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leapyear_reader's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Grief, Incest, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Bullying, Classism, and Alcoholism
stellabyproxy's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Grief, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Incest
Moderate: Physical abuse, Bullying, Confinement, and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, and Alcoholism
christinewonder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Grief
lectricefeministe's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
bronbaewr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Grief, and Incest
cinderrunner's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Incest, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Violence, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Domestic abuse
meg_hubbard04's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcoholism
eggfriend's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Violence
headachesince03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder and Religious bigotry
aegagrus's review against another edition
3.75
The story itself is a tale of manipulation -- most famously Heathcliff's vengeful machinations, but not exclusively. Emily Bronte explores the tragic perversity bred by manipulative relationships, and the heartbreaking alienation in which such relationships often conclude. Throughout all of this, her treatment of child and adolescent characters is particularly notable. Her young characters are not passive objects of manipulation by their elders. They are indeed manipulated in particular ways, and Bronte is deeply sympathetic about this. They are also players with unique agency, and very often the instigating forces moving the story along, for good or for ill.
Wuthering Heights is deservedly a classic. Bronte's highly evocative descriptions of the Yorkshire moors lend a significant gravitas to the work, as do her unflinching depictions of the emotional nadirs in her tragic saga.
Bronte's use of illness (chronic and otherwise) as a strong narrative propellant may feel too neat to the modern reader. It is worth noting that the relationship between physical health and moral/emotional health would have been thought of differently by the Victorian reader (which is perhaps why it is never quite clear whether illness is a cause or an effect). The novel's ending may also come across as an unnecessary concession which detracts from its otherwise unflinching character. This may be so, but if Bronte's ending is a concession to anything, it is in all likelihood nothing more than a concession to the literary environment of her time.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse