Rafael’s Comment on Chapter 4

Right at the beginning of this chapter the reader is confronted with a series of new information about the two houses and their past residents. Like I predicted, Lockwood ended searching for more information with his servants, and easily learned a lot. We also know now that at least 18 years ago, Catherine was still alive. And it’s clear that she died married to Linton. The question of how Heathcliff gets his money is raised and it was also established that he probably has some sort of emotional attachment to the Wuthering Heights manor, since he could easily live in a much better place. It was also interesting to know that Mrs. Heathcliff’s first name is also Catherine and she is actually Catherine’s daughter. Which makes me wonder is she was the Catherine Heathcliff, whose name was written on Catherine’s room in Wuthering Heights. And her husband was actually not Catherine’s son with Heathcliff, but the son of Heathcliff with Mrs. Linton, who turned out to be Heathcliff’s actual wife. This was really strange. How did Heathcliff end up marrying the sister of the husband of his beloved Catherine? But it is curious that if Heathcliff and Catherine couldn’t be together, at least their sons could. But I still wonder why Catherine Heathcliff is so unhappy? And did she love her husband? And why does Heathcliff hate her so much? The reader also learned that Hareton Earnshaw is probably the son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw. Which makes me wonder, why is he not the master of the house since his father, grandfather, and probably all the Earnshaws before him owned the house. How did Heathcliff obtain possession of the house? At least we now know how Heathcliff got to the house in the first place. When Mrs. Dean, Lockwood’s maid, mentions that Hareton was “cast out like an unfledged dunnock”, I started thinking about whom supposedly “cast him out”? Was it his own father maybe or Heathcliff? And why was he cast out? Was Heathcliff trying to achieve some sort of revenge over the Earnshaws?

For the first time as well, while Mrs. Dean is telling her story, we hear about Catherine Linton’s mother, Mrs. Earnshaw and about how good of a person Mr. Earnshaw was. When more about Mr. Earnshaw was told is started thinking that Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley, and Heathcliff are probably foils of each other; each having qualities that lack on the other. Particularly Mr. Earnshaw and his son, and how the goodness of the father makes the cruelty of the son seem even bigger.

The issue of race and class was also introduced now. There were a few passages before, when Mr. Heathcliff’s “inferior” background is mentioned, but only now does it become an issue and we see the importance of it. When Heathcliff first appears he is actually described as being as dark as if he “came from the devil” and is vehemently criticized by Mrs. Earnshaw for being a gypsy, and for quite a while he is referred to as “it”. It is then that we realize that race and class is a big deal. I personally think it’s a bit far-fetched that a rich, respectful, and relativity powerful man such as Mr. Earnshaw would simply pick up a gypsy child from the streets and raise it in such a way that he actually becomes the master of the house, but I can’t do anything besides going along with it. It is also interesting how it was established that since they were very young, Hindley despised Heathcliff – who got his name from a son who died in childhood -. In fact it was clear that everyone, even Mrs. Earnshaw disliked Heathcliff. The only two who lacked the hate for the young boy was Catherine – who was also very young at the time – and Mr. Earnshaw, who actually began to treat him like a child. This whole class struggle and the prodigious class jump performed by Heathcliff actually reminded me of the discussion we had about Realism, because if I’m not mistaken this is exactly one of the recurrent themes in realism.

Rafael’s Comment on Chapter 3 (cont.)

The fourth and last “stage” of the known history of the Wuthering Heights manor is the present one, when Heathcliff owns both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Besides Heathcliff, we also know that at least four more people live in the Wuthering Heights manor: Mrs. Heathcliff, Heathcliff’s daughter-in-law; Hareton Earnshaw; Joseph, who ironically went from being one of the people who hated and took advantage of his power over Heathcliff to being his servant; and Zillah, the newly-employed housewife. Throughout the book we will probably be able to connect each “phase” with the next, especially the third one with the this last one, which differs so much from any of the previous ones in many way. For starters, how did Heathcliff go from being the despised boy – and supposedly from gypsy background - at Wuthering Heights to being the master of the house? And if Thrushcross Grange wasn’t already owned by the Earnshaw’s, how did Heathcliff acquired it? Does it have anything to do with Catherine and her supposed marriage with Linton – who seems to be the previous owner of Thrushcross Grange -? And what happened to the other characters? Did Hindley, Catharine, Frances and Linton die? How? Did Heathcliff kill any of them? Was Catherine killed? And what about Heathcliff’s son – mentioned in the previous chapter -? Is he Catharine’s son? What about Hareton? Is he Catharine’s son with Linton? Or is he Hindley’s son? And why does everyone who lives at Wuthering Heights hates each other so much? Specifically, why does Mrs. Heathcliff hates Mr. Heathcliff? And why can’t she supposedly leave the house? There are also a few lose events that I don’t know where to place, such as when did Heathcliff had a son, and when did he die. And a few other general and maybe not important doubts crossed my mind, such as: what about Catherine’s mother? What happened to her? But everything will probably be answered as the story goes on.

Not only is the story of Wuthering Heights and its past and current residents appealing, but I was also very interested in the story behind the actual room in which Lockwood is sleeping in. It probably belonged to Catherine, but it has lots of mysteries. I actually had a hard time understanding the description of the room; I still don’t quite know what the “large oak case” (19) is, it was extremely confusing when he said that it “[resembled] coach windows” and that it had “a singular sort of old-fashioned couch” inside “to obviate the necessity for every member of the family having a room to himself” (19). That made absolutely no sense to me. But vocabulary in general is not being a problem, except in some cases like: “vapid listlessness”, “obtrusive”, “assailant”, “cudgel”, “asseverated”, and “hubbub”. Going back to the room, I keep wondering if it was Catherine who kept writing her name over and over in the wall with different last names. I suppose that as she changed last names she would go and change the writing in the wall. And I wonder if Heathcliff knows what is written in all of those books. It was also weird when Heathcliff got very shocked to find Mr. Lockwood in that room; it showed how probably no one has used that chamber in quite a long time, augmenting its importance. The fact that the room was kept untouched all these years and that nobody is allowed to go there clearly show that it has a very significant meaning to Heathcliff, emphasizing his love for Catherine.

But even though there were many questions waiting to be answered, there are many things that were discovered in chapter three, and other things that can be easily assumed from what was told so far. For example, I think it’s obvious that one of the main “problems” in the story that Lockwood is slowly discovering, is that Heathcliff and Catherine probably loved each other. I’m almost certain that many of the “complications” and events revolve around the fact Heathcliff loved Catherine, showing now that this is probably one of those stories about “impossible loves”.

In terms of understanding everything, like I said above, I didn’t have much trouble except with a few words and a few descriptions. But besides the description of Catherine’s room, the dream Mr. Lockwood had concerning James Branderham was very confusing. Perhaps it was a bit purposefully confusing because it was a dream, but I’m not sure. First I don’t get what is the “First of the Seventy-First”. All I understood was that it was some kind of sin. But what is the sin? Does it mention? And is Branderham’s character important? What is the importance of this sin? Is it something one of the characters did? Is it something Heathcliff did? Was Brontë also aiming at criticizing the Church or religion for that matter? The entire dream sequence was quite confusing, until it got to the part where Lockwood is supposedly haunted by Catherine. Then it went from confusing to plain weird. I don’t know if it’s he had a dream, or if it was an actual ghost or apparition of some sort. But I guess that is the point. Zillah’s line at the beginning of the chapter sums it up quite well: Wuthering Heights “[has] many queer goings on”. She even says that she can’t be curious, which is the opposite of Lockwood. Regardless of the fact that there “strange” things going on, Lockwood’s dream about Catherine adds an entire new “supernatural” level to the book. It couldn’t just be a dream, because how would Lockwood know that she has been “waiting” for 20 years? And why did he say she committed a “mortal transgression”? What is this transgression? But one thing was established by this: the fact that she is supposedly a “ghost” or “spirit” makes it clear that she died. It’s something that could have been guessed already, but I wasn’t 100% sure. It’s also intriguing how we know that Catherine dies and that Heathcliff’s wife died, and that one of the “names” of Catherine was Heathcliff, and that Catherine and Heathcliff loved each other. So by connecting those pieces of information it’s easy to assume that Catherine was, at some point, Heathcliff’s wife. Which is weird because she supposedly married Linton, and was there such thing as divorce at that time? Or marrying more than once? Catherine probably didn’t actually married Heathcliff, but Heathcliff just considers her his wife. I was also pondering about the meaning of Catherine’s words in Lockwood’s dream. She kept asking him to “let her in”. I guess the dream “takes place” at the time Catherine was married to Linton and she had to live at Thrushcross Grange. The 20 years also put a date to my “time line”, because if the dates in the book are accurate then Catherine supposedly married Linton 5 years after the time when her father was the master of the house.

I’ve been also trying to apply some of the realism characteristics we studied to this book and found that though there many characteristics of Realism that can be found here, there are many as well that don’t really fit, especially when thinking about the Poetics. One major difference is the fact that even though Wuthering Heights has a strong and intriguing plot, I felt like it’s much more character-driven, which is something that goes against the Poetics. I say that because when you think of Realist works that do follow the Poetics, such as Doll’s House, it’s noticeable that the plot is much more important than the characters, and it’s very character-driven. In fact, the author probably intended the plot to be of greater importance so that people could easily relate with the characters (in Doll’s House, women are supposed to relate with Nora). That doesn’t happen at all in Wuthering Heights. Besides there is no such thing as a clear unity of plot or of time, since there are quite a few stories going on at once instead of everything revolving on a single action, and there are quite a few “flashbacks” in the book. The major “events” actually occurred in the past already. The fact that Realist works are not “supposed” to have a narrator is also not true in this book, since Mr. Lockwood is narrating everything and many times giving his opinion on what he sees, instead of letting the reader see everything for himself and develop his own ideas about it. But I need to keep in mind that I haven’t read that much yet to identify other Realist characteristics.

From now on it’s pretty clear how the book will continue; it’s all about answering the above questions. I’m just wondering how Lockwood will find out the rest of the story concerning the Wuthering Height’s residents. He will probably read a few more “diary entries”, but it can’t just be at that. Maybe he will find out things with the servants, and he will possibly become more intimate of Heathcliff and the other characters. Maybe he will find things from the past in his own house, or he will enter a room he shouldn’t at Wuthering Heights and find more mysterious writings. I’m just guessing how Lockwood will discover the rest of the story surrounding Wuthering Heights.

Chapter 9 (Rodrigo)

In Chapter 9, the thing that has caught my attention is the criticism towards racism present during the time. I am not sure if it is a direct criticism of racism because racism played a very big role during that time being that many people still possed slaves and may companies and employers utilized slavery as a means to produce their products. However, it is interesting to notice that the chapter is all about Hareton and Heathcliff and how they suffer because they are not born into the family but rather adopted into it and because they are of a slightly differnet colour than the other children they are punished for it. This can be seen in the very first paragraphs of the chapter when Mr. Hindley wants to punish Hareton because he cannot stand having him around because he is a pest and is not worthy of the family:

"'You'd rather be damned!' he said; 'and so you shall. No law in England can hinder a man from keeping his house decent, and mine's abominable! Open your mouth.' He held the knife in his hand, and pushed its point between my teeth: but, for my part, I was never much afraid of his vagaries. I spat out, and affirmed it tasted detestably - I would not take it on any account. 'Oh!' said he, releasing me, 'I see that hideous little villain is not Hareton: I beg your pardon, Nell. If it be, he deserves flaying alive for not running to welcome me, and for screaming as if I were a goblin. Unnatural cub, come hither! I'll teach thee to impose on a good-hearted, deluded father."

This passage demonstrates the utter cruelty which Mr.Hindley is prepared to bring upon the little boy only because he does not enjoy his presence being that he is of a slightly different race and origin. He literally treats the boy as he would his dog, or even worse as is the case for the treatment of many slaves or peoples of different skin colour during that time. Another passage that demonstrates the way in which Mr.Hindley does not truly "love" Hareton but in a way wants to force Hareton into loving him is when he says shortly after sticking the fishermans knife in his mouth:

"What a devilish conceit it is, to cherish our ears - we're asses enough without them. Hush, child, hush! Well then, it is my darling! wisht, dry thy eyes - there's a joy; kiss me. What! it won't? Kiss me, Hareton! Damn thee, kiss me! By God, as if I would rear such a monster! As sure as I'm living, I'll break the brat's neck.' "

Another thing that struck me as familiar from what I have seen from another Realistic novel A Doll's House, is how Catherine wants to gain consent or approval from Nelly for her to marry Linton because she knows that she would be marrying him just for the money and not for love. She finds it more advantagious to marry Linton for money so that she can evidentually save Heathecliff from her father's cruelty than to marry Heathcliffe for true love and live in poverty and him living under constant abuse from Catherine's father. This is similar to what Mrs. Linde from Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House did in order to have enough money to be able to take care of her mother and two brothers, for instead of marrying Krogstad who is her true love she decideds to leave him and marry another many who has money and could potentially finance her mother and brothers. However Mrs.Linde is in a way forced to make this descision because that is the only way that she can take care of her family. She is willing to sacrifice her happiness in order to help her family. Catherine is doing the similar thing in Wuthering Heights by marrying Linton in order to have more economic power to save her true love, Heathecliff.

"Nelly, I see now you think me a selfish wretch; but did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars? whereas, if I marry Linton I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother's power.' "

Up to Chapter 12-Camila

Well I am starting to become impressed with the plot of the story because tings are starting to get intense. Before I comment on my pages let me say something to you Rafa......
All the questions and doubts you are having are answered in the following chapters. Some of the questions you make are foreshadows of what will happen next. The last name confusion Linton Earnshaw and Heathcliff is clearly explained around chapter 10. By these chapters the summary on the back of the book will start to make sense. Heathcliff is in the Earnshaw family because on one of Mr. Earnshaw's trips to Europe, in Liverpool he saw Heatchliff alone in the streets and decided to adopt him. That's why he is neglected by the rest of the family. I think it's better for you to answer your questions on your own by reading a little further in the book or else I will spoil the interesting parts for you.
Rodrigo, I found really interesting the points you made on your post. The idea of explaining the characters with metaphors and simile's was something I saw but didn't take real notice of. If you read a little more you will notice how even more similar this realistic novel is to the brazilian one's because then the real drama will start to be revealed and a romance(as in couple) will become troublesome like in Primo Basílio.
Going back to the pages, I find it interesting how lots of events have been happening in one chapter. In the pages I have read Catherine has gotten really sick with a high fever, Heatchliff has run away, Catherine has gotten healthier and married Linton, the Lintons(parents) have died and left Isabella with her brother, and Heathcliff appeared once again. In three chapters three years have passed. This makes me wonder for how long will Bronte have a reasonable and logical story to tell??
Now I am interested in the story because it has become more exciting with the drama of Catherine marrying Linton but still loving Heathcliff and suddenly he appears to make things even more difficult. Only one thing I have to question is what has happened to Isabella??Did Heathcliff kiss her or had any type of relationship with her??and if yes was it something he and Catherine had planned in order to get closer without Linton noticing??
I think now I understand why Bronte has two narrators. Nelly is the narrator for the past events and Mr Lockwood is the narrator for the present. Whenever Bronte wants to shift to the present Lockwood speaks, and when trying to explain the past Nelly narrates.
I think no one will be able to answer my questions because I am far ahead, so I might as well just read further to discover the truth about Wuthering Heights!!!

Rafael’s Comment on Chapter 3

Instead of trying to solve the mystery surrounding Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights manor, chapter three only made everything more confusing. It’s as is the story was this huge puzzle that keeps getting larger and larger. I made tons of notes while I was reading, and unlike my notes from the previous chapters, these notes were extremely chaotic because the reader is exposed to a lot of intriguing information and a few new and crucial characters. On the other hand, as more information and new characters were presented, just like Lockwood said, “an immediate interest kindled within me for the unknown Catherine” (20) and the other residents of Wuthering Heights. So to try to organize things a little more I made sort of a time line of the events that have occurred in Wuthering Height. Of course there were lots of gaps, but it helped me “picture” the story better. It also gave me a “direction”; it made me aware of what I need to look out for while reading.
So after reading chapter four, I was able to identify four different “stages” or “phases” in the history of Wuthering Heights manor. The first period took place about a “quarter of a century back” (20), when the father of Catherine Earnshaw was the master of Wuthering Heights. At the time, we know for sure that at least four people, besides Mr. Earnshaw, used to live in the house: Joseph, the servant who the reader already knows; Catherine Earnshaw, who supposedly used to occupy the room in which Mr. Lockwood is in and who kept the “diaries” which Lockwood is reading; Hindley Earnshaw, the older son of Mr. Earnshaw and brother of Catherine Earnshaw; and Heathcliff, who seemed to be well-treated in the house and a good friend of Catherine. But here the first question arises: what is Heathcliff’s connection with the rest of the residents of Wuthering Heights? Why is he there? Because it seems that he doesn’t belong on the family, both because he is of different ethnicity and background and because of his name. Regardless of how he got there, the point is that during this period, Heathcliff was very well treated by Mr. Earnshaw. In fact many times, Catherine makes it clear that her father was very nice and good.
The second “phase” of Wuthering Heights is when Hindley became the new master of the manor. Making us wonder what happened to his father. Did he die? How? Was he killed? Is it important? Even with this change, Joseph, Catherine, and Heathcliff remained in the house and were joined by Hindley’s wife, Frances. But now, it was made clear that Joseph was quite mean, maybe not mean, but it seemed as if he had a certain repressed anger which he released upon young Mrs. Earnshaw and especially on Heathcliff, who was treated by everyone in the house except Catherine as the child of a slave or something of that nature. Catherine’s attitude towards Joseph were also made clear when she drew an amusing caricature of him, showing that she probably disliked him as well, but was still in a position of mocking him. Hindley also showed to be quite cruel with both Heathcliff – “his conduct to Heathcliff is atrocious” (20) - and his sister, Catherine, who even wrote in her “diary” that “Hindley is a detestable substitute” (20) for her father. Catherine goes on and gives a few examples of how cruel Hindley and Joseph could be. The events she wrote about also show how Hindley was disrespectful regarding their father, which may hint about what happened to Mr. Earnshaw. Maybe Hindley had something to do with Earnshaw’s death, if he died at all, but I could be exaggerating here. Heathcliff and Catherine seemed to remain good friends, actually very close friends. Catherine even mentions that they were planning to rebel. This made me ponder about whether if they did end up rebelling. Did it work? Was that why suddenly Heathcliff wasn’t allowed to even sit with the rest of the people? If it is, what exactly did he do? I also had a doubt about vocabulary when this “phase” is narrated. At one point, Joseph was really angry at Catherine and Heathcliff and asseverated that “‘owd Nick’ would fetch us as sure as we were living”. It could be nothing but an expression, but I still wonder, who is “owd Nick”?
Then the third “stage” took place when Catherine left the house unwillingly. That’s basically where everything starts to get confusing and lots of questions emerge. What happened to her? Did she die? How? Or did she marry Linton? A started to think about Linton because of the small summary at the back cover of the book, and because before it was mentioned that someone scratched the names Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Heathcliff, and Catherine Linton in the ledge of the room where Lockwood is staying. So since then I kept trying to connect the names and think of why she kept “changing” her name and it seems quite plausible that she left Wuthering Heights manor after marrying a man named Linton. But then again, who is Linton? And why did she leave the house unwillingly? Was she forced to marry Linton, if she married him at all? And if she was forced to marry him, why didn’t she like him? Is it simply because it was a forced and arranged marriage or is it because she loved someone else? And if she loved someone else, was it Heathcliff? If it was Heathcliff, and assuming he loved her as well, what did he do when Catherine got married? What happened? What about Hindley? Is he still the master of the house? Was he the one who arranged the marriage?
These are only a few of the various questions and observations I have made concerning chapter three, since I don’t have much time, I will continue this post later.

Post for week of April 9-15(Rodrigo on Chapter 8)

Chapter 8 serves to further explain the main characters backgrounds and to show why they are the way they are. Chapter 8 begins by explaining how Hareton was born and under what circumstances he came to live under. One thing that caught my attention was how Bronte decided to describe the characters in the book, through the use of metaphors and similes and antitese(Portuguese). Examples of this can be seen in various passages during the chapter such as the one shown below:
· “Joseph remained to hector over tenants and labourers; and because it was his vocation to be where he had plenty of wickedness to reprove.”
· “His treatment of the latter was enough to make a fiend of a saint.”
· “Mr. Edgar seldom mustered courage to visit Wuthering Heights openly. He had a terror of Earnshaw's reputation, and shrunk from encountering him; and yet he was always received with our best attempts at civility.”
These literary devices give more depth to the content of the novel than if Bronte were to continue to simple explain the characters as they are without using any literary devices. Another character that caught my attention was Earnshaw, who demonstrated a very stubborn character when his wife was sick and everybody was telling him that she was dyeing but he did not want to believe it:
“Poor soul! Till within a week of her death that gay heart never failed her; and her husband persisted doggedly, nay, furiously, in affirming her health improved every day. When Kenneth warned him that his medicines were useless at that stage of the malady, and he needn't put him to further expense by attending her, he retorted, 'I know you need not - she's well - she does not want any more attendance from you! She never was in a consumption. It was a fever; and it is gone: her pulse is as slow as mine now, and her cheek as cool.' He told his wife the same story, and she seemed to believe him; but one night, while leaning on his shoulder, in the act of saying she thought she should be able to get up to-morrow, a fit of coughing took her - a very slight one - he raised her in his arms; she put her two hands about his neck, her face changed, and she was dead.”
In chapter 8 the reader continues to see many characteristics of Realism which I mentioned in my last post which include describing each characters past and many events in his/her life which influenced them into being the way they are in the present. This is as I mentioned before, a very important characteristic of Realism not only in Europe but also in other countries that adopted the Realistic method of writing in literature such as Brazil. It is very often seen in Brazilian novels such as Dom Casmurro and Primo Basilio, the use of this type of characterization to give a psychoanalyses of each character. Bronte has a very distinct style of writing, in which she sets up the novel telling the story from the end to the beginning which is not very common in novels from other time periods such as the romantics for example. The first few chapters of Wuthering Heights show the main characters such as Heathcliff and Lockwood in their present state, in which the reader begins to learn about Catherine’s past along with the Heathcliff’s families past and what led him to be so alone. It is through Lockwood’s direct narration of the facts in the story along with Bronte’s unique style of portraying the story through the main character finding a diary for example and learning of Heathcliff and Catherine’s past through it that the reader is introduced to all of the characters. I personally feel that this makes understanding the novel more difficult because the reader is forced to pay attention to the time line and closely to who is speaking in order to understand what is going on. If Bronte continues to narrate the novel as she is in the first few chapters, I cant predict at what chapter she is actually going to get to the climax of the novel, however overall it is beginning to show that it is slightly interesting and probably will have some more twists and turns as the story develops.

Up to Chapter 10

Wow in these chapters many things happen that actually surprised me. First Hindley's wife has baby however she dies after his birth leaving the poor child for Nelly to take care of. In this part once again the weather was very important even thopugh the mood of the character was joyful it was winter and winter usually symbolizes death or the end of things. In this case it was the end of Frances's life, however a beginning for baby Heraton. Following up these scenes Heathcliff gives a demonstration of his deep love for Catherine which was pretty cute but also very picky. He proved to her that he payed attention to her acts by marking on the calendar how many days she spent with him and linton and so he complains that he receives less attention. Although he is proving his love I would not be able to handle a boyfriend so picky as he is with Catherine wanting all the attention to himself. Then there is a strong scene (although treated normally) of Hindley's drunkness caused by the death of his wife. This part I felt was very realistic because it showed how the death of a beloved person can end the life of another like it happened with Hindley, and this is very true because it is common to hear about people who become depressed after the loss of close relative or wife.
In these pages Cathy tells Nelly her biggest secret which involves her love complication. Before I was thinking Cathy was a stuck up girl, with two opposed characters who only wanted to take advantage of others, but as she tells her secret I began to sympathize and understand her psychological dilemma. Once she said she was only trying to help Heathcliff grow in life and be freed from her brother's commands, I became more fond of her character; however I'm still in the beginning of the book so my opinion might change.
I've noticed that this story looks much like the Brazilian novelas, where there is a love dilemma, a drinking problem due to family complications, subordinates trying to make their own story, etc. I think that might be a reason why I'm not that much interested in it since I have become tired of the "novelas".
I know I'm still in the beginning but I think Emily Bronte did wrong in starting the book the way she did because the suspense will not be that great since the reader already knows from the beginning that Cathy dies and she was in a love dilemma between Heathcliff and Linton.Eventhough a climax can still be built from this story the suspense of the end will not be as intriging. Also the fact that Lockwood is the narrator, but Nelly is the one telling most part of the story makes it not as exciting. Anyways I think I'm enjoying a little bit more the book now that I am understanding the psychological aspect of it!
Bye!!

Commenting on another Comment

I completely agree with Rafael's and Rodrigo's analyses of realism in this novel. The long narrative does really emphasize the psychological analyses of the characters and it becomes very apparent throughout the novel. Another important aspect as Rodrigo said is the emphasis on racism towards social class. I also do sympathize now with Heatcliff because I notice he has suffered a lot with the Earnshaw's. This racism is very apparent when Heatcliff arrives with the master from Liverpool and the family referrs to him as "it". They treet him as an unwanted object and he is only recognized once he recieves the name of Heatcliff.
I also agree with Rafael on the fact that the weather and the environment are very important in this novel, and sometimes it kills the "suspense" of the story because the reader knows what to expect being that the weather is dark or rainy. For example when Heatchliff and Cathy runaway and she is bitten by Sparkles, it was a rainy dark night and they were running through the woods. It was very clear that something bad was going to happen to the two kids.
One thing I am finding really good with this book is that I am practicing the words I learn with the Vocab book. I have noticed that in almost all pages there is one word from the Vocab book, and some different words that I do not know the meaning of are words to come in the book. Therefore I am putting into to practice my Vocab. Anyways now I am starting to enjoy the story however the fact that the story evolves around the past makes it not much exciting.
P.S. my post on the next pages I have been reading will be made tomorrow because do to the confusion of this week my daily pages schedule got messed up. I hope this will not be much of a problem!!!!
Happy Easter everyone!!!!!

Rafael’s Comments on Chapter 2

In chapter two various characters were introduced and the reader learned a lot more about Mr. Heathcliff. Certain traits of Mr. Lockwood’s character also became clearer. Such as the fact that Mr. Lockwood constantly makes assumptions about the people and the things he observes. Usually his assumptions are wrong, which makes the lives of the residents of the Wuthering Heights manor even more mysterious and confusing. I guess it also makes Mr. Lockwood more curious and inquisitive – despite him saying before that he is a very introverted person - about their lives. And it’s through Lockwood’s subtle curiosity that the reader finds out about the past of both Mr. Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. So Lockwood’s inaccurate conjectures helps the reader discover more and more about the people living in Withering Heights manor.
Before discussing the characters that were introduced in this chapter I think it’s important to note now how certain descriptions of Withering Heights manor and the weather reflect Mr. Heathcliff’s character. For example the fact that the house is closed and its hard for Lockwood to enter may show how Heathcliff is a very private person or that he holds lots of secrets or hides lots of things. Well, the fact alone that guests are very unwelcome to the house makes it clear that they are hiding something. And the crazy, wild, and dangerous weather may possibly symbolize Mr. Heathcliff’s crazy, wild, and dangerous past and maybe his present. I could be very wrong or overanalyzing, but I know there is something about the weather. From what we learned an author – even in this case in which its Brontë’s first and only novel - never wastes a lot of time describing the weather or the environment just for the sake of doing it, especially in this case where the place is so characteristic and important to the plot.
One theme that comes up a few times as well is happiness, or the fact that the residents of Wuthering Heights manor supposedly chose to live far away from the city to - just how Lockwood mentions on page 12 - find happiness. So the idea that happiness can be found in such a remote and exiled place is questioned. Mr. Lockwood’s comment even seems a bit ironic because as far as the reader can tell none of the residents of Wuthering Heights manor are happy. Mr. Heathcliff seems to hold some sort of grudge of the past and he apparently hates the people who live with him, just like they hate everyone else. Mrs. Heathcliff and Mr. Earnshaw are also obviously discontent, and so is Joseph. The reader also questions their will to live in that place, what brought all of these conflicting individuals to live under the same roof? Are they there by choice?
In terms of vocabulary and understanding, this chapter was quite easy to follow except for a few words here and there, such as “hemmed”, “deigned”, “canister”, “box his ears”, and “rafter”. Now the hard parts were when Joseph spoke. I don’t know if he is he speaks like that because he is uneducated and of “lower class” or if it’s some sort of accent. The point is that even after reading his lines various times, I think I only get the general idea of his speeches. For example, in page eight all I got was that he can’t open the door because Mr. Heathcliff is not there yet, and Mrs. Heathcliff won’t open the door as well. But I don’t know what he meant by “Goa rahned by th’ end ut’ laith…” (8). And the part when Joseph is, I think, chastising Mrs. Heathcliff in page 14 and 15, is also very unclear. Is he accusing her of sorcery? But besides Joseph’s dialogues, everything is relatively clear. Actually, because the vocabulary is a little challenging, I’m never certain about any assumptions I make. For example, I have the impression that the narrator is often ironic, but then again, I’m never certain. The most clear example for me is at the end of page 13, when Lockwood says that he “began to feel unmistakably out of place in that pleasant family circle”. I find that very ironic, because it is very clear that he is not in a “pleasant family circle”. And he says that after being accused by Mr. Earnshaw of offending him by simply assuming that he was Mr. Heathcliff’s son. Later on he also says that he “heard another specimen of their civil behavior amongst each other” (16), which I guess can also be ironic because they don’t act civilized with one another, in fact that are all quite rude with each another. But I’m really not sure about this.
In terms of the characters, the reader learns that there are a total of five people living at the Withering Heights manor: Zillah, an apparently nice housewife; Joseph, a very rude servant; Hareton Earnshaw, a young and hostile man; Mrs. Heathcliff, the young and stubborn daughter-in-law of Mr. Heathcliff; and Mr. Heathcliff himself. Mr. Heathcliff appears to be around forty and is the master of the house. A quote I particularly liked when he is described is the following: “his reserve springs from an aversion to showy displays of feeling… He’ll love and hate equally under cover” (4). I think that sums his personality quite well. He shows nothing but dislike concerning both Mrs. Heathcliff and Mr. Earnshaw, who both seem to dislike Mr. Heathcliff in return. I also got the impression, though I’m not sure, that both his wife and his son are dead. I think it’s also important to notice how Zillah seems to be the only compassionate person of the house and how Joseph really hates and fears Mrs. Heathcliff and apparently her mother as well. But I think that the other characters can also be compassionate and nicer, they are just covering it all up with some sort of anger or grudge form the past. I’m also curious to understand how Mr. Earnshaw fits in the story. Because he is neither Mr. Heathcliff’s son, nor Mrs. Heathcliff’s husband, nor is he a servant. So I’m curious to understand how he connects to the others. The last thing I should note is that Mrs. Heathcliff, who by the way is about 17 years of age, is apparently kept in the house. It seems that she is prohibited to leave the property, which makes us – the readers – wonder why.

I think the story is getting more interesting, as the story becomes more complicated. But so far it’s still not very entertaining. It still seems like one of those books that a few months after you finish reading, you already forg

Rafael’s Comments on Chapter 1

First, because the author of the book is a woman, I automatically assumed the narrator was a woman, so I got a bit confused at the beginning. Once it was established the narrator was a man called Mr. Lockwood and that he had just moved in to a house called Thrushcross Grange, things became a little more clear. From what I understood Mr. Heathcliff owns both Wuthering Heights, which is where he lives, and Thrushcross Grange which is where Mr. Lockwood is currently living. So the story basically starts when Mr. Lockwood comes to introduce himself and meet his landlord, Mr. Heathcliff.

From what I read at the back cover of the book, and from the description given of Mr. Heathcliff, I think the story isn’t really about Mr. Lockwood. I’m not sure but I got the impression that the story is much more focused on Mr. Heathcliff’s life. He just seems like one of those mysterious characters that have been through a lot in their lifetime. I think his life story will slowly be discovered by the narrator. I guess I’m trying to say that this book will probably be like The Great Gatsby, in the sense that the narrator isn’t really the focus but the characters around him are what the book is really all about. Maybe even more to the extreme than The Great Gatsby, something like The Virgin Suicides, or somewhere in the middle of those two, narrator-involvement wise. Besides that, I think this is one of those stories where the past of each character is extremely relevant, in the sense that most of the real “action” already occurred, and now people are just living the consequences of their past actions.
So far the book hasn’t been very enticing, it’s just mildly interesting. There are some passages which can be very tedious - especially when Lockwood starts describing the house -, but I guess they are very important to set the correct tone of the story, and I have the impression that it’s one of those cases in which the house and the environment in general tells a lot about the characters, but I confess I haven’t thought that much about that yet. I mean besides the fact that both the house and Mr. Heathcliff are rather old and have the appearance of having being through a lot in their time, I haven’t made many connections between the house and its owner. I guess the weather and the location of Wuthering Heights is also important, but this will probably be clearer afterwards, when more about the characters is discovered. Regardless of the importance of the house description, I still got very lost at some points; I guess the vocabulary and maybe a few of the long sentence constructions got in the way of my understanding. I tried to picture the house, but sometimes I just couldn’t. For example, the following passage on page three was quite confusing for me: “One end, indeed, reflected splendidly both light and heat from ranks of immense pewter dishes, interspersed with silver jugs and tankards, towering row after row, on a vast oak dresser, to the very roof. The latter had never been underdrawn: its entire anatomy lay bare to an inquiring eye, except where a frame of wood laden with oatcakes and clusters of legs and beef, mutton, and ham, concealed it”. I could be very wrong, but I’m guessing the first part is just a bunch of piled dishes, but the “frame of wood” and “cluster of legs and beef” sections are really confusing, and I honestly have no idea what was meant. But so far vocabulary hasn’t been that much of a problem, except in a few sections. Obviously in a first reading, things can be very confusing, but after reading a couple of sections a few more times, things get clearer.

Rodrigo: Page 30-60

In the last few pages of Chapter 3 nd the first few pages of chapter 4 the reader is presented with a very real description of Heathcliff and his wife and their very rugged,cold and rude personalities. The author sets out to explain Heathcliff's past along with Lockwood and Cathy, so that the reader can have a very complete psycological evaluation of all the characters to understand why they are the way they are in the present. This is a very important characteristic of Realism along with the depiction of the normal civilian in its raw state of being, in his/her every day life. By describing the character's past, the reader is presented with a broad psycological analyses of the character giving a very real perspective of why the character is the way he/she is in the present. In the first few pages of Chapter 4 I started to consider Heathcliff and Mrs.Heathcliff very rude people, however after reading in the following pages about their past as children(Heathcliff, Lockwood, Cathy and Haerton) I began to sympathise with Heathcliff because of the way in which he was treated as a child. The reader starts to sympathise with Heathcliff because we start to see the Social values present at that time and the racism present against people of darker skin color such as Heathcliff. The thing that I dont enjoy about Wuthering Heights is the long style of narration which means that it takes a very long time to say anything. As opposed to the the first 30 pages, I felt that Chapter 4 to the middle of Chapter 7, presented more of a explanation of why Heathcliff and his associates are as angry and disspationate about anything as they are. So far, Wuthering Heights has been very similar to portuguese Realism novels, in many characteristics considering the amount of characters present and the importance placed on describing the psycological state of mind of each character. So far, I have no idea what to expect, but I believe it is going to be something good.
P.S: I wont be able to post for the next two weeks because I am going to be in NYC and I wont have access to a computer. So I will post three times on the week we get back. Have a nice spring holiday everyone.

Up to Chapter 8

By reading the first few pages I already got the feeling that this novel will be filled with supernatural happenings. One moment has already happened with Catherine's ghost appearing to Mr. Lockwood in pages 25-26. However on this part I did not really understand how
he supposedly got cut when seeing her ghost. He said the window was closed hoever she grabbed his arm, but kept asking to let her in?!Then he started to bleed.....how is that possible if there was no where for him to cut himself since the window was closed and the ghost was outside???\this is why I really do not appreciate supernatural happenings for I usually find incongruency in it. Any ways, the story is now starting to become clearer for the characters are clearer now. I was only able to really understand the relationship between the characters of Wuthering Heights after Mrs. Dean explained them. One thing I found really similar to the portuguese realism novels is the great amount of characters. For example in the book O Cortiço there are more than ten very important characters, and in this book although the main story is about Heathcliff and Catherine there are various characters that contribute to the story and should be taken note of. Anyways I still think that the book will become more interesting by the middle when a climax is biult, at least that is what I hope for. The start has not been that much catchy for me at least I don't about you guys but I prefer real life story and not supernatural happenings.
P.S. Is anybody else having a little of a hard time reading Joseph's lines???Sometimes even after reading aloud I can't understand all the words!!
See you in two weeks!!!