Emily Bronte | Book Chatter

Welcome to Wuthering Heights Wednesday! Softdrink is hosting a read-along of this classic novel, and we’re reading (and posting about) 3 chapters a week.

Chapters 4 through 6

My Synopsis:

As you may recall from last week’s post, Lockwood spent a very uncomfortable night amongst Catherine’s things and spent most of the night tossing and turning, so as soon as it was light enough to leave, he did. Upon his return home, he is met by Mrs. Dean, who after making Lockwood as comfortable as he can be, spends the evening gossiping about Mr. Heathcliff and the family that occupies his home.

Turns out that Heathcliff was found by the senior Earnshaw when he was just a young child. Mr. Earnshaw brought him home to his family and was surprised by how they reacted to him. Hindley, Earnshaw’s son by blood, detested Heathcliff from first glance. Young Catherine did not care for him at first, but they grow to be very close in a short amount of time. After the senior Earnshaw passes, Hindley goes away to school only to come back with a wife, which surprises everyone, Heathcliff included.

Mrs. Earnshaw is pretty agreeable and seems to get along well with the rest of the household, but with her moving in, the rest are asked to live in other parts of the house so that Hindley and his new wife can make a home for themselves. In no time at all, she expresses a dislike for Heathcliff which reminds Hindley just how much he despises the young man.

Young Catherine (Cathy) and Heathcliff take off for the moors for the day and end up getting themselves in quite a bit of trouble. They end up at Thrushcross Grange and Cathy is attacked and injured by Mr. Linton’s dog. When they discover who she is, they simply cannot fathom her being with such a gypsy as Heathcliff so they send him on his way, and cater to Cathy and her well-being. Heathcliff doesn’t want to leave Cathy there but has no choice, so he returns home and pays dearly for his lack of judgment.

My Thoughts:

It’s a tad hard keeping track of all the players. Their family names all seem to cross at some point (Linton & Earnshaw) so there are a couple of Mr. Earnshaws, and the use of first names and last but never together, you get the idea. I was surprised to hear Heathcliff’s background. I’m not sure what I expected but I didn’t expect him to be an orphan. Now the animosity within the family makes a bit more sense.

As confused as I am at times by their names and who they are referring to, I am really enjoying the story. Lockwood’s interest in them is sort of comical at times but with them being so mysterious it’s no wonder he has questions about them.

Reading along:

If this sounds like fun, why don’t you join us?

*This read-along has ended, but you can find all of the updates at the bottom of this post.

Welcome to Wuthering Heights Wednesday! Softdrink is hosting a read-along of this classic novel, and we’re reading (and posting about) 3 chapters a week.

Chapters 1 through 3

My Synopsis

Lockwood, the narrator of our little story, has rented a property owned by Mr. Heathcliff. Heathcliff is a terrible grump of a man and does not like people in general so when Lockwood shows up on his doorstep in the middle of a snowstorm, Heathcliff has no patience for him. However, Lockwood is a bit of a pest and invites himself to dinner and it is then that he meets the rest of the household.

Mrs. Heathcliff, although beautiful in face is a real B. Lockwood is taken with her to a degree but reads her all wrong and mistakes her for Heathcliff’s wife when in fact she is the daughter-in-law and a real thorn in Heathcliff’s side. There’s also Earnshaw, who Lockwood assumes is Heathcliff’s son even though he is sort of a ruffian in looks. We later find out that he is Heathcliff’s nephew and that Heathcliff’s son has been dead for some time. As you can see, Lockwood isn’t making any points with his assumptions.

After dinner Lockwood asks for an escort to take him back to his rental, but Heathcliff scoffs at this. Lockwood begins to panic a little as there is no way he can navigate back to his home in waist-high snow(he’s a bit of a wimp). He ends up spending the night in a room that Zilah, the housekeeper has provided for him, but the room is questionable as it is filled with the memories of Catherine, who I assume is Heathcliff’s dead wife. After a fit of sleeplessness, Lockwood does fall asleep only to be awakened by a horrible nightmare. You see, the room is haunted or at least appears to be.

My Thoughts:

Years ago I tried to read this book and could not get through it. I just didn’t have the patience for it. This time around though I felt as if the first three chapters flowed quite well and I actually had to stop myself from reading on. Heathcliff is a big grump, but I sort of like him so far. I don’t like perky people and he is anything but that. What a miserable group of people though!

Other Weeks:

Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

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