No word could ever describe the emotions I experienced when I first set my eyes on Emily Bronte’s novel, “Wuthering Heights”.  I was eleven years old then, introduced to a wealth of English literature by my elementary English teacher.  She was a Dutch descendant, a very interesting lady.  She once told us that the best cheese was cheese filled with worms.  I do like cheese and snack them a lot but I really could not imagine that.  It sounded so gross.  Luckily, it did not ruin my appetite for cheese.

 

Anyway, back to “Wuthering Heights”.  After thirty-two years, I believe that I am ready to write a review about it and reveal my feelings towards it.

 

“Wuthering Heights” is told in a series of narratives, infused with Nelly’s recollections and perceptions of the families, interspersed by others and recorded by Mr. Lockwood with his own interpretation.  The readers are then left with their own interpretation of what the true story is and the true meaning behind it. 

 

It introduces us to a world intertwined with deep despair, bursting hatred, atrocious cruelty, consummate delusion, intense depression, devastating frustration, unyielding obsession, berserk passion, tormenting anger, unfathomable pain, heinous vengeance and insatiable yearning.  It is a dark yet powerful novel, abounded with intense emotions.  Its beauty is raw, savage and haunting, yet its prose grandeur and poetic.  Words spoken by Catherine such as “He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" and "All else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and, if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the Universe would turn to a mighty stranger. I should not seem a part of it" are all so touching.    

 

“Wuthering Heights” is stormy, brooding, inexorable, stunning and unsettling.  It provokes the deepest emotions, explores the darkest human nature, and overloads all capable senses.  Throughout the pages, symbolism is utilized.  As a whole, it conveys a sense of obscurity and enigmatic verisimilitude. 

 

The story tells the tortured life of obsession and betrayal, an obsession so powerful that relinquishes all societal constraints, surpassing the bounds of mundanity and death, and a betrayal so crude that abandons the compulsions of the heart and dooms to tragedy.  The story is brilliantly written, with presentation in both realism and gothic symbolism, exploring human existence, and appealing to pathos.  It is both rich and complex that compels you to stop reading only until the very last page.

 

By the way, I don't think that I truly reveal my feelings about the book.  All I can say is that so far, there is not a single book in this world that touches my heart so much as this one.  I highly recommend reading this novel.  Maybe, I am somewhat biased.  The impression I had is so deeply rooted in my mind since elementary school that it is hard to overturn.   

 

** 版權所有 - Elisa

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