Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Bronte that has become a literary classic and a staple in many high school and college curriculums. First published in 1847, the novel is a tale of love, revenge, and the destructive power of obsession.
Set in the moors of northern England, the novel follows the lives of the Earnshaw and Linton families and their complicated relationships. The story centers around the passionate and tumultuous love affair between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, an orphan boy whom Mr. Earnshaw adopts.
Wuthering Heights is a complex and multi-layered novel that explores themes of social class, gender roles, and the destructive nature of revenge. The novel’s complex structure, nonlinear timeline, and vividly drawn characters have captured the imaginations of generations of readers.
For students studying Wuthering Heights, reading the novel can be challenging. However, analyzing the novel’s themes, characters, and symbolism can help students gain a deeper understanding of the text. In this essay examples page, we provide a selection of essays that explore different aspects of Wuthering Heights, providing students with insights and ideas for their own analysis and writing.
Robert Browning’s poems, Porphyria’s Lover, and My Last Dutchess, are comparable to Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights because they describe how women are pushed into submissive objectified roles by Victorian culture. The three texts are comparable because Browning and Brontë’s describe women as possessing less social power. Wuthering Heights is comparable to through descriptions of the … Read more
When something is idealised, it is seen as being ‘perfect’ and above reality. It is put on a pedestal above everything else, and is used as a means to achieve happiness. Both novels – The Great Gatsby, written by F.Scott Fitzgerald and Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë explore the idealisation of love itself, a … Read more
The themes of power and fantasy are interlinking and well-explored in both Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus and Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. It seems a common trope, though, that fantasies are used for sources of optimism that never come to fruition. Fantasy itself, as defined by Rosemary Jackson, has two functions for characters in literature: “it … Read more
Childhood is a construct experienced differently in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The characters in both novels are in a state of continuous flux, adapting and altering themselves to their changing environments as the novel evolves. Readers are expected to come to either texts with the knowledge of the … Read more
Promptly following the Romanticism era, and still with influences of the this era, came the rise of the age for Gothic literature. Gothic literature is defined by horror, mystery, with unexplainable dark forces. Found in gothic literature, dark tones are dramatized and expounded upon to further the forebode and malevolence. In the case of Emily … Read more
In both novels, A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens and Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, the authors generate powerful scenarios for the reader to understand the influence romanticism has on individuals. Charles Dickens does this by taking his character through a journey that involves going through the past, present and future and suggests … Read more
Wuthering Heights (1847) and The Great Gatsby (1925) both examine the difficulties introduced when a member of a lower social class approaches the dominant social class. Fitzgerald introduces Daisy Fay (a girl from a rich upper class family) and Jay Gatsby (an ex soldier who was raised in an impoverished neighbourhood in North Dakota), following … Read more
Throughout Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff’s personality could be defined as dark, menacing, and brooding. He’s a dangerous character, with rapidly changing moods, capable of deep-seeded hatred, and incapable, it seems, of any kind of forgiveness or compromise. The novel clearly establishes Heathcliff as an untamed, volatile, wild man and also establishes his great love of … Read more
Nancy Armstrong’s Critique of Wuthering Heights During the eighteenth-century, literature played a key role in setting cultural norms and gender identity. Novels were able to create a new social class based on psychological characteristics and gender roles rather than ancestry and social standing. The power of novels continued into the nineteenth century as men … Read more
Doors and doorways have been symbolic across cultures for as long as history has been recorded. A door is both an entrance and an exit, so it has been associated with portals and passageways on many levels throughout history. Doors are closely related to gates and thresholds because the three share some very similar symbolic … Read more
AP Literature & Composition 14 October 2016 Distortion of Human Nature in Wuthering Heights There is no doubt that Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë’s only masterpiece, is regarded as one of the more captivating novels of English literature. What defines Wuthering Heights? Written in a didactic nature, the novel’s narrative structure is riddled with mysterious settings, … Read more
Wuthering Heights is commonly considered to be a classic of English literature and many see it to be a classic example of Gothic Literature – however upon reflection it could be argued that there is a constant overlapping of Gothic and realist domestic genre which sheds light on such a very distinct way of depicting … Read more
There are many ways in which both Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights are very similar works of literature. The storylines take place within similar cultures and locations, which are driving forces for the plot of the novels. The characters are very homogenous in development but have very distinct differences that make them individual … Read more
Major Works Data Sheet Author: Emily Bronte Date of Publication: December 1847 Genre: Gothic Title: Wuthering Heights Historical/Biographical Information Bronte taught at an institution named Law Hill, a nearby estate named Waterclough Hill belonged to a family named the Walkers. Some say this is where she got the inspiration for Wuthering Heights. John Walker, … Read more
The novels A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, and Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte display a strong parallel in the ways in which they use their different styles of narration in the story to reveal the true inner-feelings of characters. In A Christmas Carol, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, is taught many valuable lessons … Read more
When writing an essay on the book Wuthering Heights, there are several key points, themes, and topics that can be explored. Here are some ideas to consider:
The theme of love: Love is a major theme in Wuthering Heights, and the novel explores different forms of love, including romantic love, familial love, and obsessive love. Consider the different types of love portrayed in the novel and how they drive the actions of the characters.
The theme of revenge: Revenge is another major theme in Wuthering Heights, and many of the characters seek revenge for past wrongs. Consider the role that revenge plays in the novel and how it affects the characters.
The theme of social class: Social class is a recurring theme in Wuthering Heights, as the characters come from different social backgrounds and struggle with the constraints of class. Consider how social class affects the characters and their relationships.
The role of nature: The setting of Wuthering Heights is the wild and windswept moors, which plays an important role in the novel. Consider how nature is portrayed in the novel and how it reflects the moods and emotions of the characters.
Character analysis: The characters in Wuthering Heights are complex and multi-dimensional, making them great subjects for analysis. Consider the motivations, actions, and relationships of characters like Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar, and Nelly.
Symbolism: Wuthering Heights is full of symbols and motifs, from the moors to the ghosts that haunt the characters. Consider how these symbols are used in the novel and what they represent.
Narrative structure: The narrative structure of Wuthering Heights is complex, with multiple narrators and a non-linear timeline. Consider how this structure affects the reader’s understanding of the story and the characters.
By exploring these points, themes, and topics, you can write a comprehensive and insightful essay on Wuthering Heights.
