectability and his money. Heathcliff is devastated and angry and vows to seek revenge on everyone around him. He spends the rest of his life mistreating, manipulating, and abusing everyone in his life. If durability is not a must and budget is tight, go for either Penguin's Classics (Pauline Nestor) or Oxford's World Classics (Patsy Stoneman). family (1839–40) and with the Robinson family (1840–45). In 1846, along with Charlotte and Emily, she published Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. She published Agnes Grey in 1847 and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in 1848. That year, both Anne’s brother Branwell and her sister Emily died of tuberculosis. A fortnight later, Anne was diagnosed with the same disease. She died in

What the devil is the matter?' he asked, eyeing me in a manner I could ill endure after this inhospitable treatment. Emily's mother died when she was three and she lived with her four sisters and one brother in a bleak, isolated Yorkshire village – Haworth. Her father doted on his only son, Branwell, and expected little from his daughters – they surprised him while Branwell wasted his life and died an alchoholic and drug addict. The girls suffered dreadfully at a cheap boarding school, the oldest two dying of malnutrition. Emily, Charlotte and Anne were brought home just in time but Emily never lost her terrible fear of institutions and of being closed in. The sisters later became governesses to help support Branwell, seen by their father as a future great artist. They also began to publish their writing, under male pen-names as there was much prejudice against women writers. Their first book, a collection of poetry, failed but Emily's novel Wuthering Heights, was highly acclaimed and is still widely read today. Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff's dwelling. ‘Wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones. This abridged presentation of a classic brings to life Bronte's gothic romance and provides a powerful reading by Martin Shaw, whose voice perfectly captures this dark story of the moors. Those reluctant to read the full classic will find this audio version compelling and hard to quit listening to. This horrific situation is filtered via a series of nested narratives, as one character recounts what was told to them by another, as is therefore not as obvious as it might be to the final reader.