Monday, May 20, 2019

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte
Pages: 418
Finished: May 20, 2019

First Sentence: 1801 - I have just returned from a visit to my landlord - the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.

Summary: A man named Lockwood lets the old house at Thrushcross Grange. He meets his neighbor at Wuthering Heights, a dour man named Heathcliff. The state of the household at the Heights is a curious one, and Lockwood asks that his housekeeper relate the story of Wuthering Heights. What follows is a story of love and a story of revenge as we learn how Heathcliff, an orphan, became the owner of Wuthering Heights.

Thoughts: UGH! A bit of backstory. I read this book in high school for the first time. I felt apathetic to it. Since then, I've read it at least three more times, and I've disliked it every time. Why do I keep reading it? Why did I put it on my Classics Club list? What on earth possessed me to read this again?

This book is the single book on my "I HATE this book" list that multiple people talk about as one of their favorite books. And every time, I think, "Huh. I must have missed something. Let me try again." Every time, I find myself thinking it was a bad idea.

I added it to my classics club list because I had an Anne Bronte and a Charlotte Bronte book on my list. I figured it'd be good to round out the sisters with Emily Bronte and give this book a last chance.

I made it through the book, but I can't say it was a pleasant experience. Every single character is unlikable. Cathy the elder is selfish and mean. Heathcliff is an abuser. Edgar Linton is just useless. Isabella is a brat. The younger generation is just as bad. Nelly Dean takes goes between having agency and then having no agency. Any redeeming quality was overshadowed by their other deeds.

And the abuse from Heathcliff - I don't like to use the word triggered often because I think people use it incorrectly. It's become a buzzword. But believe me when I say I was triggered by Heathcliff. He's absolutely horrific. He's abusive to the woman he supposedly loves. He's abusive to his wife. He's abusive to his child and his nephew and... I kept having to put the book down and walk away because his actions were just so despicable. And his mental abuse... that was honestly the worst part.

This book counted for three things: an item on my classics club list, a classic tragedy for Back to the Classics, and my spin book for the classics club spin # 20.

I can safely say this is the last time I will ever read this book. 

4 comments:

  1. I hated this book and am baffled as to why people love it. Maybe you need to read it as a teenager? I just find Heathcliff and Cathy to be so unlikeable, they deserve each other for all eternity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhh we are a club of five! I keep wondering if I should reread it to see if it was just my teen and 20-something self that failed to love this 'classic'. You've convinced me I should skip it.

    ReplyDelete