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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this book was a romance novel and boy, was I wrong. I’ve never had such conflicting feelings for a story but I… enjoy it? I like that there is no concrete answer to the plot, it can go so many ways and there are so many meanings. I personally view Heathcliff as a villain and felt incredibly angry when he enacted his revenge!! Which is weird because I also liked his love for Catherine? I still maintain that Joseph is my favorite character. But wow, the closing remarks are beautiful. So happy I read a classic with my bffs and this is a reminder to myself to stop reading shallow booktok books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Gun violence
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have heard two perspectives when it comes to this novel: "this is so grim and depressing, why is this considered a classic?" and "oh Catherine and Heathcliff are soo romantic, this story is so romantic". Just these two ideas bouncing in my head ever since I've heard about this book. I did not care either way for a long while because I didn't think I'd ever read this, ever. But then the promo pictures for Emerald Fennell's 2026 adaptation came out and I was . . . intrigued to say the least. It put everyone who loved the classic into a whirlwind and I'm so nosy that I simply had to pick up the book to know why everyone was upset with the pictures. I'm nothing if not a moody, nosy reader.
With that being said, I do agree with the fans of the novel being very, very concerned about the 2026 adaptation. Now I won't go into a rant about the costumes nor the casting nor the very foundation of the story being upheaved, but I will talk about how I think this book withstood the sands of time.
I've not done my full research into the time period of when this book was published, the culture that Emily was around, nor anything regarding who she is in history. But I'm probably not the first to come to this interpretation that unadulterated passion can lead to one's (and possibly more) demise, in whatever form.
The setting of Wuthering Heights at the top of this hill with Thrushcross Grange some distance away near the bottom, with the main town of Gimmerton many miles out, is a great way of isolating these characters to reveal their true selves while also seemingly tied down by trivial societal standards. It's this back and forth of wanting to be a free spirit yet cannot escape how one is perceived by others (ie. Catherine and Heathcliff). Even when society is not directly staring them down (we don't ever get a perspective in the town of Gimmerton at all, only ever between WH or TG), it haunts them in the form of older authority (the parents) or possibly God (through Joseph's POV). I love the greyness, the open skies, the rolling greens - it feels so vulnerable and overwhelming to take in, to let one feel. It's the perfect setting for wild passions.
There are so many dynamics being played around throughout the story: Catherine and Heathcliff, Catherine and Edgar, Edgar and Isabella, Isabella and Heathcliff, Cathy and Linton, Cathy and Hareton, Hareton and Heathcliff, Hindley and Heathcliff, etc. The two that stood out to me (because I think they directly contradict each other in a parallel kind of way) are Catherine and Heathcliff and Cathy and Hareton. These two are so fascinating when put against each other because the youngers were able to figure it out unlike their elders.
To me, Catherine and Heathcliff had so much passion, it burned everything they touched, including each other. They did not know how to manage themselves and didn't care how it hurt the others. Catherine was free-spirited and spoke her mind and was even educated, which are (as of modern times) good traits, but she never considered others in her life. Or if she did, it was in relation to herself like when she thought Edgar would not mind spending on Heathcliff's education if she married him because Heathcliff was her friend (like gurrrrlllll you crazyyyy). There was even a scene where she had to apologize to Heathcliff (?), and when he didn't readily accept it, she walked away, upset. She never really reflected on how her actions/words affected others. Then there's Heathcliff, whom had many disadvantages in life (not solely by his own doing!) and had to build this thicker layer of himself as protection. Yes, perhaps there was solace in Catherine's company, but he never forgot who he was in relation to her and her peers. Understandably, it is difficult to be vulnerable with someone you love and care about and know that she will never truly understand you. She can't! So yes, he would isolate himself, he wouldn't open up properly. In this racist, patriarchal society, he had to learn how to be cunning, harsh, and cruel just as others have been to him because he can't trust that they will treat him humanely. Does that condone his actions and affecting later generations? NO, absolutely not. But does it make sense how he viewed the world and how ready he was to spit at it? Yep.
In contrast, there's Cathy and Hareton. Cathy, the near spitting image of her mother, who is just as free-spirited and curious and open to the world, has experienced consuming tragedy. The loss of her father, who genuinely tried to be a good man to her despite his own shortcomings and then of her cousin/husband (crazyyyy) Linton, whom she had to care for him in his last moments ALONE, begging for others to help her. I don't want to say that tragedies make "better" people or such, but I do think that in her darkest moments, brewing in hatred and bitterness for Heathcliff and everyone in that house after everything that happened, when Nelly snapped at her to acknowledged Hareton's feelings (probably my favorite scene), she realized that other people have their own sufferings to trudge through. Here was her cousin Hareton, trying to open up to her and hoping maybe she may do the same, to close this distance between them because he sees her suffering and wants to help her, but all she does is bite back and hurt him, further isolating herself which goes against everything that she is as a person. She definitely yearns for connection, if her wanderlust and eagerness to be close to others is anything to go by, so to apologize genuinely to Hareton, over and over, is what makes her different from her mother. Meanwhile, Hareton has his own tragedies. Losing his mother, dealing with his abusive alcoholic father, and being used by Heathcliff unknowingly - he definitely could've ended up a "bad" person. Initially, he was a naughty child, swearing at people and such. But then he matured and found his own solace within himself, using his own thick layers to protect himself, and not project onto others in cruelty like Heathcliff. Perhaps that's how he learned not to, taking by example. So here we have to young people who have to learn how to communicate with each other and be vulnerable, letting down their guards to truly understand one another, away from the societal eye. It also helps that they realize that these statuses do not really matter because who is there to truly scold them anymore? That small mention of the two of them spending early evenings walking the moor, just talking with each other until they come home later in the night felt so romantic to me.
It honestly surprises me the way that people talk about the romance of this novel as only being between Catherine and Heathcliff, never acknowledging the true lovers: Cathy and Hareton. Like this is not a love story - this is a story about romance and all its layers: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's a cautionary tale of what passion can twist a person to become. Love is a human thing to do, but we are flawed and thus we must take care to love, not just for others but for ourselves. I think that's why I love this book and understand how it became a timeless classic . . . and why I'm absolutely afraid of the 2026 adaptation. So excuse me while I go and consume the 1939 and 2011 adaptations to make myself feel a little better, farewell.
With that being said, I do agree with the fans of the novel being very, very concerned about the 2026 adaptation. Now I won't go into a rant about the costumes nor the casting nor the very foundation of the story being upheaved, but I will talk about how I think this book withstood the sands of time.
I've not done my full research into the time period of when this book was published, the culture that Emily was around, nor anything regarding who she is in history. But I'm probably not the first to come to this interpretation that unadulterated passion can lead to one's (and possibly more) demise, in whatever form.
The setting of Wuthering Heights at the top of this hill with Thrushcross Grange some distance away near the bottom, with the main town of Gimmerton many miles out, is a great way of isolating these characters to reveal their true selves while also seemingly tied down by trivial societal standards. It's this back and forth of wanting to be a free spirit yet cannot escape how one is perceived by others (ie. Catherine and Heathcliff). Even when society is not directly staring them down (we don't ever get a perspective in the town of Gimmerton at all, only ever between WH or TG), it haunts them in the form of older authority (the parents) or possibly God (through Joseph's POV). I love the greyness, the open skies, the rolling greens - it feels so vulnerable and overwhelming to take in, to let one feel. It's the perfect setting for wild passions.
There are so many dynamics being played around throughout the story: Catherine and Heathcliff, Catherine and Edgar, Edgar and Isabella, Isabella and Heathcliff, Cathy and Linton, Cathy and Hareton, Hareton and Heathcliff, Hindley and Heathcliff, etc. The two that stood out to me (because I think they directly contradict each other in a parallel kind of way) are Catherine and Heathcliff and Cathy and Hareton. These two are so fascinating when put against each other because the youngers were able to figure it out unlike their elders.
To me, Catherine and Heathcliff had so much passion, it burned everything they touched, including each other. They did not know how to manage themselves and didn't care how it hurt the others. Catherine was free-spirited and spoke her mind and was even educated, which are (as of modern times) good traits, but she never considered others in her life. Or if she did, it was in relation to herself like when she thought Edgar would not mind spending on Heathcliff's education if she married him because Heathcliff was her friend (like gurrrrlllll you crazyyyy). There was even a scene where she had to apologize to Heathcliff (?), and when he didn't readily accept it, she walked away, upset. She never really reflected on how her actions/words affected others. Then there's Heathcliff, whom had many disadvantages in life (not solely by his own doing!) and had to build this thicker layer of himself as protection. Yes, perhaps there was solace in Catherine's company, but he never forgot who he was in relation to her and her peers. Understandably, it is difficult to be vulnerable with someone you love and care about and know that she will never truly understand you. She can't! So yes, he would isolate himself, he wouldn't open up properly. In this racist, patriarchal society, he had to learn how to be cunning, harsh, and cruel just as others have been to him because he can't trust that they will treat him humanely. Does that condone his actions and affecting later generations? NO, absolutely not. But does it make sense how he viewed the world and how ready he was to spit at it? Yep.
In contrast, there's Cathy and Hareton. Cathy, the near spitting image of her mother, who is just as free-spirited and curious and open to the world, has experienced consuming tragedy. The loss of her father, who genuinely tried to be a good man to her despite his own shortcomings and then of her cousin/husband (crazyyyy) Linton, whom she had to care for him in his last moments ALONE, begging for others to help her. I don't want to say that tragedies make "better" people or such, but I do think that in her darkest moments, brewing in hatred and bitterness for Heathcliff and everyone in that house after everything that happened, when Nelly snapped at her to acknowledged Hareton's feelings (probably my favorite scene), she realized that other people have their own sufferings to trudge through. Here was her cousin Hareton, trying to open up to her and hoping maybe she may do the same, to close this distance between them because he sees her suffering and wants to help her, but all she does is bite back and hurt him, further isolating herself which goes against everything that she is as a person. She definitely yearns for connection, if her wanderlust and eagerness to be close to others is anything to go by, so to apologize genuinely to Hareton, over and over, is what makes her different from her mother. Meanwhile, Hareton has his own tragedies. Losing his mother, dealing with his abusive alcoholic father, and being used by Heathcliff unknowingly - he definitely could've ended up a "bad" person. Initially, he was a naughty child, swearing at people and such. But then he matured and found his own solace within himself, using his own thick layers to protect himself, and not project onto others in cruelty like Heathcliff. Perhaps that's how he learned not to, taking by example. So here we have to young people who have to learn how to communicate with each other and be vulnerable, letting down their guards to truly understand one another, away from the societal eye. It also helps that they realize that these statuses do not really matter because who is there to truly scold them anymore? That small mention of the two of them spending early evenings walking the moor, just talking with each other until they come home later in the night felt so romantic to me.
It honestly surprises me the way that people talk about the romance of this novel as only being between Catherine and Heathcliff, never acknowledging the true lovers: Cathy and Hareton. Like this is not a love story - this is a story about romance and all its layers: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It's a cautionary tale of what passion can twist a person to become. Love is a human thing to do, but we are flawed and thus we must take care to love, not just for others but for ourselves. I think that's why I love this book and understand how it became a timeless classic . . . and why I'm absolutely afraid of the 2026 adaptation. So excuse me while I go and consume the 1939 and 2011 adaptations to make myself feel a little better, farewell.
I think I would have liked this more if it had been pitched correctly. Every time you hear about this novel, it’s called a tragic love story. It’s not, it’s Heathcliff’s life as told by his servant. It’s like if Nick told Gatsby’s story to whoever rented Gatsby’s mansion after the book ends. I understand why everyone loves the setting and etc. I’m not even bothered by the unlikeable characters, I quite appreciated them and was engaged in their lives (until the one I cared for died). I might like to see this as a play, even. It’s just not what I was expecting and never made me want to sit down and give time to it. Not enough happened. If I ever re read this, I think I’ll like it more.
I’ve tried reading this book several times over the past decade, always finding it just slightly out of reach. Be it emotionally, mentally, or otherwise.
Like any literature-lover, I’ve been aware of this book since I first fell in love with literature from eras past. Who among us hasn’t read, at least once, the most famous quote, ‘whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same’, and not immediately become curious as to what kind of love could inspire such a sentence.
Despite my many tries over the past ten years, it hadn’t clicked with me until now. Even after watching the film with Laurence Olivier, and finally making it a few chapters in, I still had some sort of block. I was in love with the story, but not with the struggle had with the introductory chapters.
Finally, I allowed myself to utilize SparkNotes to assist me through the first 50 or so pages. After that, it was smooth sailing.
I won’t get into the symbolism, summary, etc. (I’ll leave that for my Substack). HOWEVER, I won’t waste time and must say now that the last chunk of Wuthering Heights took the very last breaths out of my body.
I had already fallen in love with the setting, aspects of the characters, and the ambiance; but the last three/four chapters cemented it as a book to go onto my very limited All Time Favorites shelf on my bookcase.
Altogether, I’m so proud of myself for *finally* falling into this book. Emily Brontë, thank you for your service.
Like any literature-lover, I’ve been aware of this book since I first fell in love with literature from eras past. Who among us hasn’t read, at least once, the most famous quote, ‘whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same’, and not immediately become curious as to what kind of love could inspire such a sentence.
Despite my many tries over the past ten years, it hadn’t clicked with me until now. Even after watching the film with Laurence Olivier, and finally making it a few chapters in, I still had some sort of block. I was in love with the story, but not with the struggle had with the introductory chapters.
Finally, I allowed myself to utilize SparkNotes to assist me through the first 50 or so pages. After that, it was smooth sailing.
I won’t get into the symbolism, summary, etc. (I’ll leave that for my Substack). HOWEVER, I won’t waste time and must say now that the last chunk of Wuthering Heights took the very last breaths out of my body.
I had already fallen in love with the setting, aspects of the characters, and the ambiance; but the last three/four chapters cemented it as a book to go onto my very limited All Time Favorites shelf on my bookcase.
Altogether, I’m so proud of myself for *finally* falling into this book. Emily Brontë, thank you for your service.
almost unbearably tragic. those brontë sisters were CRAZY… crazy talented
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The classical dark romance book, a piece where darkness is not too romantized, the hate and darkness can be felt through the pages, but impossible to stop reading.