The verdict is in...

I finished "Wuthering Heights" this afternoon, and...I liked it!

I am absolutely positive that I just didn't have the capacity to understand what I was reading when I read it in high school, and I mean that both experientially and maturity-wise. I've had much more practice reading works from a similar time period since then, which made it much easier for me to actually read the book, and I've also just matured as a reader.

Beyond basic comprehension of the words and story, though, I'm still not sure if I "get" it. Heathcliff is determined to ruin the lives of everyone he feels wronged by, and is nearly successful, save for the fact that Hareton and Cathy fall in love in the end. But why? He seems to forget any kindness he was ever shown through his pursuits. He seems so...inhuman (as he's often accused of being throughout the story). Maybe that's the point, though: what would it look like for a person to have no compassion on anyone, to not display the characteristics we deem "human"? Heathcliff is definitely the picture of one seeking revenge for what he views are unforgivable wrongs.

Something I do love about this story is the pathetic fallacy (flexing my English Major muscle there ;) ). Pathetic fallacy is the technique of reflecting the mood of the story through the weather and surroundings of the characters, and it's one of my favorites. Nothing sets the mood like a dark and stormy night, and those are just the kinds of nights that often proceed or determine the events in "Wuthering Heights". The word "wuthering" comes from a colloquial term for decaying, and decay/ruin is a definite theme in the story. Also, the fact that both houses in the story are essentially isolated from the rest of the world out on the English moors really emphasises the isolation and hopelessness that many of the characters feel.

Alright...this is really starting to feel like an essay! Suffice it to say that because I literally just finished this book two hours ago, I've still got some processing to do. Maybe there will be a "Wuthering Heights" review part deux in the future.