#Wuthering Heights is a literary soap opera

[artemismatchalatte]

What if my booktok was just a front to get people to read Anne Bronte? :)

[khaleesikenzie]

~*The Basics*~ Your full name: McKenzie Ashlyn Martines --What does it mean?: what it says Your birthday: may 30th Height: 5'8" Eye colour: blue --Do you like it?: yeah Natural hair colour: dirty blonde --Do you like it?: not really that's why I'm a brunette now Gender: female Religion: was raised lds --Have you ever changed religions?: no --Would you consider it?: if i was interested in something. I find myself more agnostic lately but I haven't thought about it too much Where do you live?: utah Have you ever moved cities or countries?: moved cities and states before Your job: customer service --Do you enjoy it?: yeah strangely enough i love it ~*Favorites*~ Movie: hard to pick TV show: game of thrones, gilmore girls, buffy, boy meets world, black mirror, grace and Frankie, supernatural. TV character: jon snow Movie character: tom hardy in literally anything Book: lolita or anything by Nabokov. Literary character: Heathcliff from wuthering heights Author: Nabokov or Vonnegut Band: led Zeppelin Song: there's so many. Babe I'm gonna leave you, chemistry of a car crash, gimme shelter, ophelia, bored to death, all the small things. Type of music: alt rock mostly Instrument: idk Cereal: it changes. I like cheerios and crunch berries right now Fast food place: anywhere with good fries Dessert: ice cream Country: not America even though I've never left haha City: SLC Place to travel: vancouver wa Airline: delta Shampoo/conditioner: idk normally i use herbal essences but lately I've used some loreal shit that works pretty well Lotion: gold bond for my hands, Cetaphil for my face, whatever smells good for my body Subject in school: English Teacher: severeid and icard State (if you're American): idk California was cool but utah is prettier. Washington is all right too Sport to play: none Sport to watch: if I have to watch anything i prefer baseball but basketball is cool in person Fruit: pineapple or strawberries Vegetable: asparagus or corn Snack: fruit snacks haha Meal: idk pasta Restaurant: Yard House and Bob's Grocery store: walmart or smith's/fred Meyer ~*Have You Ever*~ Gone on a blind date?: no Flown in an airplane?: yes Thrown up on an airplane?: no Peed in the shower?: yes Peed your pants after you hit double digits?: from laughing yes Enjoyed Shakespeare?: yes Been to the opera?: yes Been to the theatre?: yes Streaked?: yes Seen a streaker?: no Been mooned?: no Mooned someone?: no Been in a fist fight?: no Had alcohol poisoning?: no Been walked in on while you're naked?: yes Slept in a snowbank?: no Made a snow angel?: yes Lost any teeth?: only when i was little Been in the hospital?: yes Been in a major accident?: no Burnt yourself?: yes Passed out?: no Watched a soap opera you didn't understand?: only when my mom made my Prank called 911?: no Cheated on a test?: yes Cheated on a boyfriend/girlfriend?: not really but once i had 2 boyfriends at once and they both knew about it also my entire high school relationship was like an open relationshipwhich was dumb Lied to get out of trouble?: yes Started a fire?: not personally no Roasted a marshmallow?: yes Set a marshmallow on fire?: that's how they taste best --How many times?: Wanted to drop out of school?: every day lately --Did you?: no ~*Randoms*~ Are you single or dating?: single If single...do you like anyone?: met a cute guy at the bar when my friend made me go for her birthday but nothing has come from it --If so, who?: see above --Why?: i didnt get his number but i added him on facebook and he accepted it but hasn't said anything so ball is in his court --Do you have a chance with them?: yes I'm hot as hell If taken...who?: --How long?: --Are you happy?: Why are you taking this survey?: bored af What school do you go to?: university of Utah --Do you like it?: yeah Your school colours?: red and white or red and black idk definitely red though Your school teams' name?: utes Ever been on a sports team?: no --If yes, what was the name of it?: --Did you enjoy it?: What do you want to be when you grow up?: an editor --Why?: because i said so Any plans for the near future?: go see my dad and sisters What are your views on capital punishment?: against --Nuclear weapons?: against --Euthanasia?: depends on the situation --The Canadian government?: idk --The American government?: fuck Donald Trump --The European Union?: idk --The UN?: idk --Can you tell me who the Secretary-General of the UN is?: no What was your favourite grade of elementary school?: 4th or 2nd --Why?: good teachers and good experiences What are you wearing right now?: pajamas --Any particular reason why?: because I'm in bed What was the last thing you ate?: ice cream If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?: periwinkle, scarlet red or green How are you feeling today?: it's a new day so sleepy but otherwise fine How many keys are on your keychain?: like 4 i think --What are they for?: one is for my old apartment one is my dad's house one is my house and one is my grandma's house What does the room you're in look like?: messy --Do you like the room?: yes it's my room Do you own an iPod?: yes --If yes, what kind?: the first colored nano i got it in 2006 or 2007 Do you wear glasses or contacts?: both What's your view on laser eye surgery?: scary but cool --Would you ever consider it?: i have but I'm not sure i will Weirdest thing about your parents: they hate each other but theyre a lot alike What did you do this weekend?: worked --Was it enjoyable?: sure What\'s your greatest fear?: not finding love or finding the wrong person Your greatest strength?: making people happy What country do you fear the most: America at this point tbh Have you ever been in a third-world country?: no --Would you ever want to live in one?: sure why not What song do you have stuck in your head right now?: none Will poverty ever end?: no --Why or why not?: rich want to stay rich Will we destroy our own planet?: I'm having serious deja vu right now --How? Idk Man--inherently good, or inherently evil?: Good

[gch1995]

Aside from Cathy Jr. and Hareton, everyone in Wuthering Heights ends up miserable or dissatisfied, and for most of them, it was due to their own abusive, cruel, dark, cowardly, dangerous, selfish, and/or stupid behaviors, choices, and/or obsessions, especially for Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw.

I feel sympathy for Isabella. Isabella was rather naive and shallow, but that doesn’t mean she deserved to be cruelly abused and used by Heathcliff for years, and sent to an early grave as a result. What happened to her was completely tragic and unfair.

As for Edgar Linton, I have mixed feelings about him. It was cowardly of Edgar to disown Isabella as his sister and not give her any of their inheritance money after she married Heathcliff, but I can also understand why he would be distrustful of her after she agreed to marry a man who was actively trying to destroy his marriage with Cathy, so that he could be with her by pushing him aside instead. Plus, he did genuinely feel guilty about what happened to Isabella after he heard about Heathcliff abusing her for years in their marriage, sending her to an early grave as a result, and taking their son. He took in Linton, and tried to save him. He was a good father to Cathy Jr.

For the most part, Edgar Linton’s biggest issue was that he was too cowardly and too naive to take a stand against Heathcliff and/or Catherine to do the right thing. It doesn’t really make him an evil person like Heathcliff, but he was too cowardly and too naive to stick up for himself and his loved ones by taking a stand against Catherine and especially Heathcliff to do the right thing. His inaction to defend and/or take a stand indirectly led to the misery and/or harm of both himself and those he loved at the hands of Catherine and especially Heathcliff.

For the most part, though, the OP is completely right. Wuthering Heights is like the classical lit version of soap opera in which the villain is the protagonist. The main protagonist is a horribly abusive, hateful, and obsessive man with no redeeming qualities. Heathcliff’s obsession with Catherine Earnshaw and obsession with getting vengeance on those who mistreated him when he was a child destroys both himself and everyone around him, including an innocent woman and innocent children of those who he hates in the next generation.

The female protagonist Catherine Earnshaw isn’t as awful as Heathcliff, but she still is a bratty, manipulative, narcissistic, and spoiled child, who hits her housekeeper and servants when she doesn’t get her way from them all the way through to her teenage years, and she deliberately pits Heathcliff and Edgar Linton against each other to fight over her for shits and giggles when Heathcliff comes back to Thrushcross Grange because she revels in the drama surrounding her.

Hindley Earnshaw is a remorseless bully as a child, and as an adult he becomes a remorseless abusive drunk to everyone around him, particularly his son and his wife, and he sends himself to an early grave at Heathcliff’s encouragement of his drinking.

The romantic love between Heathcliff and Catherine could very well be incestuous because we don’t know where Mr. Earnshaw found him. He could have just been an orphan that he just found wandering on the streets alone, but Heathcliff also could have been the product of an affair that Mr. Earnshaw had with some unknown woman, which would make Catherine and Heathcliff half siblings, if this were the case.

Everyone’s life is a horrible mess, and if it doesn’t start out as a horrible mess, it becomes one sooner or later because, for the most part, the Earnshaws and Heathcliff are very toxic people, who drag down both each other, and the rest of the world they interact with them by spreading their toxicity to them. The majority of the few sympathetic characters either aren’t lucky or brave enough to make it out alive in the end. Most of them die without having justice. The two exceptions are Cathy Jr. and Hareton who were the only two characters both kindhearted and brave enough to fight back Heathcliff, break the toxic cycle, and live happily ever after.

Nelly Dean is an unreliable narrator. At some points, she is a sympathetic and caring woman, who seems to mean well. But at other times, you wonder how much of the story she is telling to Lockwood is actually true. She claims to hate Heathcliff and Catherine because they are awful. However, she still aided Heathcliff in some of his schemes, which led to more needless conflict, drama, and tragedy between Catherine, Edgar, and Heathcliff, such as giving Heathcliff the key to come into the Lintons Manor at Thrusscross Grange after Edgar banned him from the house, so that he could see a dying Catherine. She’s gossipy, hypocritical, and not always very kind. The weird thing is that she seems to find the whole story she’s telling to Lockwood about these families messed up lives as highly entertaining, rather than horrifying. She also doesn’t seem to feel much sympathy for Isabella, even after all the abuse she suffered because of Heathcliff, which is weird, and misogynistic. She’s not always very kind, and can be cruel.

i always recommend wuthering heights to people because it’s such a unique book in which none of the characters are even remotely likable and yet….you really can’t wait to see where their bullshit is going to take them next. running away from home? cool. obsessing about revenge for the rest of your life? hey everyone needs a hobby. forcing your kid and the neighbors kid to get married? sounds like a plan. digging up your old lovers grave? why the fuck not at this point. you’re both pissed off yet fascinated. you will be miserable but love every second of it