Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)

 First published in 1847, Wuthering Heights is the only book written by Emily Brontë in her short life (1818 - 1848). Not wildly successful when it was published, it nevertheless went on to be a cult classic, studied by students of literature down the ages till today, to uncover the layers of the book and truly understand what Emily Brontë was saying in this masterpiece. 

The story revolves around two families living in the Yorkshire moor - the Earnshaws of Wuthering Heights and the Lintons of Thrushcross Grange. Catherine and Hindley are children of the Earnshaw family and Edgar and Isabella of the Linton family. Into Wuthering Heights, comes Heathcliff, an orphan who Mr Earnshaw takes pity on, picks him off the street literally and brings him home. This one act of bringing the boy home creates an imbalance. Heathcliff is  neither a son nor a servant, neither brother nor friend, but yet the favourite of the father and hence hated by the actual son and heir. There is far more complexity and what i have written here is a gross simplification.

The drama of the love between Catherine and Heathcliff, Heathcliff’s cruel revenge against Edgar and Isabella Linton and how this carries into the next generation, never letting up, never dying down till their last breaths is what the reader has to contend with. The exploration of the darkness in Heathcliff’s heart, the obsessive love for Catherine, and the self destruction that follows both characters throughout their lives, not sparing anyone whose paths they cross, makes for intense drama that you love and hate at the same time. This is probably the OG Hate Story - obsessive love that destroys everything it touches. Heathcliff’s character is downright hateful, he does not even hesitate to harm innocent children in pursuing his hatred for the Lintons or the Earnshaws, families he holds responsible for keeping him and Catherine apart and never letting him be with the only person in the world he loves.

While it is talked of as one of the greatest love stories ever written, it is also an intense hate story. Hate to the extent that Heathcliff does not hesitate to destroy Catherine’s daughter and his own son, because well revenge is more important than anything else in the world. Hate to the extent that he can deny one child education and another child medical attention. Hate to the extent that he can kidnap and marry Catherine’s daughter to his son, all to spite Edgar Linton. His possessiveness of Catherine borders on the maniacal.

While this book is hailed as a masterpiece and is studied for its contrasts and representations till date, it is a difficult book to read. It took me some effort to remember each character and their place, and to understand the relationships. It is narrated by a person who has a stake in the story and has influenced it herself at various points by suppressing truths and creating falsehoods. Similar names like Heathcliff, Hareton and Hindley didn’t help either! Also, no one is clearly likeable in this and there is no one you can root for. 

If you like reading classics with grey characters, unhappy people in complex and suffocating relationships, this one is for you. If you read classics to feel relaxed and admire the language but want to read about likeable people, then skip this.