Book: Wuthering Heights

Author: Emily Bronte

Pages: 300

Price: Rs. 150

Publications: Fingerprint Classics

Plot: ‘Wuthering Heights’ name of the house situated in Yorkshire, far away from the city, at heights where the Northern winds flow freely. In this house lives a family, ‘Earnshaws,’ Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw with their two little children, Hindley the elder son of the family and Catherine their loving daughter.

Once Mr. Earnshaw went to Liverpool, for some work. But when he came back from there he didn’t come back alone, with him came a young boy. Mr. Earnshaw found him on the streets and could not leave him there so he brought him to their house. They named him Heathcliff. All three children grew together. But things were not so smooth Hindley and Heathcliff never gelled up together, they hated each other. But this hatred could not resist blooming the love between Heathcliff and Catherine.

But Catherine did not want to marry him, she wanted to marry a man with whom she can get status, money, power, prestige. She wanted a prince charming not a gypsy boy like Heathcliff. Knowing this Heathcliffe went away. No one knew where he lived for years. And in the meantime, Catherine got married to a young man Edgar Linton.

They were happy in their lives, together with living a content life when Heathcliff came back to Yorkshire. Heathcliff and with him came the feeling of vengeance. At any cost, he wanted Catherine for this, he took terrible steps, which ruined all and by that, I mean literally “All”. In this story Heathcliff’s love for Catherine killed Catherine. Not only Heathcliff and Catherine, his hatred ruined each and every person related to them. Be it Hindley, Linton, Linton’s sister or their children. This revenge was not limited to only one generation, in this epic story of love, envy and betrayal Heathcliff’s revenge devastated the life of their children too.

My views: This book is full of passion, love, envy, betrayal, and revenge. Each and every character depicts their emotions so powerfully, that the reader will be forced to feel with them. Every character has their own gray side. There is no such character about which one can say, “Oh! This character is good and wise.” The book shows the dark side of each character.

I loved how it is written, so strongly with full of passion and emotions.

In the beginning, I didn’t find the book to be very interesting, as I don’t read such gothic novels. But I didn’t want to leave this book for this reason and so I kept on reading it. In fact, every page was a constant battle of ‘Do I still want to read it or should I leave it here.’ For me, the book became addictive after Catherine died. It became addictive for me after that. I hated the characters, but still loved them. It was so real because I think in real life everyone has that gray side, everyone is self-obsessed somewhere, somewhere every person is selfish. And this novel shows how this self-centeredness destroyed lives of many.

A very different kind of novel. I usually don’t read such books, but the passion with which this book is written made me fell in love with it. Overall, I would say that I made a correct decision to keep reading it.

Recommendations: If you can handle too much of darkness or really want to try a revengeful yet a passionately written novel, then go for this book. You will find it worth a reading.

Ratings: I really enjoyed reading this book, so 5/5.

And I thought that to make book posts more fun, from now onwards I will add some of my favorite Quotes from the book. So here they are:

Favourite Quotes:

• He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of his and mine are the same.
• Two words would comprehend my future- death and hell: existence, after losing her would be hell.
• If he loved with all the powers of his puny being, he couldn’t love as much in eighty years as I could in a day.
• The single pleasure I can imagine is to die, or to see him dead!
• That is not my Heathcliff. I shall love mine; yet and take him with me: he’s in my soul.
• I’m wearying to escape into that glorious world, and to be always there: not seeing it dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an aching heart: but really with it, and in it.
• You loved me- then what right had you to leave me?
• Because misery and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict woUld have parted us, you of your own will, did it.
• I love my murderer- but yours! How can I?
• Incomparably beyond and above us all! Whether still on earth or now in heaven, her spirit is at home with God!
• I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!
• People feel with their hearts: and Since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him: and I would not.
• On only one condition can I hope to forgive him. It is, if I may take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; for every wrench of agony return a wrench: reduce him to my level. But it is utterly impossible I can never be revenge, and therefore I cannot forgive him.
• Oh, if God would but give me strength to strangle him in my last agony, I’d go to hell with joy.
• Her anger was never furious; her love never fierce: it was deep and tender.
• He’ll never let his friends be at ease, and he’ll never be at ease himself!
• I’ll have her in my arms again! If she would be cold, I’ll think it is this north wind that chills me; and if she would be motionless, it is sleep.
• You have left me so long to struggle against death alone, that I feel and see only death! I feel like death!
• The more hurt she gets, the more venomous she grows.
• My soul’s bliss kills my body but does not satisfy itself.
• I have nearly attained my heaven, and that of others is altogether unvalued and uncoveted by me.

Komal Bagri

A traveler and a bookworm at heart, Komal Bagri has explored many destinations across India. But that never seems to be enough and she’s always ready to hit the road again. Her obsession for travel is combined with a love for books. She is currently working as a Content Developer at an eminent press.