Classics Series Book Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

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Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is widely known as a classic love story. However, if you read it as a love story, you’ll be sorely disappointed. It’s more a story of vengeance and love lost. The characters, including the ever important Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff are written to extremes. Their intense emotions finally lead to death and destruction.

Content & Message

This book is written as an embedded narrative, or a story within a story. It begins with a man, Lockwood, who is renting the house at Thrushcross Grange from Heathcliff who owns it and the house of Wuthering Heights. The housekeeper of Thrushcross, Nelly Dean, tells Lockwood the story of Heathcliff and Catherine after Lockwood has an encounter with Catherine’s ghost at Wuthering Heights. 

“And that minx, Catherine Linton, or Earnshaw, or however she was called - she must have been a changeling - wicked little soul! She told me she had been walking the earth these twenty years: a punishment for her mortal transgressions, I’ve no doubt!” - Lockwood, Wuthering Heights

As Nelly delves into the story, we learn that Heathcliff and Catherine were brought up together at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff, having been brought in as an orphan by Catherine’s father, was treated horribly by Catherine’s older brother, Hindley Earnshaw. This is when Heathcliff’s deep resentment begins to grow. 

Catherine, though treated much better than Heathcliff, is a bit unhinged. She has dramatic fits when she doesn’t get her way, and has almost as bad, if not worse, manners than Heathcliff. They cling to each other throughout the story. Unfortunately for Heathcliff, he’s not “suitable” for her, having not been from an established family. Catherine marries someone else, Edgar Linton, even though she really loves Heathcliff.  

From here, Heathcliff only becomes more obsessed with revenge. Not only does he want vengeance against Hindley, but also Edgar for marrying the love of his life. He uses the children of each of them, and his own child, to exact revenge. Heathcliff becomes a horrific terror in this story. He ropes in innocent people, not caring about the trauma he is inflicting, so he can have his way. 

“Mr. Heathcliff dislikes me; and is a most diabolical man, delighting to wrong and ruin those he hates, if they give him the slightest opportunity.”

- Edgar Linton, Wuthering Heights

Edgar Linton does a great job encapsulating exactly what Heathcliff is: a diabolical man. There seems to be no redeeming qualities in Heathcliff. Every time he has a chance to make a better choice, he chooses to be cruel, vindictive, and abusive.

Biggest Takeaway

Heathcliff shows us the extreme of what can happen when someone is treated cruelly for their whole life.  It also shows us how, when someone is exposed to such treachery and neglect/abuse, they are often more easily manipulated. 

We see this most in Catherine’s daughter Cathy. Heathcliff manipulates her into marrying his own son, Linton, so he gets all of Edgar's property and wealth. The same manipulation Heathcliff uses on Cathy, including physical abuse, is also used on Linton.

Heathcliff shows us how far someone will go for the person they love, and how far someone will go to harm their enemies. He dug up Catherine’s grave because he was driven mad with grief and longing to be with her. And then he ruined the lives of those he hated because he had nothing else to live for. 

“Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

- Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights

Overall Impressions

Emily Bronte does a great job at making the reader hate the main characters. Honestly, everyone in the story is cruel and dysfunctional in some way. The only characters I had any sympathy for were the children, Cathy, Linton, and Hareton, but even they manage to make me dislike them many times. 

I did feel sorry about Heathcliff’s upbringing, but who he ultimately became kind of destroyed that like he did everyone’s lives in the book. There was no reason for him to go all out, hell-bent on destroying lives, even of his enemy’s children. They were innocents and had nothing to do with the choices of their parents. 

As a love story, I was not impressed with how things played out. The “romance” between Catherine and Heathcliff was more of an unhealthy obsession. This is not a book I want to read again, and I’m not totally happy about the hours I spent on reading it the first time. 

If you are someone who likes to read into a book and analyze the deeper meaning, or the “classical” bit, then this is probably an okay read. Otherwise, it’s just frustrating and sad. 

Why Writers Need this Book

As a writer, it’s always interesting to read books that are considered “classics.” To discover what makes them so popular and what the author did right. Utilizing the book in that way, then maybe it’s worth reading for us writers.

I won’t say that writer’s need this book, because I myself didn’t enjoy it; however, there is something to be said about how extremely dislikable everyone is. There aren’t many writers who can make readers hate almost every character in the intense way Bronte does, so for that I have to give it props. 

You can get the book here. (Or here or here). Better yet, check your local library!

My challenge to you is to read the book and think about Heathcliff’s motivations.

Have you read the book? What did you think? What was your favorite part? I’d love to hear about your experiences! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.

Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great reading & writing.