17 June 2009

Wuthering Heights I

Respond here before class tomorrow for Wuthering Heights (at least) thru p 180. 



Posted by at

9 comments:

  1. MRGJune 17, 2009 at 11:11 PM

    I admire the depiction of Heathcliff's character because even though I do, as a reader, feel much sympathy towards him, Bronte does not paint him in a purely sympathetic light. He has moments of aggression. At times he is the underdog, and sometimes he shows a sinister side. This duality is much more interesting to read, and reminds me somewhat of Mr. Rochester, who is not completely trustworthy in Jane Eyre, but whose duality is underlined, or imagined, by Jean Rhys.
    Catherine is also a multifaceted character, but not quite in the same way. The polarities in her seem to be in her free-spiritedness and on the other end her desire for high social esteem.

    also, don't know if you guys are into kate bush but she is rad and you should watch this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW3gKKiTvjs

    ReplyDelete
  2. Josh CabreraJune 18, 2009 at 7:40 AM

    I’ll talk about the similarities between Catherine’s ghost and Beloved. First, there is the effort of the ghost to reenter the house in which it lived. Lockwood’s reaction of horror is matched by that of the townspeople in Beloved. Moreover, the appearance of the ghost (or non-appearance, in the case of Catherine’s ghost) awakens feelings of guilt. However, the ghost does not appear to the interested party; Heathcliff does not see it, which Lockwood remarks upon: “The spectre showed a spectre’s ordinary caprice: it gave no sign of being;” Unfortunately, we have yet to see a friendly ghost like Casper.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 18, 2009 at 8:51 AM

    "I surveyed the weapon inquisitvely. A hideous notion struck me: how powerful I should be possessing such an instrument!" (page 174, Bronte). This quote is an excerpt from Isabella Linton's letter to Nelly Dean. It describes her intrigue upon seeing Mr. Earnshaw's pistol/saber. I was particularly intrigued by it. Isabella is, so far, a very tragic and childlike character. Like most women of the time, as a contrast to CAtherine and other strong female characters such as Jane in Jane Eyre, Isabella seems especially weak when placed side by side with her male counterparts. She cannot withstand their advances, distinguish their truth, or defend herself in their presence. Is this musing, therefore, a desire to extend herself into manhood? Or is it an internal acknowledgment of the power she will never possess over the opposite sex?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Olya TsahelnikJune 18, 2009 at 9:04 AM

    While wondering about the origins of gothic in Wide Sargasso Sea, I have come to realize that by leaving out some time intervals and fragmenting the story into bits narrated by different people Rhys succeeds in creating the atmosphere of secrecy and anguish. For me personally, the consistently recurring words such as safe, peace, darkness, sweetness, looking-glass, zombie, thirst and derivations of the word “colour” have become a code to solving the mystery of the unfolding drama. At the same time by placing these words in key places in the novel, Rhys is able to firmly stitch the disjointed accounts into a cohesive tale of one woman’s life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Olya TsahelnikJune 18, 2009 at 9:44 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Olya TsahelnikJune 18, 2009 at 9:45 AM

    “This writing, however, was nothing but a name repeated in all kinds of characters, large and small – Catherine Earnshaw, here and there varied to Catherine Heathcliff, and then again to Catherine Linton” (25). Here again we see the prominence of a name in one’s life. By trying different names Catherine is imagining different lives for herself. But her imagination has strict boundaries: she cannot go beyond being an add-on to her husband’s name.

    ReplyDelete
  7. LianaJune 18, 2009 at 9:56 AM

    Olya makes a really interesting point. I find this physicality of a name and its relationship to one's identity very interesting. Sometimes I wonder what the author's intention is as it relates to character- who is Catherine when she is stripped of her name? Who is she when her name is no longer the signifier of her persona? In Wuthering Heights, there is a thematic significance of names. It is as if the characteristics of each family are threaded through the names. The Earnshaws are defined by their passion while the Lintons defined by their civility. THe juxtaposition of such families creates for an interesting duality of characters. As for the Catherines in the novel (a strange way to string the characters together, giving them all the same name is clever way to create a cyclical element to the story): Catherine Earnshaw is fiery and wile whereas her daughter, Catherine Linton, is much more mild and tame.

    ReplyDelete
  8. LianaJune 18, 2009 at 10:01 AM

    I also find it very interesting how this book is, for the most part, written in pairs and duality. The two manor houses: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Catherine's two loves: Heathcliff and Edgar. The two Catherines (mother and daughter). Two generations of Characters: Heathcliff, Hindley, & Catherine and Hareton, Linton & young Catherine. These pairings put each element in a compare/contrast relationship to each other. Bronte sets up the book as it is meant to be a constant exercise in compare & contrast. It is an interesting way to not only develop the characters of the book, but also the develop the themes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 20, 2009 at 10:56 AM

    A little random aside...
    Is Hareton and Catherine's union, at the end of Wuthering Heights, a sort of retribution? And if so, for whom? WAs heathcliffs desire to punish actually a desire for reconcilliation, in some subconcious sense? Does he achieve it? Do the dead really "slumber" (page 415) as peacefully as Lockwood supposses, and if so, why does Hareton and Catherine's love set them at ease?

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)