a strangely intriguing classic

I've been waiting to read this novel for a while now. Thanks to my literature class, I can check it off my list! I had expectations to see a certain type of romance in this book that I didn't really end up seeing at all. Overall, this book was a lot more grim than I expected. It is certainly a gothic novel infused with elements of horror. The story essentially follows two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and the transformations of the members of both families in terms of love, revenge, and marriage. There is a lot to unpack that I have discussed in great detail in my literature class, from the social implications of Brontë's social life, how the book was received by reviewers and readers alike, its messages concerning male and female relationships, and its difficulty in being placed in a set novel genre. It also allows for conversations about whether we see love, lustful obsession, or supernatural connection between Catherine and Heathcliff. I would sum it all up as just plain strange. But I appreciate it at the same time because I have not read a novel that has made me think hard and long about what its underlying messages and themes are expressing in a long time. One of the coolest things about this novel is its ability to place its characters within what seems like an untouched world. It is as if the strange happenings and relationships between the two families are not impossible within the scope of the setting of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; it certainly adds to the supernatural, horror, and gothic elements of the book as well. I have enjoyed reading and studying it through a particularly theological lens, and I recommend it to readers who are looking for a novel that allows them to explore its content through a numerous amount of perspectives (especially the Broadview version I read and is pictured above).

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One of my most favorite quotes from Wuthering Heights:

"He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."

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