New Wuthering Heights study guide!

Some characters never die…

You may never have read it, but you probably know something about it. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, does not have a complex or particularly original plot. This is not where the interest lies. Instead, Brontë’s powerful characterisation ensures that, without having studied or even read it, people who have heard of the novel are likely to mention Heathcliff and Catherine and their relationship, as opposed to than any particular event in the story.

The powerful account of a passionate love that goes beyond the grave has received all sorts of film / television and musical treatments, but few of these versions fully capture the texture and detail of the novel. Indeed, a bald summary of what various characters get up to (dictated by pressure of airspace etc) might seem incomprehensible, without the solid prose ‘realism’ and measured narration of the observant servant and confidante, Nelly Dean.

Through her, and the newcomer, Lockwood, we believe that Catherine Earnshaw might well walk the moors, twenty years after her early death, and Heathcliff ‘forget to breathe’ in his desire to be with her.

Enduring love

Although society was outraged when the story was first published in 1847, Wuthering Heights has never been relegated to the ‘second division’ of literature – a situation illustrated by that fact that Emily Brontë’s only novel currently features on three A Level Eng. Lit. syllabuses (Edexcel, AQA, WJEC). It still engages readers today, despite our very different culture.

In one sense, the novel stands aside from its times, but it also spoke to – and was a product of - 1840s England, as the shocked reaction demonstrates. To help you see the connections of the story to the context of its creation (AO4), a new Crossref-it.info guide to Brontë’s story has been launched this week.

Comprehensive help

• Struggling to make sense of Joseph’s outbursts? In the detailed commentaries on each chapter you’ll find explanations of what he is referring to.
• Need to get clear about Brontë’s narrative chronology? Sections on Narrative and Structure will help.
• Tracing image clusters and how they play out in the novel’s two main locations? You’ll find everything you need in Imagery.
• Want to get to grips with the novel’s Gothic resonances? Look no further than Literary context.

The new Crossref-it.info guide to Wuthering Heights is there to help.