I love Wuthering Heights. It is one of my favorite books. I guess I like reading about dysfunctional people.

I think that it is probably hard to ever put yourself in anyone else's shoes. And stereotypes of men and women change over time. In fact, Cliffnotes says of Edgar Linton that he "represents the typical Victorian hero, possessing qualities of constancy and tenderness..." Admittedly, Cliffnotes does not present a thorough analysis of Wuthering Heights, but it does make one think about masculinity of the time. I know that I could find much analysis of the characters and events in Wuthering Heights.

I think if you ask the question "Can an author write men or women well?", you are really asking can the author write a stereotype of a gender well. People are extremely complex and not just defined by a single thing. There are many things that makes us who we are as individuals- gender is only one. I do not think an entire group should be lumped together as a single entity with a single thought. It is somewhat Borg-like and simplistic.

That's quite true when you think about it. What was considered masculine a hundred years ago may not be thought so today.

The time period would be a big influence on how well someone depicts a believable character.

I've finished the Heights and the ending was in keeping with the book. It had a nice hook in the beginning with Lockwood's nightmare of Catherine and from there dropped its pace slightly but increased its momentum quite a bit. It held it through to the end and did not require the repose that some authors' stories are prone to take in the middle. It proved a good read the book through.

That being said... this book did not change my life, it didn't alter any of my opinions, and it didn't open or endear my heart to much of anything new or undiscovered. It simply was a nice way to pass the minutes.

Good job Bronte. Short of legendary but definitely playing in the shadow of excellence considering when it was written and to a much lesser extent the condition of health you were in when you wrote it.

DWill wrote:Well, based on my new theory that a book that repelled me the first time I tried--Wuthering Heights, e.g.--will strike me more positively the second time, Bronte's book is another of a long list that I should sometime try again.

I agree. I tried reading this book, and I hated it. Nothing drew me in or wanted to make me keep reading. I read the other Bronte novel, Jane Eyre and loooved it. I might try WH again.

Other Bronte novel??????? That's pretty heartless....

Saffron wrote:

President Camacho wrote:I decided to read Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights mostly because I wanted to see how a female writer wrote women and compare it to how male's write them.

I hate Wuthering Heights. If Bronte is sucessful at writing a female or a male characters for that matter in this book, it is only to capture people with Personality Disorders. The two main characters are more than I can stomach. I would try George Eliot. I love Middlemarch. A long standing praise of this book is how she draws her characters.

It's amazing to me how many people dislike the character of Catherine Earnshaw, and I don't mean you alone. I think you either love or hate her, and the gray area is non-existent. I personally adore her because I consider myself a romantic. I think passion is often mistaken for "psychological instability" because it's so rare in today's society. But, to me, there is nothing more exhilarating than two people - consumed in the throws of love - but doomed because of social constraints. To me, that's how love should be; both tragic and euphoric.

But, that's why there's something out there for everyone.

I recently re-read Jane Eyre and really enjoyed it from a more mature perspective. I now appreciate that fact that she came to her marriage with a clear understanding of her expectations. I didn't like Wuthering Heights or the characters when I was younger. I'll have to try it again.

There are several biographies available on Eyre's life that give the reader an interesting insight as to her family life, which influenced her writing. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte (a well researched novel) is also enjoyable and informative.

^^^^^
I also liked Jane Eyre and once took a "Women in Literature" course where we talked about an interesting feminist approach to the book. It was something called "The Woman in the Attic," or something like that, and it was about Mr. Rochester's wife who was kept in the attic because she had gone mad. The woman who wrote it (sorry for being so vague) apparently saw Bronte's Rochester as a more chauvinistic character who misunderstood his wife and didn't care to help her, so he threw her in an attic where she turned mad, only to find himself falling in love with some twenty-something years later. I really found it interesting, though it was a little cynical for me, but she definitely had a point. We all look at Jane Eyre as being such a love story, while this author looked at it as being just another reflection of the sexist views of women in society.

You know, when his wife throws herself over the banister, ultimately killing herself, the reader almost shrugs off the tragedy because they know Jane and Mr. Rochester can now be together, when, really, this "mad woman," whose story is never clearly explained from her perspective, ended her life for reasons we just assume, but don't know.

Does anyone know the name of the book or author about whom I'm speaking? My teacher had just mentioned her perspective briefly - we hadn't actually read her book. And what do you think about that particular perspective? Do you think it's a legitimate point to make?

It's called The Madwoman in the Attic by Gilbert & Guber. Amazon has it. I also read it in college. The authors make a good argument and I remember a lively discussion in my class. I always felt ambivalent about Rochester's wife also.

You know, when his wife throws herself over the banister, ultimately killing herself, the reader almost shrugs off the tragedy because they know Jane and Mr. Rochester can now be together, when, really, this "mad woman," whose story is never clearly explained from her perspective, ended her life for reasons we just assume, but don't know.

Wow, what an interesting perspective. That makes me sad though. I love the story of Jane Eyre. This perspective mars it.