Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, is a Gothic-esque novel about the darker side of romance. It is narrated by a servant, Mrs. Ellen "Nelly" Dean, and a tenant named Mr. Lockwood (his forms a frame around hers, for she is telling him this story). The good people on SparkNotes that helped me better understand Brontë's classic work consider Mrs. Dean to be compassionate, sensible, and intelligent. I agree with the last two; however, Nelly Dean is far from compassionate. She is horribly judgemental, nosy, and a complete instigator--some of the events in this story would not have come to pass had she minded her own business. But do not let my dislike of her stop you from reading Wuthering Heights, for, no matter what I think of her "personally," she weaves a marvelous narrative. This book is amazing, though admittedly difficult to read. I suggest the edition I read, the Barnes&Nobles Classics edition (or something like it with footnotes and end notes for explanations), unless you are familiar with the language and customs of 19th century England. The characters are well-developed and quite faschinating--it becomes almost imperative to know if or when everything will resolve itself. Lockwood's declaration at the beginning of Chapter 2, "...I don't care--I will get in!" is the same declaration the reader makes on meeting the peculiar inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. One becomes almost superhumanly determined to discover the origins of their peculiar behavior and find out how they end up. Heathcliffe is most incomprehensible, though that has not stopped generations of readers from trying to find a mold to fit him into.

The reason I called this literary classic "gothic-esque" is because it does have the Gothic element of ghosts; however, it was written after that literary period was over and, to be honest, you are never sure if the ghosts are real or just dreams and local superstition. So it is not truly Gothic, though it has the elements of such a genre.

If you are into sweet stories with happy endings, this book is not for you; however, if you are open to the darker side of romance and life in general and enjoy reading about characters who descend into madness as their death date grows nearer or who will stop at nothing for vengeance against their persecutors, then you will love this work of art. Wuthering Heights itself is bit like Heathcliffe: completely unique, but with enough characteristics of the familiar that we assume we can put into some understandable category. I can, however, promise you this: I could pick this book up next week and have a whole new adventure while reading it. It's the kind of book one never tires of reading or can't glean a little something different from each time they read it.

Note: Please do not disregard this review because of my use of Sparknotes. I just wanted to fully understand the story so that I could give an educated opinion about it. I used SparkNotes as an occasional companion, not a crutch or substitute for the book.
Also: Wuthering Heights in italics is referring to the title of the novel; Wuthering Heights without the italics is the house where Heathcliffe and some of the other charcters reside.