Wuthering Heights: Love Story or Case of Stalking?

Last Updated on August 3, 2024

My review of the classic gothic love story by Emily Bront. 

Disclaimer: Spoilers everywhere! 

Overview

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a gothic classic that follows the tumultuous history of the Earnshaw and Linton families. Many years ago, the Earnshaw patriarch brought home an orphan that he named Heathcliff. Heathcliff is instantly hated by most of his foster family, except for his foster sister, Catherine. As Catherine and Heathcliff grow up, they develop romantic feelings for each other (ew, by the way). 

Unfortunately, Catherine marries a man named Edgar Linton instead of Heathcliff, due to Edgar’s wealth and status. Specifically, she says to her caretaker Nelly,

I’ve no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if [Hindley] had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn’t have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly but because he’s more myself than I am.

Wuthering heights, Chapter Ix

Little does she know that Heathcliff has overheard this conversation. He runs off into the night, disappearing for years, in search of wealth and power to eventually come back in the hopes of winning over his love’s heart. 

Thoughts On It All

This book is not as romantic as you think it might be. If you watched the 1992 movie adaptation with actors Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche first…boy are you in for a treat (of the bad variety)!!

There are no sweet scenes—actually, most of the book is wildly uncomfortable—and there is no actual romance. 

I found this shocking. Several times when I told someone what I was currently reading, they visibly swooned! After some research, I discovered that there’s actually a difference between a traditional ‘love story’ and a ‘romance’. 

A novel falls into the Romance genre when it has “a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.” A Love Story, however, has a “main plot [that] centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work.”  

That’s it. No overt mushiness or happy ending is necessarily needed. 

Though I was disappointed, the book itself was well done—to no one’s surprise! It’s one of the Brontë sisters, after all. I’m giving 4 out of 5 stars. 

It was very atmospheric, dark, and broody. The characters and their motivations were clear, and the plot was fairly engaging. 

It is an old book, though; if you struggle with older, more formal writing, I suggest listening along to the audiobook on Libby or Spotify Premium!

Who Wuthering Heights Is For

If you don’t like overly romantic scenes or mushy dialogue, here you go. There are none! The most romance you will get out of Wuthering Heights is unending yearning and a loose interpretation of devotion (stalking?). 

If you like morally gray characters, this book is great for you! Don’t bother trying to find a character that is actually likable, they are all terrible in one way or another. 

If you like a historic piece, this is perfect. Brontë published the book in 1847, but the story itself is set in 1801. You will never have to worry about historical accuracy with this one—one of the major villains throughout the book is actually illness due to a cracked window. (No exaggeration there. Someone could write a paper on just that, it happens so often!)

And lastly, if you love a good ghost story, I absolutely recommend this book. Like I said before, the atmosphere is dark, creepy, and haunted:

The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most melancholy voice sobbed, ‘Let me in – let me in!’

Wuthering Heights, Chapter III