Baker Affleck book review #1 - Wuthering Heights

The recent ABC TV mini-series inspired me to pick up this classic again and re-read it. This was Emily Bronte's only novel and was written in 1847, the year before she died. I had to wonder whether she was ill at the time, as almost every character in the book ends up dying of some unnamed lingering malaise.

The story is set in Yorkshire in the late 1700's, and follows the life of Heathcliff, an orphan found abandoned on the streets of Liverpool, and brought home to Wuthering Heights by its owner, Mr Earnshaw. Earnshaw loves the boy and treats him as his own child, much to the dismay of his son, Hindley. Hindley hates Heathcliff on sight and being older, treats the cuckoo in the nest abominably. When old Mr Earnshaw finally passes away (of said lingering malaise!), Hindley's cruelty towards Heathcliff grows unchecked.

At the same time, Catherine Earnshaw, Hindley's younger sister, and Heathcliff grow up together and run wild on the Yorkshire moors at every opportunity. The two are so alike that they seem to share a personality and their love for each other develops unbounded. Unlike other stories set around this period, no-one seems particularly bothered that an unrelated male and female are constantly alone together, unchaperoned!

Heathcliff, however, is not a "gentleman" and so Catherine is obliged to marry her neighbour, Edward Linton. Heathcliff rides away into the sunset and isn't heard from for three years. Upon his return, he has "made his fortune" (although we never find out how) and sets about seeking revenge on all he perceives to have wronged him.

Last time I read this book, I was a teenager, and I had harboured a romantic picture of Heathcliff, as hard-done-by and loving. But on re-reading as an older and wiser adult, I've found him to have no redeeming features at all! He was a thoroughly nasty, bullying, vindictive man. Even his all-consuming love for Catherine bordered on obsession in a bunny-boiling sense! Although the ABC mini-series took some liberties with the story line, I found the scene where he digs up Catherine's coffin, prises it open and lies on top of her decaying body, particularly creepy.

All in all, I was a little disappointed with both the book and mini-series. The characters don't seem to have the same depth as those in sister Charlotte's Jane Eyre and there are just too many questions left unanswered at tale's end. Still, it's a book worth reading if for no other reason than the expansion of one's vocabulary. I always find myself using big words and speaking in long convoluted sentences when I've read one of the classics!