2

Chapter 2

Bronte uses pathetic fallacy in the beginning of chapter two to craft the novels dark, brooding and ultimately ‘Gothic’ atmosphere: the weather surrounding Wuthering Heights appears ‘misty and cold’- the mist signifies the element of mystery surrounding ‘Wuthering Heights’ and it’s residents. The ‘cold’, ‘heath and mud’ that surround the house acts as the elements warning Lockwood away from the premises, reflecting the occupant’s bitter reception to his company; he is obviously not wanted. Lockwood continues to describe the ’hard … black frost’ that falls on the house; Bronte turns the traditionally white snowflakes to ‘black’ to further her Gothic imagery, replacing the notions of ‘innocence’ linked with the colour white with more Gothic, ominous, feelings related to ‘black’- death etc.

Lockwood suggests that he and Heathcliff are similar in their need for social isolation, however, in wishing to attend Wuthering Heights in order to eat with Heathcliff, he contradicts himself; it is Lockwood who searches for company and wishes to indulge in social conventions while Heathcliff remains comfortable in his seclusion. This ultimately shows how Lockwood makes bad judgments, at least not entirely precise, judgments of his own character- rendering him an unreliable narrator.

Lockwood remarks that, although eating between twelve and one, he requested  ‘that I might be served at five’; his preference to dine later than the other characters shows his distance from them, he does not belong to their world. Bronte uses this to show Lockwood as marginalized, and outsider, that his segregation may cause him to misinterpret and misunderstand the characters. – As he goes on to do (assuming ‘Mrs. Heathcliff’ – judging Hareton). This is furthered by Lockwood’s inability to comprehend Joseph’s discourse.

The introduction of colloquial language visually creates a divide between the characters, regarding class and status; as Joseph has a thick, broad, Yorkshire dialect we can assume he would be of low stock, acting simply as a worker/keeper of Wuthering Heights for Heathcliff. Thus, we begin to focus more on the better speaking characters within the novel- particularly on Heathcliff and ‘Mrs. Heathcliff’.

I could argue that Lockwood subconsciously uses animalistic language when describing Hareton: ‘My name is Hareton Earnshaw’ growled the other ‘and I’d counsel you to respect it’. This is because of his appearance and dialect, visually ragged and sporting a thick Yorkshire accent, Lockwood presumes him to be of a lower class. Holding the same views on class as the original Victorian readership, Lockwood then uses animalistic language as he realizes Hareton as an animal, at least lower than his upper class English sensibilities. Earnshaw ‘laughs internally’ at Hareton’s defense; viewing him simply as a ‘common labourer’ he has no respect for him, because of his class, and so mocks him.

Context.

Gothic

designed to both horrify and fascinate readers with scenes of passion and cruelty; supernatural elements; and a dark, foreboding atmosphere; also realist fiction (incorporates vivid circumstantial detail into a consistently and minutely thought-out plot, dealing mostly with the relationships of the characters to one another)

Narrator

Lockwood, a newcomer to the locale of Wuthering Heights, narrates the entire novel as an entry in his diary. The story that Lockwood records is told to him by Nelly, a servant, and Lockwood writes most of the narrative in her voice, describing how she told it to him. Some parts of Nelly’s story are narrated by other characters, such as when Nelly receives a letter from Isabella and recites its contents verbatim

Lockwood the frame narrator

òThe narrator is a creation of the author used to:

òOrganise, select and present information.

òThe narrator may also:

òComment and judge

òDirectly address the reader

òBe a participant in the story

òBe a detached observer

òAppear to speak with the voice of the author

ò

òLockwood is the frame narrator because his narrative contains all the other narratives and other stories told in the novel

Tone

òIt is not easy to infer the author’s attitude toward the events of the novel. The melodramatic quality of the first half of the novel suggests that Brontë views Catherine and Heathcliff’s doomed love as a tragedy of lost potential and wasted passion. However, the outcome of the second half of the novel suggests that Brontë is more interested in celebrating the renewal and rebirth brought about by the passage of time, and the rise of a new generation, than she is in mourning Heathcliff and Catherine.

Major Conflicts

òHeathcliff’s great natural abilities, strength of character, and love for Catherine Earnshaw all enable him to raise himself from humble beginnings to the status of a wealthy gentleman, but his need to revenge himself for Hindley’s abuse and Catherine’s betrayal leads him into a twisted life of cruelty and hatred; Catherine is torn between her love for Heathcliff and her desire to be a gentlewoman, and her decision to marry the genteel Edgar Linton drags almost all of the novel’s characters into conflict with Heathcliff.