--page numbers, Signet Classic / Oxford World's Classics editions
1. Why does the figure of Lockwood seem to be in the novel? Is his role related in any way to that of Walton in Frankenstein?
2. What is the function of Nelly Dean in the novel?
3. Does Bronte make herself visible or invisible, involved or detached, in
the novel as author/narrator? How can you tell? Evidence?
--What is the purpose of the double "frame" around the tale? How do
such frames function, in this novel and in others?
4. Describe the tone established in the first chapter. What specific details contribute to the creation of that tone?
5. What is the point of the ghost episode (pp. 27-34 / 20-28)? Why does Lockwood
see it (if you think he does)? Is it a ghost, really, or is it a dream?
--In fact, what does this episode contribute to the novel as a whole? Does it
serve any real purpose, or is it included merely for effect?
6. Why does Catherine choose Edgar Linton over Heathcliff? What are her reasons for her choice? Do Catherine and Edgar love one another?
7. When Catherine returns from Thrushcross Grange the first time, why does she seem to shy away from Nelly? What point is Bronte trying to make about Catherine here?
8. Is Heathcliff the protagonist? Is he the hero?
9. Who is Heathcliff anyway? Is he modelled upon any character(s), figure(s), or archetype(s) you can think of? Is he a "monster:? Is his name significant?
10. Think about Heathcliff's "revenge," and list some of the things he does to get his revenge. In seeming to employ all the cruelties and devices that were once used against him, he is essentially "beating society at its own game." We may not approve of the methods Heathcliff employs to gain his revenge, but can we at least understand what he is doing? Why or why not?
11. At the height of his "triumph" Heathcliff seems to reverse himself and see his victory as a "poor conclusion" (p. 306 / 323). Why?
12. Do you believe that Heathcliff changes at the end of the novel? Does he "repent"?
13. What is it that Heathcliff has finally discovered at the end of the novel?
14. In what ways is the last encounter of Heathcliff and Cathy (chapter 15 /
II.i) different from what we might normally expect of a final scene? That is,
in what ways does it upset what we expect on the basis of the conventions of
such scenes in prose fiction? How might the scene have affected readers at the
time of the novel's appearance? Why did Bronte write the scene as she did, rather
than giving us a more conventional (and certainly more comfortable) scene?
15. Is the novel realistic? Remember what we have already accepted as being "realistic." Or is it "romance"? Is it a "Gothic" novel? How should we classify Wuthering Heights?
16. The novel can be divided into four major parts, after the introductory
material:
I. Chapters 4-6
(I.iv-vi)
II. Chapters
7-16 (I.vii-xiv; II.i-ii)
III. Chapters
17-31 (II.iii-xvii)
IV. Chapters
32-34 (II.xviii-xx)
What is happening in each of these sections? Consider, for example, the end
of chapter 17 / II.iii. Does dividing the novel in this way begin to suggest
anything about what Bronte may have had in mind as she structured and composed
the novel?
17. At the end, Lockwood observes that he cannot imagine any "unquiet" sleepers in the graves (p. 320 / 338). How does this attitude square, then, with his encounter with the "ghost" in chapter 3 / I.iii?
18. Discuss the "calm," "quiet" conclusion of the novel.
19. Arnold Kettle, a Marxist critic, sees the novel's first part as a representation
of "humanity" in rebellion against social and "class" tyranny.
He sees Heathcliff as "brute humanity" and Catherine as "human
understanding and comradeship," and therefore necessary to one another;
Kettle further sees both Heathcliff and Catherine as oppressed by "society,"
represented (most obviously) by Hindley and his wife. Can you find evidence
in the novel to support this sort of interpretation?
--If we accept Kettle's premise, can we say anything about "universal"
suggestions made about people and society in the novel? Is, for instance, an
inhumane, oppressive, and elitist society necessarily and inevitably destroyed
in the long run as a result of its oppressions? Is it true that at some point
"the last shall be first"? When? Where?
--In considering his comments, does it help to know that Kettle was a Marxist?
20. Why do we see Catherine Linton and Hareton Heathcliff at both the beginning and the ending of the novel?
21. In much of Gothic fiction we follow the history of a heroine who is in search of her identity, who is jeopardized by (often a variety of) physical assaults, and who proves to be largely equal to all the trials and tribulations to which she is subjected. What has happened to this convention in Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights?
The only known portrait of Emily Brontë
Jenny Smith's digital restoration of the portrait of Emily Brontë
The Brontë birthplace in Thornton Village
Haworth Village, where Emily Brontë lived
Internet Resources
A general portal page on Emily Bronte, with links to works, electronic texts, and other Brontë websites. Of special interest are the illustrated web pages relating toThornton Village, where the Brontë sisters were born, and Haworth Village, where they did most of their writing.
A better resource is The Brontë Sisters Web, where you can find links to the lives, works, and web pages of the three sisters, Emily, Anne, and Charlotte, electronic texts of their works, and a miscellany of electronic notes and comments, arranmged in reverse chronology.
Another good site is Emily Bronte on the Victorian Web, which has among its entries an excellent set of links for the social and cultural context of the Brontë sisters' lives and works.
Stephen C. Behrendt, 7/26/03