A review by yvespiders
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I decided to re-read Wuthering Heights 20 years after I first read it. The second time around, I feel like I have a much better understanding of Emily Brontë's intentions and I have developed more of an appreciation for this novel. I no longer see it as a romantic love story; instead, I see it more like a poetic, gothic story about social class, the vicious effect of childhood abuse on oneself and later generations, and the futility of vengeance. The story is not the most comfortable to read; most of the characters are hateful and there were certain parts that surprised me with its brutal violence. But Heathcliff's character arc and his reflection towards the very end of the book made this masochistic read worth it in the end. 
 
I hesitate to call this a timeless masterpiece, which is why my rating isn't that high. There were some aspects that made this dated and insufferable at times. For instance, I LOATHED the dialogue from Joseph (I generally hate it when authors write out a character's dialect) and I skimmed through those parts. And though frame stories were not uncommon during Brontë's time, the jump from one narrator to another was handled clumsily, in my opinion. However, I think the book offers great commentary on the human condition and I appreciate the fact that this book was so different from other novels that came out at the time same time. 
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