Intro to Wuthering
HeightsWhat are the conventions of a Romantic Gothic and why are they important?
How can our passions destroy us?
Context• Author: Emily Bronte• Publish Date: 1847• Country of Publish: England • Style: Romantic Gothic Novel• Time Period: Victorian England (mid-late 1800s)
– Post-Romanticism– Inspired by the French and American Revolutions, the Spanish
Inquisition, Industrialization, Social Change, and Scientific Advancement
• Interesting Facts:– Emily died a year after her novel was published– Emily and her sisters Charlotte and Ann were both accomplished
writers, although they originally published under male pseudonymns
Brief Overview of Plot/Structure
• Story: Follows the multi-generational love story of Heathcliff and Catherine
• Setting: The wild moors of England
• Structure—Frame Story: Begins from the perspective of Mr. Lockwood, an anti-social man renting a room from Heathcliff
Symbols, Motifs, Thematic Ideas
• Motifs– Doubling and Pairs– Repetition and Cycles– Nature vs. Culture OR
Savage vs. Civilized
• Symbols– Moors– Ghosts
• Thematic Ideas– The precariousness of
social class– The dangers of refusing
to change– The destructiveness of
nature – Destructive passion– Cycles of pain
Reception• THEN…– Too dark! Too violent! Too
sexual!– Jane Eyre was waaayyy better!– Women can’t be writers!
• NOW…– Finest example of a Victorian
Gothic!– Women write the BEST
Gothics!
The Victorian Gothic• Emerged from the Romantic tradition in the late 1700s-early 1800s
• What is Romanticism?
• Victorian Gothic=mid-late 1800s• Characteristics include the following:
• The Supernatural• Extreme Emotion• Violent Passion• Aristocratic Decay• Evil• Mystery• Physical and Psychological Terror• Madness• Hereditary Curses• Doubling (duality within a character; good vs. evil)
• The Victorian Gothic evolved from previous forms of Gothic in that it moved the elements of a traditional Gothic from fantastical to relatable/average settings and characters.
• What is the effect of this move?
Influences on the Victorian Gothic
• Skepticism towards traditional religious values – Corruption in the church– Developments in science,
technology, and anthropology
• Increase in beliefs in unconventional viewpoints– Evolutionary theory
(Darwin)– Spiritualism– Atavism
The Byronic Hero: The Ultimate Bad Boy
• Lord Byron• Inspired by Milton’s Satan (Paradise Lost) and
Napoleon Bonaparte • Extreme version of the Romantic Hero
– Think Indiana Jones
• Examples of the Byronic Hero– Heathcliff, Captain Ahab, The Phantom,
Frankenstein’s Monster, Dylan McKay
• Characteristics of the Byronic Hero:– Highly intelligent (ruthless, arrogant, cynical,
cunning, manipulative, doubting)– Self-Aware (self-critical, tortured, traumatized, prone
to substance abuse, suicidal, do not acknowledge their good qualities)
– Passionate (reckless, emotional, easily angered, violent, emotional, dark)
– Attractive (sexually appealing, sensual, aggressive)– Strong values (unwavering belief in core beliefs,
justice at any cost)– Anti-Authority (alienated, rebellious, vengeful)
Assignment• Read Chapters 1-17 (Prologue=1-3;
Childhood=1-17)• Maintain a two-sided reading journal of
approximately 30 entries that addresses the following:
Interesting/important/significant quotation OR specific text reference (chapter number and page number)
Explanation of how it progresses any of the following:• Victorian Gothic• Byronic Hero• Characterization• Symbol/Motif• Theme• Significant Personal Reaction
Resources
• University of Oxford• New World Encyclopedia• Norton Anthology of English Literature