Unregistered
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
I have read the book at the begining of every summer (usually because I have time then) for the last 25 years. Nowhere in the book does anyone say or think... 'what on earth is going on here?', not even the insipid Lockwood! Just as well because what emerges is passion, hate and love and it is this cauldron of emotions that draws us in. Heathcliffe is a monster and yet the other characters continue to try and find goodness in him: Nelly often looks for his good qualities, Hareton loves him in his own way, Isabella protects him from Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw, understanding his qualities because they are her own, loves him despite or because of this. This leaves the reader wondering if Heathcliffe has some redeeming qualities after all. If you are reading and finding it boring, I woul suggest that you leave it alone and come back to it a few years later. Or if you are being 'forced' to read it as part of your syllabus, again leave it a while and then read it for enjoyment rather than critical analysis. <br>Then go to Haworth, visit the paronsage, walk on the moors and try and work out what is was that stirred Emily Bronte enough to create these 'over-the top' characters. Then be glad that she did!