Book Review - Classic #6 - Wuthering Heights

It would seem that Wuthering Heights would be a perfect match for me. Emily Bronte created a novel of love and marriage only hers included tempestuous, and some might add incestuous, relationships, abuse, despair and a very non-happily-ever-after ending (though, some might debate that. The really unhappy people were all finally dead, which, I suppose, is a step up from their miserable and often times, sickly, existence).

I guess I'm not sure what makes this well known title such a beloved classic, other than it is beautifully written and perhaps a break from the mold of what was being written and published at the time. Her sister, Charlotte, had success with Jane Eyre, which is also excluded from the happy-happy-joy-joy plot club, but even that story, with its insanity, scratching, fires and blindness had some characters to root for. Perhaps Emily and Charlotte had a friendly wager on who could write a more tragic love story?

What am I talking about? Wuthering Heights is NOT a love story. If any of these characters felt true love, which is often accompanied by a sincere desire to sacrifice one's happiness for that of another, then I missed it. Instead, Wuthering Heights might just be the model for modern day soap operas where everyone says they love someone, when they aren't too busy plotting their demise and stealing their recently back-from-the-dead sister's baby. Wuthering Heights reminded me of Melrose Place - everyone is flawed and everyone is out to get everyone else. While I am a huge fan of the flawed character, Bronte's seemed overly flawed. What were Heathcliff's redeeming qualities? What in the world did Catherine seem in him? Did he make her laugh? Was it lust? Shared history? I'm assuming the attraction was due to having so much in common as Catherine, at one point, exclaimed, "I am Heathcliff!" Even with their many, many, many available flaws to choose from (selfish, violent, cruel, vengeful), none of the main characters demanded my loyalty. Am I supposed to root for Catherine and Heathcliff or feel sorry for them? I will say I enjoyed the nanny's point-of-view and narration. Now, there's an honestly flawed character! I loved how she passed off any responsibility, even as she was present to witness, and most of the time, allow, all of the bad behavior.

What Bronte did in Wuthering Heights was masterfully describe obsession. Heathcliff's inability to move beyond his first experience with love, with his adoptive sister, Catherine, is what drives this plot and all of its madness. It's not a healthy look, but certainly well crafted. From the description of Wuthering Heights and its proximity to rocky moors and miserable weather, to the dark and cold setting of the house itself, at no point does this story rise above its intentional bleakness. At least, I never felt any rays of sunshine.

This will not find a home on my shelf of favorite fiction, but I hope by reading this classic, I can benefit from understanding the frequent literary and pop culture references to Heathcliff and Catherine.