A story of Love and Reveng

A story of Love and Revenge

Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, was published in 1847. This novel is famous for its gothic style as well as its love theme, which attract readers in an ex tr- eme method and technique. As her only novel, Wuthering Heights brought her great fame all over the world.Unfortunately, Emily Bronte died in 1848, which was the sec- ond year soon after her novel was published. She even didn’t feel the great joy of being successful.

The Introduction of the Author

Emily Brontë was born in Thornton, near Bradford in Yorkshire, to Patrick Brontë and Maria Branwell. She was the younger sister of Charlotte Brontë and the fifth of six children. In 1824, the family moved to Haworth, where Emily's father was perpetual curate, and it was in these surroundings that their literary oddities flourished. Between the years 1824 and 1825 Emily attended the school at Cowan Bridge with Charlotte, and then was largely educated at home. In childhood, after the death of their mother, the three sisters and their brother Patrick Branwell Brontë created imaginary lands, which were featured in stories they wrote. Little of Emily's works from this period survived, except for poems spoken by characters.

In 1838, Emily commenced work as a governess at Miss Patchett's Ladies Academy at Law Hill School, near Halifax, leaving after about six months due to homesickness. Later, with her sister Charlotte, she attended a private school in Brussels run by Constantin Heger and his wife, Claire Zoë Parent Heger. They later tried to open up a school at their home, but had no pupils.

Her father's bookshelf offered a variety of reading: the Bible, Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Scott and many others. The children also read enthusiastically articles on current affairs and intellectual disputes in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Fraser's Magazine, and Edinburgh Review.

Unlike Charlotte, Emily had no close friends. She wrote a few letters and was interested in mysticism. It was the discovery of Emily's poetic talent by Charlotte that led her and her sisters to publish a joint collection of their poetry in 1846, Poems by

Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. To evade contemporary prejudice against female writers, the Brontë sisters adopted androgynous first names. All three retained the same initials: Charlotte became Currer Bell, Anne became Acton Bell and Emily became Ellis Bell.

During their stay in Brussels in 1842, Emily's health, like her sisters', had been weakened by the harsh local climate at home and at school. She caught a cold during the funeral of her brother in September, which led to tuberculosis. Refusing medical help, she died on December 19th, 1848 at about two in the afternoon. (part from Wikipedia )

The Brief Summary of the Book

Opening (chapters 1 to 3)

In 1801, Mr Lockwood, a wealthy man from the south of England, rents Thrushcross Grange in the north for peace and recuperation. He visits his landlord, Mr Heathcliff, living in a nearby farmhouse, \"Wuthering Heights,\" where he finds an odd assemblage: Heathcliff seems to be a gentleman, but his manners are strange; the reserved mistress of the house knows everything about Wuthering Heights; a young man seems to be a family member yet dresses and speaks like a servant; and a young widow seems never happy.

Snowed in, Lockwood is grudgingly allowed to stay and is shown to a bedchamber where he notices books and graffiti left by a former inhabitant named Catherine. He falls asleep and then has a nightmare in which he sees the ghostly Catherine trying to enter through the window, so he cries out in fear. After seeing lots of strange phenomena in Wuthering Heights, Lockwood was convinced that what he saw in the dream was real. At sunrise, Heathcliff escorts Lockwood back to Thrushcross Grange. Lockwood asks the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, about the story at Wuthering Heights, and she begins to tell him the tale. Heathcliff's childhood (chapters 4 to 17)

Thirty years earlier, Wuthering Heights is occupied by Mr Earnshaw. Old Earnshaw has a son Hindley and a daughter Catherine. On a trip to Liverpool,

Earnshaw encounters a homeless boy and he adopts the boy and names him Heathcliff. As an orphan, Heathcliff starts his life miserably, but being adopted by Earnshaw is a turning point in his life. In his new home, he is given clean clothes, fed by delicious food and has a adoptive father who loves him regardless of the family’s disapprovement. Hindley feels that Heathcliff supplanted him in his father's affections and becomes bitterly jealous. Catherine and Heathcliff become close friends and spend hours each day playing games. They soon fall in love with each other.

Hindley is sent to college. Three years later, Earnshaw dies and Hindley becomes the master of Wuthering Heights. He returns to live there with his new wife, Frances. He allows Heathcliff to stay but only as a servant. A few months after Hindley's return, Catherine meets the Lintons in Thrushcross Grange and Edgar Linton is crazy about Catherine. On the day the Lintons visiting Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff tries to dress up in an effort to impress Catherine, but he and Edgar Linton get into an argument so Hindley punishes Heathcliff by locking him in the attic. Catherine tries to comfort Heathcliff, but he vows to revenge on Hindley.

The following year, Frances Earnshaw gives birth to a son, named Hareton, but dies a few months later. Hindley is addictive to alchohol. Two more years pass, Catherine and Edgar Linton become friends and finally they declare they are going to marry. It is the fact that she loves Heathcliff rather than Edgar, but she cannot marry Heathcliff because of his low social status and lack of education. She wants to stimulate Heathcliff to be outstanding through her mariage. But Heathcliff runs away in despair and never comes back. Soon after the marriage, Catherine is ill badly. Nelly and Edgar make great efforts to save her from the danger.

Several years later, Heathcliff returns, now a wealthy gentleman. Catherine is delighted; Edgar is not. Edgar's sister, Isabella, soon falls in love with Heathcliff, who despises her but wants to revenge by getting married with Isabella. And he made it. One day, he embraces Isabella, leading to an argument with Edgar. Upset, Catherine locks herself in her room, and begins to make herself ill again through spite and jealousy.

Heathcliff takes up residence at Wuthering Heights, and spends his time gambling with Hindley and teaching Hareton bad habits. Hindley dissipates his wealth and mortgages the farmhouse to Heathcliff to pay his debts. Heathcliff visits Catherine secretly when she is ill again, which contributes to Catherine’s death.However, she gives birth to a daughter, Cathy, before dying.

After Catherine's funeral, Isabella finally realizes Heathcliff is a devil. So she leaves Heathcliff and takes refuge in the south of England. She too is pregnant, and gives birth to a son, Linton. Hindley dies six months after Catherine, and Heathcliff thus finds himself the owner of Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff's Revenge (chapters 18 to 31)

After twelve years, Catherine and Edgar's daughter Cathy grows into a beautiful girl. Edgar retrieve her sister’s son Linton, with terrible health state, in order to adopt and educate him. But Linton are taken away by his father Heathcliff, who hatred Linton. Linton and Cathy begin a secret friendship, echoing the childhood friendship between their respective parents, Heathcliff and Catherine. Heathcliff makes every endeavor to let Cathy be his son’s wife, so that Linton would become the heir to Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff lockes Cathy in a narrow room to force her to marry Linton.

Edgar becomes very ill. He doesn’t see her daughter until his death. Linton dies short after his marriage. Ending (chapters 32 to 34)

Eight months later, Lockwood returns to the area by chance. He finds Nelly living at Wuthering Heights and inquires about what had happened since he left.

She explains that she moved to Wuthering Heights to replace the housekeeper, Zillah, who had departed. Hareton had an accident and was confined to the farmhouse. During his convalescence, he and Cathy became close. While their friendship developed, Heathcliff began to act strangely and had visions of Catherine. He stopped eating and after four days was found dead in Catherine's old room. He was buried next to Catherine. Lockwood learns that Hareton and Cathy plan to marry on New Year's Day.

After reading the whole story, I was touched deeply by several parts. The first is about LOVE. There are two kinds of love in the world -- Pure and Selfish. It is the pure love that brings happiness to us and makes our life meaningful ,while selfish love just brings you negative emotions which not only ruin your own life but other people’s around you and turn you into the devil. The second is about HATE. Hatred may make you go blind and make the world dark. If there’s nothing left but hatred in your life, all you get is loneliness and regret when facing the world of cold and pain.

Love is everlasting, but hatred is not. What we should do is to insist on pure love and do not let the hatred blind our eyes.