Wuthering Heights (Collins Classroom Classics)

This Collins Classroom Classics edition includes an introduction and glossary to support students, written by an experienced teacher.

Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë

‘My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees – my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath – a source of little visible delight, but necessary.’

ISBN 978-0-00-837182-1

£3.00

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Introduction ‘I wonder what we shall be like and what we shall be and where we shall be’ writes a sixteen-year-old Emily Brontë in one of her few surviving journal entries in 1834.1 In her diary three years later, she repeats the same question and then, finally, aged 27, she states (rather unconvincingly) that she has learned to ‘long for the future with the figetiness that I cannot do all I wish’.2 Emily’s youthful wonder and understandable longing: for the promise of the future, for something – anything – new to happen, is what seems to feed into her only novel, Wuthering Heights. Is this why the story captivates readers who first come to it as teenagers or young adults? It is certainly there in Emily’s diaries and brought to life, albeit in much darker ways, through the novel’s characters, who all yearn terribly for something: for adventure, for passion, or even revenge.

In Wuthering Heights, Brontë takes these youthful desires to their extremes. The yearnings of Catherine and the mysterious Heathcliff, brought into the Earnshaw family as an orphan child under circumstances that are never explained, are so fierce that they fuel a violent, bitter feud. Ultimately it is their thwarted desire that locks two families and two houses in a conflict that spans generations.

In one of the novel’s most famous episodes, the adult Catherine stages an extreme protest, following a row with Heathcliff and her husband, from the confines of her bedroom at Thrushcross Grange. For four days and nights she survives, according to her ever-practical maid Nelly Dean, on ‘nothing but cold water, and ill-temper’ (p.132). Delirious and desperate, she dramatically tears apart her pillow, filling the room with feathers. Amid this destruction, she carefully identifies each one: wild-duck, pigeon, moorcock, and finally, lapwing. ‘Bonny bird; wheeling over our heads in the middle v

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of the moor’ (p.130) says a broken Catherine, who can now only imagine such freedom. Brontë shows us a young woman, trapped in married life, longing to be liberated from adulthood, to be free like a lapwing on the moor. Heathcliff later matches her desperation as he contemplates life without Cathy: ‘Two words would comprehend my future, death and hell – existence, after losing her, would be hell’ (p.159).

Wuthering Heights, then, is no novel of manners or ‘quiet’ Victorian sentiment: it is a novel of grand gesture, grand passion, grand emotion.

To return to Wuthering Heights many years after a first reading is to be struck again, not just by the novel’s depiction of the extraordinary central romance between the young Catherine and Heathcliff, or by the complexity of its multilayered narrative, but by the novel’s enduring, emotional power. It is this raw sense of youthful longing, from a writer who tragically never lived long enough to outgrow it, that can connect us all with how intensely we once felt or might have lived.

Contexts and concerns Wuthering Heights – first readers In May 1846, the Brontë sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne published their poems under the male pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. The poems managed to secure some wider attention: critics considered them of ‘varying excellence’, likely destined to be ‘speedily forgotten’3 – and less than a handful of copies were sold.

The publication and positive critical reception of the sisters’ first novels, starting with Currer Bell’s Jane Eyre in October 1847 and continuing less than two months later with Ellis Bell’s Wuthering Heights and Acton Bell’s Agnes Grey, was therefore greeted by critics with surprise, even bewilderment. Speculation increased about the mystery of vi

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Introduction

the three authors’ identities: were they one person? A strange hybrid group of ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’?4 No one could say.

Some reviewers noted ‘a family likeness’ between the novels, but were also quick to suggest Wuthering Heights had other qualities that made them uneasy and uncomfortable.5 Ellis Bell’s novel was certainly distinctive.6 ‘This is a strange book,’ asserted the Examiner; ‘It is wild, confused, disjointed, and improbable.’7 What moral, asked another critic, did the story contain? What were readers to make of its violence, coarse language, and characters who veered between portraits of ‘tantalising and terrible’ women and ‘indescribable’ men?8 It took until 1850, two years after Emily’s death, for the mystery of authorship to be solved, in Charlotte Brontë’s preface to the second edition of her sister’s novel.9 Her preface did not, however, end the biographical speculation of critics and readers, which only intensified. Three women writers.

Three sisters. Three women who died tragically young. These tantalising details have fuelled a fascination with the Brontës and what some suggest is an endless cycle of myth-making that surrounds them to this day.10

Victorian society and its influences Women’s work and the domestic sphere ‘I have plenty of work on hand, and writing, and am altogether full of business,’ writes Emily Brontë in a cheery diary entry on her 27th birthday. Emily must then ‘hurry off’ to her ‘turning and ironing’, as housework and chores take over her time.11 This is a rare snapshot of Emily’s life in the Brontë household in Haworth, but what makes it so striking is the date: 30 July 1845. Her one and only novel, Wuthering Heights, was published less than three years later. Is this a casual mention of the writing of this novel, which Emily so carefully separates from the ‘business’ of daily living? How did the dark, tormented romance of Catherine and Heathcliff, vii

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CHAPTER

1

1801 – I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. A perfect misanthropist’s Heaven – and Mr Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us. A capital fellow! He little imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat, as I announced my name.

‘Mr Heathcliff?’ I said.

A nod was the answer.

‘Mr Lockwood, your new tenant, sir – I do myself the honour of calling as soon as possible, after my arrival, to express the hope that I have not inconvenienced you by my perseverance in soliciting the occupation of Thrushcross Grange: I heard, yesterday, you had had some thoughts –’ ‘Thrushcross Grange is my own, sir,’ he interrupted, wincing, ‘I should not allow any one to inconvenience me, if I could hinder it – walk in!’

The ‘walk in’ was uttered with closed teeth and expressed the sentiment, ‘Go to the Deuce!’ Even the gate over which he leant manifested no sympathizing movement to the words; and I think that circumstance determined me to accept the invitation: I felt interested in a man who seemed more 1

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exaggeratedly reserved than myself.

When he saw my horse’s breast fairly pushing the barrier, he did pull out his hand to unchain it, and then sullenly preceded me up the causeway, calling, as we entered the court: ‘Joseph, take Mr Lockwood’s horse; and bring up some wine.’

‘Here we have the whole establishment of domestics, I suppose,’ was the reflection, suggested by this compound order. ‘No wonder the grass grows up between the flags, and cattle are the only hedgecutters.’

Joseph was an elderly, nay, an old man, very old, perhaps, though hale and sinewy.

‘The Lord help us!’ he soliloquised in an undertone of peevish displeasure, while relieving me of my horse: looking, meantime, in my face so sourly that I charitably conjectured he must have need of divine aid to digest his dinner, and his pious ejaculation had no reference to my unexpected advent.

Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr Heathcliff’s dwelling, ‘Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there, at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind, blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few, stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones.

Before passing the threshold, I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especially about the principal door, above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins, and shameless little boys, I detected the date ‘1500,’ and the name ‘Hareton Earnshaw.’ I would have made a few comments, and requested a short history 2

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volume i chapter 1

of the place from the surly owner, but his attitude at the door appeared to demand my speedy entrance, or complete departure, and I had no desire to aggravate his impatience, previous to inspecting the penetralium.

One step brought us into the family sitting-room, without any introductory lobby, or passage: they call it here ‘the house’ pre-eminently. It includes kitchen and parlor, generally, but I believe at Wuthering Heights the kitchen is forced to retreat altogether into another quarter, at least I distinguished a chatter of tongues, and a clatter of culinary utensils, deep within; and I observed no signs of roasting, boiling, or baking, about the huge fire-place; nor any glitter of copper saucepans and tin cullenders on the walls. One end, indeed, reflected splendidly both light and heat from ranks of immense pewter dishes, interspersed with silver jugs and tankards, towering row after row, in a vast oak dresser, to the very roof. The latter had never been underdrawn; its entire anatomy lay bare to an inquiring eye, except where a frame of wood laden with oatcakes, and clusters of legs of beef, mutton and ham, concealed it. Above the chimney were sundry villainous old guns, and a couple of horse-pistols, and, by way of ornament, three gaudily painted canisters disposed along its ledge. The floor was of smooth, white stone: the chairs, high-backed, primitive structures, painted green: one or two heavy black ones lurking in the shade. In an arch, under the dresser, reposed a huge, liver-coloured bitch pointer surrounded by a swarm of squealing puppies, and other dogs haunted other recesses.

The apartment and furniture would have been nothing extra­ordinary as belonging to a homely, northern farmer with a stubborn countenance, and stalwart limbs set out to advantage in knee-breeches and gaiters. Such an individual, seated in his armchair, his mug of ale frothing on the round table before him, is to be seen in any circuit of five or six miles among these hills, if you go at the right time, after dinner.

But, Mr Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman – that is, as much a gentleman 3

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Glossary Note: Abbreviations/sources All definitions are based upon those in the Collins English Dictionary unless otherwise stated.

Other sources cited: •

Burnley, David. History of the English Language: A Sourcebook, Routledge (2013), pp.331–337. (HE)

•

Dean, Christopher. ‘Joseph’s Speech in Wuthering Heights’, Notes and Queries, NS 7.2, February 1960, pp.73–76. (NQ)

•

‘Voices’, BBC Local North Yorkshire, 2005, www.bbc. co.uk/northyorkshire/voices2005/glossary/glossary. shtml (BBC)

Note: Dialect Brontë’s representation of the local dialect is generally phonetic: the spelling reflects the way the words are pronounced. To understand what her characters, in particular Joseph and Hareton, are saying, it is best to say the words aloud. The grammar and vocabulary are often Standard English; it is sometimes just spelling and therefore the way that words are said that differs. It has been noted that the dialect used in Wuthering Heights does not exactly match what is known as regional dialect in the 19th century and is often a mixture of generally northern or even Scots/Irish dialect. As Christopher Dean has observed in his important study of Joseph’s speech in Wuthering Heights, ‘Emily Brontë uses dialect in Wuthering Heights to serve a literary purpose.

By it she achieves a local atmosphere, the atmosphere of one of the bleaker and harsher parts of the West Riding. If in doing this she fails to give a thoroughly consistent exposition of the

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Glossary

dialect in a scientific manner, this is no reflection upon her, for such is not her intention. The suggestion of dialect is there, and absolute fidelity is not demanded.’ (Dean, Christopher.

‘Joseph’s Speech in Wuthering Heights’, Notes and Queries, NS 7.2, February 1960, p.76.) Where possible, therefore, definitions of dialect words or idiomatic phrases or sayings (in italics) have been included in this glossary.

Volume I Chapter 1 1 misanthropist: a person who dislikes other people and avoids them 1

Go to the Deuce: go to the devil

2 hale: healthy and strong 2 griffin: a mythical creature (often used as a carved ornament) with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion 3

penetralium: the inside of a building

3 cullenders: non-standard spelling of colander, a metal bowl with holes for draining food 3

underdrawn: covered with plaster

3

horse-pistols: large pistols carried on the saddle of a rider

3 knee-breeches and gaiters: knee-length trousers that are joined to garments that cover the shoe and lower leg 4

squire: landowner, man who owns a country estate

4 ‘never told my love’: a quote from Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night (Act 2, Scene 4) 4 hearthstone: stone that forms the floor in front of a fireplace 5

coat-laps: hanging flap of a coat

5

phlegm: manner or temperament

6 chipping off his pronouns, and auxiliary verbs: Lockwood here is mocking the local Yorkshire dialect where particular letters and sounds are omitted.

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Chapter 2 7

coal-scuttles: containers for keeping coal in

8

t’fowld: the fold, a hollow in a hilly countryside

8

laith: barn (NQ)

8

flaysome: frightening/dreadful (NQ)

8

noa hend wi’t: no end of it (i.e. there will be no end of it)

8

pigeon cote: a small shelter for pigeons

10

corrugated: furrowed

10

embrowned: made darker, browner

10

sagacity: wisdom, understanding

12

boor: rough, uneducated or rude person

13

tuh t’ divil: to the devil

14

Black Art: dark magic

14

wax and clay: of models made for casting magic spells

16

postern: back door or gate

16 cope-stone: large stone on the top of a building or wall (here used metaphorically as the final straw/finishing touches) 17

Wisht, wisht!: be quiet!

Chapter 3 18

clothes-press: a large oak cupboard for storing clothes

19 fly-leaf: page at the front of the book, which is either blank or has very little printed on it 19

garret: small room at the top of a house

20

homily: a speech of complaint or instruction

20

nobbut: only (NQ)

20

lugs: ears (NQ)

20

laiking: playing, messing about (NQ)

20

childer: children (NQ)

21

riven: ripped

21

gait: manner, way of behaving (NQ)

21

laced: beaten

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