Revision Cards - Wuthering Heights: A Level, Genre, structure and language

The opening is in some ways a pastiche of the Gothic novel, with Mr Lockwood, the narrator, thinking himself its hero and with Heathcliff as ’misanthropic’ villain.
The Gothic Double, one character expressing itself as two, is reflected in the affinity between Catherine and Heathcliff and Heathcliff and Hareton.
The system of one narrator taking over from (or overlaying) another is characteristic of the Gothic novel, for example Frankenstein.
Heathcliff’s often compelling brutality owes much to the ‘Gothic heroes’ of Byron’s verse tales, who have ‘one virtue and a thousand crimes’.

Genre, structure and language

Wuthering Heights: A Level

Wuthering Heights is introduced through the first person narrative of Mr Lockwood, Heathcliff’s tenant at Thrushcross Grange.
All the events of the novel are filtered through Mr Lockwood’s point of view, as he is responsible for presenting the words of all the other narrators.
Though Lockwood is an educated man of some literary pretension, he is capable of rendering Broad Yorkshire speech without obvious mediation.
Lockwood’s own interventions in the story are often very significant, particularly his dreams in the oak closet.

Genre, structure and language

Wuthering Heights: A Level

In his narration Lockwood occasionally uses words, such as ‘devastate’ for ‘go shooting’, that show a desire to please a learned, metropolitan readership.
His desire to write in a way he considers literary reflects the mannered prose of the late eighteenth century, especially the Gothic novel.
His narrative is not just a plain telling of events but is filtered through his creative imagination, and reflects this with a hint of literary detachment. As he says, ‘I’m of the busy world, and to its arms I must return’ (p. 256).
Lockwood is also familiar with another contemporary form, the novel of sensibility, and his choice of language when he describes his own love-life reflects this. Cathy, to whom he is attracted, is a moody creature, who yawns and sighs in ‘abstracted sadness’ (p. 300); the girl he flirts with at the watering place is a ‘real goddess’ (p. 6).

Genre, structure and language

Wuthering Heights: A Level

The style of the other narrators is less strongly characterised than Lockwood’s.
Nelly Dean, who manages most of the story, is notable for her professional manner and gentle moral commentary.
We should be aware that, even though Nelly is amusing Mr Lockwood as part of her job, she has been deeply implicated in the events of the novel.
She has favourites (Heathcliff, as underdog) and dislikes (Catherine, as ‘arrogant’ and spoiled).
Most of the characters take a hand in narration, except Edgar and Hareton, ensuring that most viewpoints are directly represented.
Catherine’s contributions are confined to accounts of her dreams and visions; Heathcliff’s are usually intimate confessions to Nelly Dean.
When the tough and watchful Zillah takes over in Vol II Chapter XVI, she is more sparing with her words and views than Nelly would be.
Isabella, hitherto the most sheltered character in the novel, provides a raw and sometimes humorous first-person account of Heathcliff’s abuse.

Genre, structure and language

Wuthering Heights: A Level

A Level Study Notes and Revision Guides