Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. (Published in 1847.  Written under the fictitious name Ellis Bell.  The Edition: Penguin Classics (1995)) Oh how you disappointed me.  There I was, all ready to read a classic novel that I have heard of countless times, and yet when I start I wish I never did. **SPOILERS AHEAD**

How anyone could ever have read and fallen in love with Heathcliff astonishes me.  I found him a hateful man and wished at times that he would curl over and die.  However, I instantly felt for him when he was a young boy and overheard Catherine telling Nelly that she is going to marry Edgar for his money.  That all disappeared though when he showed up three years later and ended up killing Catherine! Ah!  I honestly at that point just wished that Heathcliff hadn't came back, because Catherine would have had a chance living a normal happy life. However, to be honest ,both Catherines to me at first, seemed just as hateful.
I'll start with Catherine Earnshaw, the original.  I thought at times that Catherine and Heathcliff would be perfect together, if only this book didn't surround them and their relationship, or should I say "friendship".  When Heathcliff leaves, I must say that I enjoyed Catherine a lot more, mainly because she went crazy, then suddenly became normal.  When she died, I was constantly wishing that Heathcliff would just throw himself into her grave and die right then and there.  But no, the book had to continue on with his schemes.
The second Catherine, deemed Cathy, was much more enjoyable as a child.  I hated her at first, mainly because I didn't understand why she could be so hateful and mean to everyone at Wuthering Heights.  However, like Mr. Lockwood (the one the story is being told too) my affection for her grew as I learned her story.  I felt as though Heathcliff had planned keeping her locked up and marrying his son as soon as he found out he had one.  I did start to enjoy the novel at the end, with learning about Cathy and Hareton and how there relationship had taken a change.  I really wanted them to end up together after reading their first meeting.  I knew at that point that Hareton had a thing for his cousin, but it would take a strong headed girl, like Cathy, a while longer to fall in love with him.
I really have nothing to say about Linton, Heathcliff's son.  I found that I could of liked him, but he was just so self centered that I didn't care for him.  I felt that Heathcliff tried to do right by him (strangely I know), but still ended up just hating him like he hated everyone else.  After Lintons death I was quite more willing to read the rest of the novel.

Out of the minor characters, Nelly was my favorite.  Now I know that she was the one narrating the story so she should be considered one of main characters, however most of it was what she had learned second hand through Cathy and others.  So I will stick behind my saying that she is a minor character.  I mean, if you had picked up this novel and the first four chapters had been ripped out, you wouldn't have known that Nelly was the narrator until later on in the novel when she takes a break.
Now, like I said in the paragraph above, how anyone could fall in love with Heathcliff astonishes me.  For example, Isabella.  How stupid are you!!! After how many people warned you of him, after watching him as a child abuse your brother, and after everything!! why must you fall in love with his brute face?  And after the first realization that this would be a miserable marriage, why the hell would you still sleep with him? Unless he forced you, then that's a different story.  But still!  Urg!  (Yes. I just talked to a fictional character in a book.  I do that sometimes.)
The next I will talk about Edgar and Hindley at the same time.  They are both very similar, in being that they doted on their wives constantly, while they were alive.  However, after their wives death (both ending up with a child) only one was able to truly look past the death, and that was Edgar.  I believe that it was because Cathy was born a girl that he was able to get past the death of his wife, even though he had wished for a son. Weird I know.  But I believe that only because he doted on her most of the time, except when he was in mourning for his wife.  Which incidentally was Cathys birthday. It is Hindley that I was most frustrated with.  If your wife had a child and survived for a while longer, then passed away, how is it that you still lay blame on him.  I know that it was not stated but I felt as though he was constantly blaming Hareton for his misery after his wifes death.  The drinking and brandy was a way for him to get away.  When Hindley found out that Nelly hadn't killed Hareton, he had been drinking and tried to kill him.  It was either that he lay blame on him for his wifes death, or that he didnt want the constant reminder of his wife around his house.
Joseph.  I could barely understand.  I mean most of the time I really had to try hard to read what he was saying, but after a while I just got so sick of Wuthering Heights altogether that I stopped trying to read what he said, then missed a shit load of stuff.  IMPORTANT: Actually read what Joseph says.

Overall, I feel like I should love this book because it is a classic and by a Bronte sister, but I don't.  Quite the opposite really.  I can honestly say, and will thoroughly enjoy debating my reasons behind why, that I hate.  No despise this book.  I literally would not have finished reading this in three days, unless 1) I enjoyed reading it or 2) wanted to finish it faster so I never had to read it again.  The latter is my reason behind finishing it quickly.  The really sad part is, I am going to have to read this again during my 19th Century Literature course this semester.  Oh boy, will my class hate me and my forceful words of hate behind this book.

Happy reading!