Emily Bronte's only book has become a desktop book for several generations of girls and girls who dreamed of romantic love. And let the ending of this beautiful story be gloomy, the main characters have many shortcomings, and the described landscapes sin with monotony and boredom, but while reading the plot does not let go for a minute, and when you close the book, you want to love with all your heart to experience all those contradictory emotions as Heathcliff.
about the author
Emily Bronte was the middle of three sisters. She received a good education, but did it at large intervals, as her material situation and health did not always allow her to attend school. With her sisters Charlotte and Emily, the writer was close enough, but the family noted that she was inherent in such features as isolation, straightforwardness and mysticism. She had no other close friends, but she did not seek to find them. In addition to housework, Emily taught at a school near her home.
Many love Bronte's Wuthering Heights masterpiece. But she also wrote poems that were appreciated in literary circles and were put on a par with Byron and Shelley. Unfortunately, the already difficult and gloomy life of the girl was short-lived. At the age of 27, she caught a cold at the funeral of her brother, and consumption developed. They could not help her. And her creative legacy was recognized only after death thanks to the efforts of Charlotte.
So, the Wuthering Heights novel. A brief summary, or, if you like, a free retelling, will not be able to convey a three-dimensional picture, but we hope that it will interest readers.
Introduction, or plot
Storm Pass - a love story. But not about those beautiful lofty feelings that make people be better, kinder, brighter to others, but about passion that absorbs everything around and erases the human face. In the center of the plot is the story of the Ernshaw and Linton families, shown through the prism of the relationship between the main characters. The novel takes place in England in the 18th century. The story begins at the moment when the wealthy landowner brings home a gypsy boy of about ten years old and announces that from now on he will live with his family. Of course, the households were not enthusiastic about this prospect, but they had to come to terms. Esquire already had two children: Katerina and Hindley. The boy was the eldest in the family and had to inherit the estate along with his entire fortune.
After their peaceful life was destroyed by the appearance of Heathcliff, a sad event follows: the mother of the family, Mrs. Earnshaw, dies, which greatly affects the health of the owner of the house. The friendship between Kathy and the young man quickly develops into a love that frightens themselves. But getting to know the neighbors from Cape Starling somewhat dilutes the girl’s social circle, and she sees an alternative in the young, educated and beautiful Edgar Linton, who also claims to be her attention. Hindley goes to college, and after a short period of time, Mr. Earnshaw dies from a heart attack, and Hindley returns home with his family. Heathcliff’s future is put an end to, because the boys disliked each other since childhood, and now that they have become a master and a servant, the relationship has become more than strained.
Difficult choice
Katherine, seeing the humiliation that her beloved has to endure, decides to marry Linton so that Heathcliff has financial support. But her plan did not succeed, because immediately after the matchmaking, the young man disappeared without a trace and appeared only after three long years. He looked, talked and behaved like a gentleman, and the availability of money made him a good party for any girl, but love does not die only because she was neglected.
A few months later, Katerina, being pregnant, begins to show signs of mental disorder: she speaks to herself, hysteria happens to her, she wants to see Heathcliff all the time, and her husband is trying to prevent this. In the end, after a long stay in the cold, the expectant mother fell ill with fever and died after premature birth, and she was mourned by Edgar and Heathliff.
Heathcliff family life
Isabella Linton, Edgar's sister, falls in love with the gloomy and unsociable Heathcliff and marries him. But having not lived with her husband for a year, the girl runs away from him in a neighboring county, where she finds out the terrible news - she carries a child under her heart. The boy was born weak and painful, and after the death of his mother went to live in Wuthering Heights. The novel continues to develop in a kind of absurd spiral: the Linton daughter falls in love with Heathcliff's son and marries him. This finally knocks the soil out from under her father’s feet, and Edgar dies after a short illness.
Denouement and finale
At the end of the story, Heathcliff becomes rich, but his heart remains black. He did not forgive anyone the humiliation he suffered in childhood. Hindley has long been resting on a family graveyard, and his son is doing dirty work in Wuthering Heights. Katerina’s daughter is Heathcliff’s daughter-in-law, but she never found happiness in marriage, because her husband is seriously ill, moody and has the same unbearable character as her father. However, this burden was short-lived. Having become a widow, she plunges into herself and stops responding to the world around her.
Acquaintance with the characters of the novel Bronte's Wuthering Heights takes place just at this period of their life. And the reader will recognize previous events in the retelling of the housekeeper of the Earnshaw family, Helen Dean. She entertains with the stories of her new owner, the tenant of Cape Starling. In fact, Helen herself composes a novel called Wuthering Heights, a summary of which Mr. Lockwood, who appeared in those parts shortly before the death of Heathcliff, recognizes.
Be that as it may, after going through so much torment on earth, wishing death to all his enemies and their children, Heathcliff dies and reunites with Katerina, so that she will never let her go again. This event allows the young Hariton Earnshaw, son of Hindley, to show his feelings for Katerina Linton and put an end to the feud.
Love story
Reading the Wuthering Heights, the brief summary of which is given above, you understand how versatile and all-consuming love is. She pushed Katie and Heathcliff into terrible acts so that others could feel pain and bitterness like them. Wanting to help her lover, Miss Linton marries another, hoping for understanding from Heathcliff. Trying to get a decent position in society, he becomes even more cruel and prudent. Wuthering Heights, the love, birth and death in which came uninvited and left when they wanted, became the scene of a tragedy. Revenge should be cold, but in this case, love always warmed it to a state of boiling. These two were able to show how strong a passion can be that cannot be destroyed, even if one lives apart, even if one brings suffering to one another, even after death.
Adaptations
Emily Bronte’s novel, Wuthering Heights, is an outstanding book in many ways, and it was not easy to make a film on it. Since 1920, films have been released in English, French and Spanish. All of them were somehow remembered by the audience. The main problem for the actors was the emotional part that Wuthering Heights demanded. The best film adaptation, according to viewers, was shot in 2009. Not everyone agrees with this, but everyone has the right to their opinion.
Critics
They were very suspicious of the novel during its first edition. Critics considered him too gloomy, grotesque and mystical, not at all suitable for reading young girls. But after Emily Bronte ’s death, Charlotte reprinted the book and received the first positive reviews. Wuthering Heights (the analysis of specialists was meticulous) turned out to be worth reading and was much deeper than it seemed at first glance. This was even noted by Gertrude Stein, which at that time meant praise of the highest standard.
Public acceptance
After only a century and a half, Wuthering Heights, a quote from which romantic youth actively borrowed, became a classic of English literature. He is studied in schools and universities, young talented writers are trying to repeat some of the storylines, and the directors do not give up attempts to remove a decent adaptation. It is not known whether Emily Bronte wanted this, but for many, the concept of strong and all-consuming love is not associated with Romeo and Juliet, but with Heathcliff and Katie. The Wuthering Heights mansion, the novel of the main characters, English nature - all give a special charm to this work.
Afterword
Wuthering Heights is a book that absorbs the reader, immerses him in a maelstrom of events against the backdrop of a beautiful but rude nature. It’s not completely clear why the young girl came up with just such a plot for the novel. What made her write such a gloomy thing? Her life was joyless, and no romance was mentioned anywhere, but the essence of love, its heat, passion and torment were conveyed very naturally. The Wuthering Heights novel, the summary of which, we hope, will provide food for thought and, of course, for exploring the full storyline, is definitely recommended for reading. Fortunately, you can now find audio performances, and e-books, and affordable paper copies.