wuthering heights and the irrational
Consider the view that Wuthering Heights celebrates the irrational and nightmarish above tamer values of civilisation.
One of the key aspects focused on in Wuthering Heights which allows for the view that it celebrates the nightmarish is the moors which separates Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross grange. The ‘desolate moors’, the ‘billowy white ocean’ projects the idea of a vast and open wilderness, one that cannot be easily navigated through, or at least according to Lockwood. However, to both Heathcliff and Catherine the moors represent freedom- they are a place without boundaries where they can be together, as seen in her dying words, where she wishes she ‘were out of doors […] among the heather on those hills’ and also, after death, a boy sees ‘Heathcliff and a woman, yonder’- their togetherness after death on the moor shows how despite its harshness, it becomes their eternal place of happiness, perhaps portraying the struggle they faced whilst alive and comfort is found where they are alone.
Additionally, the nightmarish theme that occurs throughout Wuthering Heights is present also in the supernatural phenomena, such as the ghost of Catherine which Lockwood sees, another ghost added to the place already ‘swarming with ghosts and goblins’. Furthermore, following the idea of nightmarish behavior and also irrationality, the ghosts included act as a way of keeping the character’s dreams alive, just as a Catherine wishes to wander the moors to be free, Heathcliff wishes to be haunted by her ghost, evident when he states: "Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad!" Just as the moors represent the harshness of Wuthering Heights, the ghosts can be said to symbolise the inner turmoil the characters face, the supernatural shows how they fail to move on, haunted by their past, and everything that surrounds them- such as the moors that seem impossible to escape.
Regarding the tamer values of civilisation, the moor acts as a barrier between Thrushcross
One of the key aspects focused on in Wuthering Heights which allows for the view that it celebrates the nightmarish is the moors which separates Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross grange. The ‘desolate moors’, the ‘billowy white ocean’ projects the idea of a vast and open wilderness, one that cannot be easily navigated through, or at least according to Lockwood. However, to both Heathcliff and Catherine the moors represent freedom- they are a place without boundaries where they can be together, as seen in her dying words, where she wishes she ‘were out of doors […] among the heather on those hills’ and also, after death, a boy sees ‘Heathcliff and a woman, yonder’- their togetherness after death on the moor shows how despite its harshness, it becomes their eternal place of happiness, perhaps portraying the struggle they faced whilst alive and comfort is found where they are alone.
Additionally, the nightmarish theme that occurs throughout Wuthering Heights is present also in the supernatural phenomena, such as the ghost of Catherine which Lockwood sees, another ghost added to the place already ‘swarming with ghosts and goblins’. Furthermore, following the idea of nightmarish behavior and also irrationality, the ghosts included act as a way of keeping the character’s dreams alive, just as a Catherine wishes to wander the moors to be free, Heathcliff wishes to be haunted by her ghost, evident when he states: "Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad!" Just as the moors represent the harshness of Wuthering Heights, the ghosts can be said to symbolise the inner turmoil the characters face, the supernatural shows how they fail to move on, haunted by their past, and everything that surrounds them- such as the moors that seem impossible to escape.
Regarding the tamer values of civilisation, the moor acts as a barrier between Thrushcross