When we moved into our new apartment, I found few books belonging to a previous tenant left in the cupboard. Last weekend, I tried to clean up the shelf and out fell the novel ’’Wuthering Heights’’. I have the habit of turning to the cover page at the back to get a jist of the story. But, it was not very clear. So, I thought I’ll read the novel in my spare time.
As I started reading, I got so engrossed in it that I wasn’t able to put it down(Actually, I would’ve done same with any novel, I like to read the book completely, not in parts). So, for the past 3 days, I was reading this book day-in and day-out, a book which I think, was one of the best novels of that time. I don’t know how many of you will get to read it, so, I would like to tell the whole story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The author, Emily Bronte, was born in 1818 in a big family of artists and poets. She wrote many poems, but, this was her only published novel. She died of TB when she was 30. But, this intense love story was enough to captulate her to fame. Written in 1845, this is a classic story dealing with love and extreme passion, jealousy and enmity..
THE STORY...
The novel is told from a view point of a man named Lockwood. Lockwood rents a house Thrushcross Grange in a country side, and he happens to stay with his owner, Heathcliff for one day, at Wuthering heights, and gets haunted by a ghost, catherine. He get scared, but, oversees Heathcliff requesting the ghost to come near him and stay.. He runs back home and gets an old house-keeper, Ms.Ellen Dean to narrate the history of the two families. From here on, her story goes like this.
A man named Mr.Earnshaw went from his farm, Wuthering Heights, to Liverpool on a business trip. He found there a little boy abandoned on the streets, and brought it home with him.His son Hindley and servant Joseph(Who’s always cursing and abusing), hate this boy, now named Heathcliff. But, his daughter Catherine and maid Ellen(The narrator) like him. Catherine and Heathcliff become fast friends.
Hindley was extremely violent towards heathcliff, but, Heathcliff appears to be very calm when, in fact, he was vindictive.Earnshaw’s wife died. Hindley was sent away to college in a last attempt to turn him into a worthy son. He returns, with a wife from the city, and settles down at Wuthering heights. By this time, old Earnshaw had died, and Hindley tried his level best to separate Heathcliff from Catherine. But, escaping from him, Heathcliff and Catherine always ran away to the moor and played there..
Once, they happenned to run into The Grange, a more civilized house where the Lintons lived with their children Edgar and Isabella. When the Lintons found out that the girl was Miss Earnshaw, they took good care of her and threw Heathcliff out. She stayed at the Grange for few days and returned back as an elegent lady. Hindley’s wife dies giving birth to a son Hareton.
Catherine kept away from her old pal, Heathcliff and, started to socialize with the elegant Linton children. Heathcliff, was madly in love with catherine and gets depressed by all this. Although Catherine too loved him, she felt that he was very rugged and unworthy of marriage. Heathcliff overhears this and runs away. Catherine accepts Edgar’s proposal and marries him.
Heathcliff returned after an year with lots of money, bought Wuthering heights from Hindley, but, finding Catherine happy, planned to take revenge. He seduces Isabella and marries her, and then , tortures her to a great extent.A few months later, Catherine became ill and looked as though she would probably die. She was pregnant. Heathcliff asked Ellen to allow him to see his ex-flame and she agreed.
He had a passionate reunion with Catherine, in which they forgave each other as much as possible for their mutual betrayals. Catherine fainted, Edgar came back, and Heathcliff left. Catherine died that night after giving birth to a daughter. Edgar was terribly grieved and Heathcliff wildly so, he asked her ghost to come back and stay with him.Hindley died and Heathcliff took charge of spoiling Hindley’s son Hareton. Isabella ran away from there to the city where she gave birth to a son Linton.
Edgar and Catherine’s daughter(Catherine jr or Cathy) grew up into a lovely girl, unaware of Wuthering heights. She was looked after by her father and Ellen. Isabella died when her son was 12 and though Edgar bought Linton home, his father, Heathcliff, took him away. This boy and Cathy fall in love. Ellen tries his best to stop them, but, does not succeed.
Edgar falls ill, and Heathcliff kidnaps Cathy and Ellen and detain her till she agrees to marry Linton(To get hold of her property) . She obliges and came home to attend her father’s funeral. After some time, Linton died too leaving Heathcliff, Hareton, Cathy and Joseph at Wuthering heights.
Lockwood listens to this story and then, returns back to the city. He comes back after a year to find that Heathcliff is dead, and Cathy and Hareton are about to get married. So, all is well, and that ends well....
Heathcliff is shown as a man who loved only one person in the whole world, and that was Catherine, his catherine, and he loved her so passionately, even death couldn’t do them apart. Though a villianous character, he is presented as a man who could do anything and everything for his love.
I hope you read this novel completely, and let me know what you think of it.