Wuthering Heights

Promising myself to read other books besides the ones in the Twilight series, I decided to pick up Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It is a tale of love, loss, and hatred all woven into a dramatic tale. Understandably, it would have been the modern version of any soap opera- Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, etc. Published in 1847, Emily Bronte wrote the book under a male pseudonym, Ellis Bell. People were shocked and intrigued by the incredibly passionate characters. This book is abundant with characters that have a deep hatred for one another- they plot against each other and enjoy seeing pain of others. I imagine it was quite a scandalous novel at the time.

The story begins with a housemaid, Nelly, retelling the story of the life at Wuthering Heights. The main two characters are Heathcliff, an orphaned and uneducated boy taken in by the man of Wuthering Heights, and Catherine (Cathy), the beautiful, but spoiled girl of the house. Heathcliff is treated as a despicable person because of his status in life. His anger builds through out his life so that his one and only goal is to take revenge on those who treated him ill. Meanwhile, Heathcliff and Cathy develop a friendly relationship with each other, which quickly reveals into a passionate love. However, their love is an unrequited love. Early in life, Cathy dies and Heathcliff continues on to ravage families apart. In the end, Heathcliff only finds peace when he, too, dies and is able to join Cathy in the afterlife.

In my opinion, the ending is not as fun as the journey- there is so much hatred and drama through out the book that it feels like a lot of action for a novel of its time. It is quite different than a Jane Austen book, which is filled with a lot of properness. Wuthering Heights is out in the open with emotions and does not apologize for it.