Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Wuthering Heights

I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry, terrified and miserable over a book before. I’m still struggling to understand the point of it all. At first, it was like a soap opera, a huge melodrama. Then, it felt like a study on the human capacity for evil and for its endurance. And, finally, at the end, it felt like the triumph of good over evil. Even with that ending, nothing on this world would persuade me to approach the titular estate! Time and time again I wondered if the soil itself was not cursed and responsible for Hindley and Heathcliff’s degradation, for Catherine, Edgar, Isabella and Linton’s declining health, etc. It felt even worse than The Overlook Hotel at times.
I cannot say it was a pleasant read, but it was a captivating one, and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. And it kept me engaged in the question of nature versus nurture. Although, by the end, it looked like Emily Brontë was firmly on the former’s side. And how curious it would be that the unknown “gipsy” child is the one with a despicable nature… (yikes, Emily!)
If I was made to choose between this and Jane Eyre, I would choose the latter without second thought. But this book was still a haunting and worthy piece of gothic literature, and it certainly scared me more than Dracula and Frankenstein ever did (although I do love both).

Content Warnings

alishamegan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

SPOLIERS!

I liked cathy 1 and 2, and edgar linton who is the only good male in the book, the soft boy. Heathcliffe is a psycho, and cathy 1 knew that. She loved him like a girl or woman might love the toxic abusive boy or man despite knowing his nature, and add to that fact that they grew up together makes it even harder for her to leave him. but SHE DOES. She chooses edgar bc she knows what's good for her, and I love that. she chose the healthy loving relationship over the unhealthy toxic one. GOOD FOR HER. also heathcliffe is a black man and I certainly saw that clearly. But also hate the obvious and predictable racism by all the white ppl.

CORRECTION
So I forgot cathy 1 hit edgar, so yes she is also abusive totally. And that cannot be excused at all. I still like cathy 1 bc of her choices, but I of course condemn that action against poor edgar. And edgar is awesome.

Also Nelly is a bum like i don't care her narration is not totally reliable and she meddled when she wanted and didn't meddle when she didn't. She was better than the other horrible servant though that did not help cathy 2 at all.

Also cathy 2 is a child througout and only 18 by the end and she is very brave and resilient.

Also mr lockwood is also a waste man and I'm glad cathy 2 did not marry him, as he like most Victorian white men wants his love to be an "angel". However I don't like hareton either bc abuse sooo. I wish she would have escaped but this is the olde times and she would have no cash and assets as a woman etc etc so that's no escape at all. She made the best of cards dealt to her, like her mom cathy 1. Good for her again.

It is also interesting to compare mr lockwood wanting cathy 2 to be an angel and thinking less of her when she acts like any human being would in her situation, and heathcliffe loving cathy 1 with or may be because of her roughness and continues to when she becomes a so called proper lady. Both also resist and doing the opposite of what their love interests expect and want from them which is fab.

Joseph is irritating af and enough said.

Content Warnings

overbooked207's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

📖 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Book Review 📖

1st book of January 2023 and 1st of the year:

“‘May she wake in torment!' he cried, with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot, and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of ungovernable passion. ‘Why, she's a liar to the end! Where is she? Not there-not in heaven--not perished--where? Oh! You said you cared nothing for my sufferings! And I pray one prayer--I repeat it till my tongue stiffens-may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you--haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always- take any form- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” - Emily Brontë.

I read this years ago, but I think I listened to it too fast and didn’t remember much of it, so I decided to give it another try because I remember loving the quotes and the atmospheric setting, and I’m glad I did! The atmosphere and writing are rich, haunting, and poetic, and so many of the quotes, like the one above, quickly became new favorites of all time, said quotes being infinitely quotable and full of drama, passion, love(even if it’s toxic), and poetry! Almost every character is the absolute worst, but sometimes that’s exactly what I want to consume because it can be so entertaining, and I love watching/analyzing the characters’ complexities and thoughts/actions even as I’m shaking my head(tho reading about what Heathcliff does was hard). And winter is one of the perfect times to read this as you get cozy with a hot beverage and blankets. The audiobook read by Joanne Froggatt was also amazing! I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second, but the quotes made it up to me.

But please be aware of the TWs that are unfortunately prevalent in classic lit for unchecked racism, ableism, sexism, classism, incest, etc., and read/enjoy it critically and with that in mind. Other TWs include abuse(child, domestic, physical, and verbal), alcoholism, death, ghosts, grief, guns, and violence🥀🍂🪦💔

Content Warnings

maryy19's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

leapyear_reader's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i absolutely adore the descriptions of the moors. i got to say that emily brontë is an absolute genius at setting the tone by describing emotions in faces when there are no dialogues. there is not one person i like in this book even though i greatly empathise with each and every one of them. A MASTERPIECE OF WRITING!
now, the things i didnt love about the book: the part of the book where the affair between catherine linton and linton is dealt with is just dragged on for too long…they should have been left side characters rather than create a new generation of protagonists. also, heathcliff is literally an abomination of a human and his violence really made me cry, BUT THEN every time he talks about catherine i see him as a person again. damn your genius miss brontë.

Content Warnings

stellabyproxy's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

wuthering heights by emily brontë was my first introduction into the literary world that is the brontë sisters and i could have hoped for no better meeting.

this novel is a dark illustration of the thin line between love and hate and how rage can become one’s undoing. we follow heathcliff and catherine in their life story as each inflicts unspeakable heartbreak on the other and miscommunication leads to a chess game of vengeance unleashed on their descendants.

“… they may bury me twelve feet deep, and throw the church down over me, but i won’t rest till you are with me.”

the perfect illustration of this novel for me would be invisible string by taylor swift, the notion that heathcliff and catherine are tethered to one another by their childhood infatuation turned obsession and a “love” that is destined to be their undoing. with the world against them, and eventually them against each other, we see how misery creates company. how heathcliff’s revenge plot becomes a complex chess game that catalyses everyone’s downfall, even his own.

i have not broken your heart — you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.

is the entire premise of their story, as each character’s actions directly lead to their own unhappiness. vengeance runs thick and cold, like a raving river, fuelled by uncontained rage and unaddressed emotion; each victim by circumstance lives long enough to become a villain by choice.

the only character that i was rooting for from the moment of their introduction to their very end was hareton, and his story i find joy in. the perfect way of changing course and allowing history to not repeat itself, to put an end to a generational tale of manipulation and i find it to be brontë’s slim offering of an apology for an entire tale of hate and agony.

“it was a strange way of killing: not by inches, but by fractions and hairbreadths,”

p.s. thank you for the birthday gift marcíano 🤍 i pray our story does not suffer the same fate as heathcliff and catherine.

Content Warnings

lochlynwolfe's review

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

toffishay's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Wuthering Heights has a real place in my heart. I read this for the first time in high school and loved it, but hadn't read it since. I've completed my first re-read now a decade later and I still love it. I can acknowledge now that it is far from a perfect story. It really lags in the second half, as many readers would note. But as messy and terrible as Cathy and Healthcliff are, they are so compelling as characters! Healthcliff deserves his comeuppance, but he gets such a hard rap in life that you understand why he might want revenge. And Cathy is trapped by expectation, but also doesn't fight for Healthcliff, despite her headstrong personality. They are doomed by circumstance as much as they are by their own actions, which is so frustrating and so well done. From a purely atmospheric perspective, this is a perfect Gothic romance. The revenge that spans multiple generations, the doomed romance, the moors! If you want the vibes of wandering alone through the world, then this book is a great way to spend your time.

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