One day, Mr. Earnshaw returns from a business trip with a street
urchin he found in Liverpool. As he is not in the habit of picking up waifs
and strays, his decision to raise the boy as his own shocks and surprises his family. At first his son Hindley and daughter
Catherine detest the newcomer, but in time Catherine and Heathcliff
become fast friends. There’s some
question as to who will inherit Wuthering Heights, as Mr. Earnshaw seems to
love Heathcliff more than the others.
But upon their father's death, Hindley inherits the estate, which means that
Catherine will receive little inheritance, and Heathcliff none at all.
When Catherine comes of age, she knows that she loves Heathcliff
more than anyone else. He seems to
inhabit her soul, to form a part of her very essence. Yet marriage seems impossible, as they
have no money to purchase a place of their own, and no income they can rely on. After growing up on the rich estate of
Wuthering Heights, she envisions a life of poverty awaits them if she gave into
her weakness and married Heathcliff. So
she marries a neighbor, Edgar Linton, who owns the neighboring estate of
Thrushcroft Grange. She argues that she
admires Linton, and that she will love him because she should, but when separated from Heathcliff, she grows argumentative and miserable.
While admiring the paintings at www.gatehouseprints.com,
I was taken aback by how the artists’ envisioned Wuthering Heights. True, Emily Bronte hardly describes it as a
great house, such as those owned by Mr. Darcy and others in
Pride and Prejudice. True, under
Hindley’s ownership the interior falls into ruin. Yet Sue Firth and Pat Bell depict the house
as a rambling shack that a strong gust of wind might knock down. It hardly seems a place where anyone would
want to live. In comparison, they portray the quiet English village of Haworth, little changed from the time when Emily Bronte lived, worked, and wrote the novel, as a place you might wish to visit, and yes, even live.
I’ve read about seventy percent of Wuthering Heights, and I have yet to
read a scene that takes place in Gimmerton, the nearby village. The characters refer to the
town, so you know they occasionally visit it.
But so far, there are no references to balls or parties, and little of
the social visits or formal dinners with neighbors that form such a large portion of Austen's stories. Instead, Bronte's characters spend virtually their
entirely lives in their homes, or working on their lands, with only immediate family members and servants for company.
Unlike Pat Bell and Sue Firth, Emily Bronte used words to conjure up her imagery. Yet the efforts of all three challenge our definitions of wealth and poverty, and point to the sources of true happiness in life.
Dragon Dave
Related Internet Links
Image: Wuthering Heights
Image: Haworth
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