Wuthering Heights is not created for an audience, therefore it is only fitting that its review is also created as a vessel to my scattered thoughts.
This story is a dollhouse tale you invented as a child. It is ruthless, without logic. Just like a children’s made-up storyline, the emotions are intense during the play but when you walk away at the end of the night, all the happiness and sadness in the dollhouse seizes to exist. This is how I felt finishing Wuthering Heights.
Despite being an absolute monster in Nelly’s narrative, whenever we get a snippet of the actual Heathcliff, when he talks to Nelly, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy towards him. Heathcliff dedicated his whole life to revenge. His soul stayed on the endless moor since departing Wuthering Heights as a boy. He lived only for revenge so he dies when the revenge is finished. At the very end, all the love and hatred that was so overwhelmingly intense, just turns to dust.
Wuthering Heights: no love story
I feel intrigued by him and Cathy. Wuthering Heights is no love story for me. Cathy saying “I am Heathcliff” is not a deceleration of love, but a cry of truth. They are not attracted to each other by lovers’ passion. They gravitate towards each other because they are ONE. Heathcliff is the wildness in Cathy’s heart. The part of her that is not accepted by her societal circle. The ‘uncivilised’ part. But what is it to be civilised? Who defined civilised? And why can you only be recognised by the society when you abandon the savage? What is wrong with savage? We human are nothing but animals.
Was it Cathy’s fault for her choice? Cathy had no choice. As a woman in the late 18th century, rebellious is punished. She would be shunned from her community if she chooses savage. She had to stay and be socialized. However, is it enough to be praised by the society if one lives according to standard?
Heathcliff’s experience begs to differ. He made himself rich, powerful, yet the society still look down on him. The more he tried to civilise himself, the more he is despised. It is a curious thing, societal standards. It is not built by logic, it is also not a standard. It is merely qualities of the pre-existing group members, wrapped up pretty. But its sole purpose is to identify and differentiate the “one of us” from the “one of the others”. They are not made so members of other group could follow and join. They are excuses to rejects.
As a woman today
Such depressing phenomenon is not unique to the late 18th century. As much as we would like to believe that the human race is improving and progressing, the fundamental human flaws can only be covered, not erased. We should think, as a woman today, there is much more freedom to rebel. But the truth is, the war against the ‘savage’ only changed its format. We have an abundance of freedom, but scarcely any choice. Pre-set standards of success is taught to us from books, movies and now the internet. This is the new standard of “civil”. But how many of us, following such path, is living the life we truly want. Some of us want success, some of us want money, some of us want attention. But why? We need to ask, the ones who obtain conventional success, how many of them are truly happy?
(c) Daphne Zhou
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