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Introduction to the Novel & Narrative Patterns in Wuthering Heights

Introduction to the Novel & Narrative Patterns in Wuthering Heights. One of the famed Bronte sisters, wrote her only novel, Wuthering Heights (1847) under the masculine pen name Ellis Bell . Emily had four older siblings and one younger: Maria (1814-1825)- died at age 11 when Emily was 7

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Introduction to the Novel & Narrative Patterns in Wuthering Heights

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  1. Introduction to the Novel & Narrative Patterns in Wuthering Heights

  2. One of the famed Bronte sisters, wrote her only novel, Wuthering Heights (1847) under the masculine pen name Ellis Bell. • Emily had four older siblings and one younger: • Maria (1814-1825)- died at age 11 when Emily was 7 • Elizabeth (1815-1825)- died at age 10 when Emily was 7 • Charlotte (1816-1855) • Patrick “Branwell” (1817-1848)- died at age 31 when Emily was 29 • Younger sister Anne (1820-1849) died six months after Emily Emily Bronte (1818-1848)

  3. The four surviving Bronte siblings would often entertain themselves by making up wild stories & poems, effectually creating an imaginary world with corresponding personas. Bronte’s own home in the bleak Yorkshire moors provides the setting for the at-times other-worldly passions of the Byronic Heathcliff and Catherine in W.H.. Set in 18th C. England when social and economic values were changing and land ownership did not always the man make, it is a world of patriarchal values juxtaposed with the natural elements. Emily Bronte (1818-1848)

  4. Yorkshire, England

  5. Yorkshire, England

  6. The present . . . (our ‘frame’) When Mr. Lockwood visits the house known as Wuthering Heights– both of his visits are unwelcome– he is trapped there by a snowstorm and strange things begin to happen as he gets ready to go to bed…Along with some VERY angry people, a small child (or possible ghost??) set the stage for an intriguing story.

  7. Mr. Lockwood unnerved • Well, of course, Mr. Lockwood is unnerved– he thinks that he has had a horrible dream until…Mr. Heathcliff rushes in, throws open the window, and howls for Cathy to haunt him.

  8. What’s a man to think? • Naturally, Mr. Lockwood wants to know the whole story behind the ghost, the unidentified girl who lives with Heathcliff, and whatever other mysteries surround the harsh environment of Wuthering Heights, but how is he to find out what happened twenty years ago? • Enter Nelly Dean…

  9. Nelly Dean: housekeeper who has seen it all Nelly works in the house that Mr. Lockwood rented for the year (Thrushcross Grange). When Mr. Lockwood becomes ill, Nelly promises to tell him the WHOLE story about all of the strange goings on at Wuthering Heights… Nelly lived at Wuthering Heights and worked for Catherine’s family (and later for Catherine) all of her life, and she was around to witness AND to participate in all of the events.

  10. THE PAST • Now, through Nellie, the reader is taken back twenty years to the time when Mr Earnshaw brought home a waif (“it”) from London and named him Heathcliff (why just one name? why that name?) • The reader will now, with the help of Nelly’s narration, progress through the past and will eventually (toward the end of the book) permanently return to the present.

  11. But there is a “catch” • Remember reading Frankenstein? • Sometimes the narrator of a story may not be reliable or truthful. . . . • How, exactly, does she feel about Heathcliff, for example?

  12. Some Things to Ponder… • How does Religion play into all of this? • What about social norms? DO they count in a society of basically TWO houses? • How does setting play into the tale- both the natural, outdoor setting and each of the two homes? • Who are the monsters? Who are the saints? What is hell or heaven? Lots of opposites again!

  13. Some other things to think about What factors motivate why people marry? Love, security, social strata or passion? What about Catherine? • Is revenge inherently destructive to the self? How is revenge a force in the text? Is it somehow connected with love?

  14. Heathcliff What about Heathcliff’s total disregard of all the conventions of society? Is he a free spirit that lives a genuine, authentic life without regard to “what other people think”? OR Is he a horribly destructive force that threatens the fabric of society?

  15. Gender • Are Heathcliff and Catherine the ARCHETYPES of masculinity and femininity? • Why is their story so enduring? • Why do girls often choose the “bad boys” who never treat them well? • What characters fit and bend gender stereotypes?

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