Wuthering Heights, page 125

I am about halfway through Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. This classic has been on my shelf for over a year, waiting for just the right time for me to read it. In my classroom this past month my eighth graders have been reading their choice of classic novels. When I had a student approach me with an interest in reading either Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre (written by Emily's sister Charlotte) I eagerly gave her both books to preview. Whichever book she didn't choose would be my next endeavor, and that book happened to be Wuthering Heights.

I am about halfway through this novel, and it interests me greatly but not for the reasons that most books capture my attention. First of all, I do not feel a great connection with any of the main characters. This is a factor that, as my class begins to write their own fiction books, I have stressed immensely. In a nutshell, if they do not develop the characters enough for their readers to form a relationship with them, the book will not be a success. What Brontë has done in her novel is to develop the characters deeply, creating characters who are not meant to be liked.

Cathy, our main female "protagonist" (I use that term loosely as she is the main character but does not necessarily fill the protagonist role) is a spoiled brat who probably has some underlying mental issues, onset by either nature or nurture. The male "protagonist," Heathcliff, is more likable to me so far but still not valiant or charming. It seems as though Nelly, the maid and narrator of the story, speaks from a non-biased viewpoint, however I believe that anyone who has a brain would realize that Nelly is probably very biased.  She has been Cathy's maid for many years and endured a lot of poor treatment from her, but because of this her accounts are probably more exaggerated than they otherwise would be.

Despite the "un-likability" of these characters, the stories they are living are very interesting. As with most classic novels I've come across that were written in the 1800s by female writers, there is a quite prominent relationship component to the story. This is fitting, because for women in that time who didn't marry there were very few options for what to do with their lives and those options were not very appealing. Marriage was almost a necessity for girls, so of course these female authors would write about the social and emotional impact of it in their books.

This is not the sole focus of the story though. Some of the other aspects include social prejudice, the affects of wealth (or lack thereof), and non-romantic relationships. One prediction I have for the rest of the book Cathy will betray her husband Edgar for Heathcliff, and both will suffer the consequences. Otherwise, I am curious to see how Heathcliff comes into possession of the property at Wuthering Heights and what Mr. Lockwood's reactions are after he hears the rest of the story that the maid is telling.