Generally knowing that Wuthering Heights centered around Heathcliff and his nature, I was shocked to find that every character had their own violent and detestable nature. Don't we all, but theirs was on display for us woven by Bronte to perfectly subtle tale of consequence. I think it is also interesting that we only have Nelly's version of this tale where she is subtle in her catalystic destruction. Nice weaving of nature into this essay too!
Author Jeanette Winterson wrote, "Wuthering Heights is commonly thought of as 'romantic,' but try rereading it without being astonished by the extremes of physical and psychological violence."
Isn't this SO accurate? Our preconceived notion is that this is a love story--a romantic love story. It poses so many challenges to a modern reader (e.g. antiquated language, dialect, and our lack of knowledge regarding marriage/property laws of the 18/19th centuries) and that's one thing, but then we discover that literally every character is volatile and for most readers, it becomes too much.
As to your point on Nelly...more and more I recognize that she (our unreliable narrator) in her capacity as storyteller confesses to encouraging most of the chaos. If this were not a tale of fiction, I would have to seriously wonder: if this is what she confesses to, what is she leaving out?!
Yes, I too am left wondering what she left out or twisted a bit.
I have been thinking a lot about expectations when its to Wuthering Heights. Would it be better to say it is a gothic tale of extremely volatile characters. Would it clarify the tale a bit more rather than the romance tag, which it clearly is. Would anyone want to read that? Maybe it is best left as a gothic romance and those who endure the discomfort will be rewarded in the end.
I put down Wuthering heights last week after getting as far as when Isabel leaves Heathcliff. I came to it after reading Jane Eyre and Shirley and wanting to understand Emily better whom Shirley was based on.
You’re right about Nelly, she’s as toxic as the others but it’s just too much violence to continue. I’ll watch the film.
I have seen only one film--and honestly, really *did* enjoy it--the 1992 Peter Kosminsky adaptation. It received terrible reviews at the time and it has a number of faults, but Ralph Fiennes is accurate in his portrayal of Heathcliff; so it isn't entirely misleading to future readers of the novel. In other words, the cruelty and violence will not come as a surprise.
There is a nice list of the film adaptations available on Wikipedia, it may help you make your decision. Adaptations go as far back as a 1920 silent film!
Hi Sally! I'm curious...which film are you planning to watch? The 2026 Margot Robbie film or one of the older versions (or, maybe one of the International films, of which there are a few.)
Oh yes. Very violent. Most printed editions fail to make that clear in their back cover blurbs and book blurbs. In fact, I recently added a content warning to my read-along home page b/c so many people are disappointed when they begin reading.
Generally knowing that Wuthering Heights centered around Heathcliff and his nature, I was shocked to find that every character had their own violent and detestable nature. Don't we all, but theirs was on display for us woven by Bronte to perfectly subtle tale of consequence. I think it is also interesting that we only have Nelly's version of this tale where she is subtle in her catalystic destruction. Nice weaving of nature into this essay too!
Author Jeanette Winterson wrote, "Wuthering Heights is commonly thought of as 'romantic,' but try rereading it without being astonished by the extremes of physical and psychological violence."
Isn't this SO accurate? Our preconceived notion is that this is a love story--a romantic love story. It poses so many challenges to a modern reader (e.g. antiquated language, dialect, and our lack of knowledge regarding marriage/property laws of the 18/19th centuries) and that's one thing, but then we discover that literally every character is volatile and for most readers, it becomes too much.
As to your point on Nelly...more and more I recognize that she (our unreliable narrator) in her capacity as storyteller confesses to encouraging most of the chaos. If this were not a tale of fiction, I would have to seriously wonder: if this is what she confesses to, what is she leaving out?!
Yes, I too am left wondering what she left out or twisted a bit.
I have been thinking a lot about expectations when its to Wuthering Heights. Would it be better to say it is a gothic tale of extremely volatile characters. Would it clarify the tale a bit more rather than the romance tag, which it clearly is. Would anyone want to read that? Maybe it is best left as a gothic romance and those who endure the discomfort will be rewarded in the end.
I put down Wuthering heights last week after getting as far as when Isabel leaves Heathcliff. I came to it after reading Jane Eyre and Shirley and wanting to understand Emily better whom Shirley was based on.
You’re right about Nelly, she’s as toxic as the others but it’s just too much violence to continue. I’ll watch the film.
Probably an older film, any recommendations?
I have seen only one film--and honestly, really *did* enjoy it--the 1992 Peter Kosminsky adaptation. It received terrible reviews at the time and it has a number of faults, but Ralph Fiennes is accurate in his portrayal of Heathcliff; so it isn't entirely misleading to future readers of the novel. In other words, the cruelty and violence will not come as a surprise.
There is a nice list of the film adaptations available on Wikipedia, it may help you make your decision. Adaptations go as far back as a 1920 silent film!
Thank you. I will watch one in the coming couple of weeks.
I have big pile of classics ready to read but have no time at the moment. Jane Austen soon, Frankenstein is on the list…
Hi Sally! I'm curious...which film are you planning to watch? The 2026 Margot Robbie film or one of the older versions (or, maybe one of the International films, of which there are a few.)
Oh yes. Very violent. Most printed editions fail to make that clear in their back cover blurbs and book blurbs. In fact, I recently added a content warning to my read-along home page b/c so many people are disappointed when they begin reading.
Thanks so much for your comment. ♡