Review | Wuthering Heights
- Emma Herrman
- Mar 14, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 13, 2021
The Book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Date Published: December 1847
Dates Read: February 26 - March 8, 2019
Current Goodreads Rating: 3.84/5
Everyone I've talked to about this book has told me the same thing: you either love Wuthering Heights or you hate it. Originally, when told this, I scoffed and was determined to not fall into these black and white categories, but I failed. I absolutely hated Wuthering Heights.
I read this book the first time when I was a kid. I don't remember exactly when it was, but I remember I was still in either junior high or high school and I desperately wanted to read this book because everyone who loved to read loved this book. After struggling through it for several weeks I finally finished it and could not for the life of me understand what I had just read. Maybe the book was just too dense for me or maybe my eyes just glazed over the second I started reading and I just didn't take anything in, but I could barely remember the plot let alone decide if I loved it or hated it.
When picking the books for this Reading Challenge, picking a book with at least one million reviews was not that easy. There are plenty of books out there like Harry Potter that have been read, enjoyed, and reviewed countless times that have stuck with me throughout my childhood. But when my co-worker raved about Wuthering Heights and I remembered my original disastrous reading I decided to give it another shot. I will happily admit that I was able to follow the plot this time, but I was disappointed to find that I hated every single character I met in the two weeks I gritted my teeth and braced myself through this novel.
Instead of taking time to review this book to shreds because I value my friendships I'm, instead, going to write a letter to each character whose choices made me want to reach through the pages and slap them across the face. Please enjoy.
1. Mr. Lockwood: You sat and listened to a story about a man who blatantly kidnaps, abuses, and (maybe?) rapes a woman and yet you did nothing to help the plight of poor Catherine II. You hear every single bad thing Heathcliff does both to his abusers and his victims and yet you don't think, "Maybe I should get child services involved." No, instead you decide that Heathcliff is way too crazy for your liking so you peace out like a coward and leave Cathy II and Hareton to the wolves. When you come back a year later you're surprised at how well everything turned out because you're a piece of shit.
2. Nell Dean: Look, I'll give you some leeway. You did your best in a tricky situation, but not once did you attempt to fight back. You'd say a few heated words and then quickly fall to Heathcliff. He locked you in a room for five days and you didn't try to get back at him or, I don't know, call the police? You were tracking Heathcliff's plans almost as he was making them and yet you did nothing to try to stop his manipulations. After he was gone and everything was better you didn't seem to feel any guilt at the fact you helped enable the abuse. Also, you knew how bad everything was getting at Wuthering Heights. Just get a new job if you don't want to deal with it.
3. Joseph: What the hell are you saying?
4. All of the children. Yes, ALL of them: OH MY GOD. How can you be so annoying and selfish ALL THE DAMN TIME? You all are either whining when you don't get your way or stamping your foot and stubbornly refusing to let other's live their lives. You either push each other down or write heartfelt love letters to each other and both end up in tears and, usually, some form of kidnapping. Can you not just sit down, shut up, and learn how to be a functioning member of society? I mean really.
5. Catherine Earnshaw Linton: I honestly don't think I've ever met a female character as aggravating as you. You're just as bad as the children. Tell me this: why do you seek out Nell's advice if all you do is rip her to pieces when she doesn't tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear? Also, if you love Heathcliff then do something about it. Your namby-pamby "Oh I love him, but I also love luxury" is toxic and makes you come across as shallow. If you don't actually love him then cut him loose so he can go antagonize some other book.
6. Heathcliffe: Fuck you dude. You're the actual worst. I tried my hardest to like you because you're all misunderstood and have this super tragic backstory and you had to put up with so much abuse and whatever Cathy was doing, but dude. Seriously. Get your tragic shit together. There's dark, handsome, and brooding and then there's scary, abusive, and creepy. You're leaning very heavily towards scary, abusive, and creepy. I get you're trying to get back at the people who wronged you, but at some point you're going to have to do what all of us eventually do: grow up. Plus your pining for Catherine is just sad. This is mostly because Catherine is just as immature as you are if not more so and the fact that you spend your every waking moment pining for the time you will be reunited with her is not endearing or sweet or romantic. Mostly I just wonder how you could stand to be in her presence for longer than 5 minutes without slapping her across the face.
I think if I had to compare you to a modern day romance novel character you'd be Christian Gray (Grey? I don't know and I really don't want to look it up). This is because, for some reason, A LOT of women love you and I honestly cannot fathom why. You're manipulative, abusive, and if you ever tried to flirt with me or even look in my direction I'd call the cops and also probably mace you in the face.
Alright, now that I got that off my chest I feel a lot better. After my second read of Wuthering Heights I just get the feeling that it is just like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juilet. Everyone who has ever read literature cites it as a tale of romance, but all I can see are a bunch of stupid people who didn't say what they were feeling and then they died. The end.
Long Story Short:
Sometimes things that are old are worse
Don't be a dick
Abuse is not affection
My Rating: 2/5 (should I give this a 1/5? Maybe, but it just seems too cruel)
Up Next: The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Comentarios