The novel begins with the narration of Mr. Lockwood who at that moment a tenant of Thrushcross Grange. He encounters the owner Mr. Heathcliff in his visit to Wuthering Heights. Early on this chapter, we see the picture of the setting of the novel which is actually very exclusive. It will be realized later on that all the events happen within the vicinity of the two houses. However the outside world played an important role for the flow of the story.
One mention is the fact that Mr. Lockwood comes from neither Thrushcross Grange nor Wuthering Heights. It is important that Mr. Lockwood is not of the two houses because the whole story is actually retold to him. He is the one reason why the story is being narrated by Mrs. Ellen Dean. In other words, the reader would see the story through Mr. Lockwood's eyes. Another significant connection to the outside world is Earnshaw's going to Liverpool. This made way of the coming in of Heathcliff to Wuthering Heights.
Hindley's going to boarding school is also one important event because his going away gave way for his becoming the head of the household after the death of Mr. Earnshaw and his wife. On my opinion, the most significant event related to the outside world is the running away of Heathcliff. He went away for three years and mysteriously accumulated an ambiguous amount of fortune. His going away also became a transitional stage for him. We see an extreme change of appearance and mannerism of Heathcliff but we shall realize that his objectives and personality is always the same.
The novel is quite effective as a narrative by both Mr. Lockwood. The novel however has used the frame system a lot of times which is the technique using a story within a story. The whole story of the affairs of the people of both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange is narrated by Mrs. Ellen Dean. After Mr. Lockwood's visit to Mr. Heathcliff, he then feels drawn to Heathcliff and the story around him. He asks Mrs. Dean of the story and she proves to be a very reliable story-teller. Most of the narrations were explained from first-hand experience of Mrs. Dean who turns out to be present on the major events that took place to Heathcliff and Catherine's lives being a loyal nurse to Catherine and other major characters of the story.
However, there are times when Mrs. Dean's narration becomes far from plausible. It is when she overstates things in her narration where she explains the details even into the minutest thing. She is also able to retell the exact words the people around her say even from years before. The story she relays on short casual nights. Mr. Lockwood also has this ability of reiterating Mrs. Dean's story in a very accurate manner. The consistency of both story-tellers is very uncanny. That I guess is not exactly possible. But then again, we must put into mind that the intention of the author is to relay the story through narration and not to give an over-realistic way of conversation.
The story is set in the Victorian Age however a lot of elements of the novel are quite Romantic. One example is the use of the Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is a male archetype that has a deep dark past that contributes on who he really is. On this novel, the Byronic Hero is obviously Heathcliff. He will be discussed more later on.
Another reason why I can say that the novel is Romantic is its use of Gothic elements. The grotesque embellishments of Wuthering Heights matched with the sculptures of nude men and griffins contribute to its being Gothic. There are many allusions to the dark within the story; the appearance of the ghost of Catherine to Mr. Lockwood is one thing; Hindley was called an imp of Satan on chapter four. On the end of novel, even Mrs. Ellen Dean was entertaining the probability that Heathcliff was a ghoul or vampire. The story's approach on death is very Gothic just like Heathcliff's approach towards the corpse and the cemetery.
The setting Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange are very symbolic to the original people living in them. This is a feature the novel possesses. More of the settings will be discussed later.
The different characters are well-rounded but they have special cases within them. Each one of them is unique.
They exhibit the binary opposition. The Lintons and the Earnshaws is one example. The Earnshaw children Hindley and Catherine were all raised well but they seem to possess their own flaws. Hindley may be well-educated but he was conceited and arrogant. There was still a glint of hope within him because of his being passionate to his child and for the love he gave his wife, Frances. He eventually turned out to be a drunkard, tormented by the one whom he tormented before-Heathcliff. Catherine was established to be spoiled. However, after being rehabilitated by their neighbors the Lintons, a new personality was born. Learn more about Catherine in the next chapter.
