Emily Bronte's only book became a reference book for several generations of girls who dreamed of romantic love. And even if the ending of this beautiful story is gloomy, the main characters have many shortcomings, and the landscapes described suffer from monotony and boredom, but while reading the plot does not let you go for a minute, and when you close the book, you want with all your heart to fall in love, to experience all those contradictory emotions like Heathcliff.

about the author

Emily Brontë was the middle of three sisters. She received a good education, but did so at long intervals, since her financial situation and health did not always allow her to attend school. The writer was quite close to her sisters Charlotte and Emily, but the family noted that she was characterized by such traits as isolation, straightforwardness and mysticism. She had no other close friends, but she did not try to find them. In addition to housework, Emily taught at a school that was located next to her home.

Many people love Bronte's masterpiece Wuthering Heights. But she also wrote poetry, which was appreciated in literary circles and ranked on a par with Byron and Shelley. Unfortunately, the girl’s already difficult and gloomy life was short-lived. At the age of 27, at her brother’s funeral, she caught a cold and developed consumption. They couldn't help her. And her creative legacy received recognition only after her death thanks to the efforts of Charlotte.

So, the novel “Wuthering Heights”. A summary, or, if you prefer, a free retelling, will not be able to convey the three-dimensional picture, but we hope it will interest readers.

Introduction, or plot

"Wuthering Heights" is a novel about love. But not about those wonderful, sublime feelings that make people be better, kinder, brighter towards others, but about passion that consumes everything around and erases the human appearance. The plot centers on the story of the Earnshaw and Linton families, shown through the prism of the relationship between the main characters. The novel takes place in England in the 18th century. The plot of the story begins at the moment when a wealthy landowner brings home a gypsy boy of about ten years old and announces that from now on he will live with his family. Of course, the household were not delighted with this prospect, but they had to come to terms with it. The Esquire already had two children: Catherine and Hindley. The boy was the eldest in the family and was supposed to inherit the estate along with the entire fortune.

After their peaceful life was destroyed by the appearance of Heathcliff, a sad event follows: the mother of the family, Mrs. Earnshaw, dies, which greatly affects the health of the owner of the house. The friendship between Katie and the foundling quickly develops into a love that frightens both of them. But meeting her neighbors from Cape Starling somewhat dilutes the girl’s social circle, and she sees an alternative in the young, educated and handsome Edgar Linton, who is also vying for her attention. Hindley goes to college, and after a short period of time, Mr. Earnshaw dies of a heart attack, and Hindley returns home with his family. Heathcliff's future is put on hold because the boys have disliked each other since childhood, and now that they have turned into master and servant, the relationship has become more than strained.

Difficult choice

Catherine, seeing the humiliation that her beloved has to endure, decides to marry Linton so that Heathcliff will have financial support. But her plan failed, since immediately after the matchmaking the young man disappeared without a trace and appeared only after three long years. He looked, talked and behaved like a gentleman, and having money made him a good match for any girl, but love does not die just because it was neglected.

A few months later, Katerina, being pregnant, begins to show signs of a mental disorder: she talks to herself, hysterics happen to her, she always wants to see Heathcliff, and her husband tries to prevent this. Ultimately, after a long stay in the cold, the expectant mother came down with a fever and died after a premature birth, and Edgar and Heathliff mourned her.

Heathcliff's family life

Isabella Linton, Edgar's sister, falls in love with the gloomy and unsociable Heathcliff and marries him. But not having lived with her husband for even a year, the girl runs away from him to a neighboring county, where she learns terrible news - she is carrying a child under her heart. The boy was born weak and sickly, and after the death of his mother he went to live in Wuthering Heights. The novel continues to develop in a kind of absurd spiral: the Linton daughter falls in love with Heathcliff's son and marries him. This finally pulls the rug out from under her father, and Edgar dies after a short illness.

Denouement and finale

At the end of the story, Heathcliff becomes rich, but his heart remains black. He did not forgive anyone for the humiliation he suffered as a child. Hindley has long been buried in the family graveyard, and his son does the dirty work in Wuthering Heights. Catherine's daughter is now Heathcliff's daughter-in-law, but she never knew happiness in marriage, because her husband is seriously ill, capricious and has the same obnoxious character as his father. However, it was short-lived. Having become a widow, she becomes immersed in herself and stops responding to the world around her.

We meet the characters in Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights during this period of their lives. And the reader learns the previous events in the retelling of the housekeeper of the Earnshaw family, Helen Dean. She entertains her new owner, the tenant of Cape Starling, with stories. In fact, Helen herself composes a novel called “Wuthering Heights”, a summary of which is recognized by Mr. Lockwood, who appeared in those parts shortly before Heathcliff’s death.

Be that as it may, after going through so much torment on earth, wishing death to all his enemies and their children, Heathcliff dies and is reunited with Catherine, never to let her go again. This event allows young Chariton Earnshaw, Hindley's son, to show his feelings for Katherine Linton and put an end to the family feud.

Love story

Reading “Wuthering Heights,” a summary of which is given above, you understand how multifaceted and all-consuming love can be. She pushed Cathy and Heathcliff to do terrible things so that others could feel pain and bitterness the way they did. Wanting to help her beloved, Miss Linton marries someone else, hoping for understanding from Heathcliff. He, trying to get a worthy position in society, becomes even more cruel and calculating. Wuthering Heights, where love, birth and death came uninvited and left as they pleased, became the site of tragedy. Revenge should be cold, but in this case, love always heated it to a boil. These two were able to show how strong passion can be, which cannot be destroyed, even if you live apart, even if you cause each other suffering, even after death.

Film adaptations

Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights is a remarkable book in many ways, and making a film based on it proved challenging. Since 1920, films have been released in English, French and Spanish. All of them were remembered by the audience in one way or another. The main problem for the actors was the emotional part that Wuthering Heights required. The best film adaptation, according to viewers, was filmed in 2009. Not everyone agrees with this, but everyone has the right to their opinion.

Critics

They were quite suspicious of the novel when it was first published. Critics considered it too dark, grotesque and mystical, not at all suitable for young girls to read. But after Emily’s death, she republished the book and received the first positive reviews. “Wuthering Heights” (the analysis of experts was scrupulous) turned out to be worthy of reading and was much deeper than it seemed at first glance. This was even noted, which at that time meant praise of the highest standard.

Public acceptance

After only a century and a half, Wuthering Heights, quotes from which are actively borrowed by romantic youth, has become studied in schools and universities, young talented writers are trying to repeat some of the storylines, and directors are not giving up trying to make a worthy film adaptation. It is unknown whether Emily Brontë wanted this, but for many, the concept of strong and all-consuming love is associated not with Romeo and Juliet, but with Heathcliff and Cathy. The Wuthering Heights mansion, the novel of the main characters, English nature - everything gives a special charm to this work.

Afterword

“Wuthering Heights” is a book that absorbs the reader, immersing him in a whirlpool of events against the backdrop of beautiful, but rough nature. It is not entirely clear why the young girl came up with just such a plot for a novel. What prompted her to write such a dark thing? Her life was joyless, and romantic relationships are not mentioned anywhere, but the essence of love, its heat, passion and torment are conveyed very naturalistically. The novel "Wuthering Heights", a brief summary of which, we hope, will provide food for thought and, of course, to get acquainted with the full plot, is definitely recommended for reading. Fortunately, now you can find audio plays, e-books, and accessible paper copies.

Feeling an urgent need to take a break from the bustle of London society and fashionable resorts, Mr. Lockwood decided to settle for a while in the wilderness of the village. He chose an old landowner's house, Skvortsov Manor, as the place of his voluntary seclusion, which stood among the hilly heathers and swamps of northern England. Having settled in a new place, Mr. Lockwood considered it necessary to pay a visit to the owner of the Starlings and his only neighbor - Squire Heathcliff, who lived about four miles away, in an estate called Wuthering Heights. The owner and his home made a somewhat strange impression on the guest: a gentleman in clothes and manners, Heathcliff’s appearance was a pure gypsy; his house resembled more the harsh abode of a simple farmer than the estate of a landowner. In addition to the owner, the old grumpy servant Joseph lived at Wuthering Heights; young, charming, but somehow overly harsh and full of undisguised contempt for everyone, Catherine Heathcliff, the owner’s daughter-in-law; and Hareton Earnshaw (Lockwood saw this name engraved next to the date “1500” above the entrance to the estate) - a rustic-looking fellow, not much older than Catherine, looking at whom one could only say with confidence that he was neither a servant nor a master here son. Intrigued, Mr. Lockwood asked the housekeeper, Mrs. Dean, to satisfy his curiosity and tell the story of the strange people who lived at Wuthering Heights. The request could not have been addressed to the right address, for Mrs. Dean turned out to be not only an excellent storyteller, but also a direct witness to the dramatic events that made up the history of the Earnshaw and Linton families and their evil genius, Heathcliff.

The Earnshaws, Mrs. Dean said, had lived at Wuthering Heights since ancient times, and the Lintons at Skvortsov Manor. Old Mr. Earnshaw had two children - a son, Hindley, the eldest, and a daughter, Catherine. One day, returning from the city, Mr. Earnshaw picked up a ragged gypsy child dying of hunger on the road and brought him into the house. The boy came out and was christened Heathcliff (later no one could say for sure whether it was a first name, a surname, or both at once), and soon it became obvious to everyone that Mr. Earnshaw was attached to the foundling much more than to his own son. Heathcliff, whose character was not dominated by the most noble traits, shamelessly took advantage of this, childishly tyrannizing Hindley in every possible way. Heathcliff, oddly enough, struck up a strong friendship with Catherine.

When old Earnshaw died, Hindley, who had by then lived in the city for several years, came to the funeral not alone, but with his wife. Together they quickly established their own order at Wuthering Heights, and the young master did not fail to cruelly recoup the humiliation that he had once suffered from his father’s favorite: he now lived in the position of almost a simple worker, Catherine also had a hard time in the care of the narrow-minded, evil bigot Joseph ; Perhaps her only joy was her friendship with Heathcliff, which little by little grew into a love that was still unconscious to young people.

Meanwhile, two teenagers also lived at Skvortsov Manor - the master's children Edgar and Isabella Linton. Unlike the savages of their neighbors, these were real noble gentlemen - well-mannered, educated, perhaps overly nervous and arrogant. An acquaintance could not fail between the neighbors, but Heathcliff, a rootless plebeian, was not accepted into the Linton company. This would be nothing, but from some point on, Katherine began to spend time in Edgar’s company with undisguised great pleasure, neglecting her old friend, and sometimes even mocking him. Heathcliff swore terrible revenge on young Linton, and it was not in the nature of this man to throw words to the wind.

Time passed. Hindley Earnshaw had a son, Hareton; The boy's mother fell ill after giving birth and never got up again. Having lost the most precious thing he had in life, Hindley gave up and went downhill before his eyes: he disappeared in the village for days on end, returning drunk and terrifying his family with his irrepressible violence.

The relationship between Catherine and Edgar gradually became more and more serious, and then one fine day the young people decided to get married. This decision was not easy for Katherine: in her soul and heart she knew that she was doing the wrong thing; Heathcliff was the focus of her greatest thoughts, the one without whom the world was unthinkable for her. However, if she could liken Heathcliff to underground rock layers on which everything rests, but whose existence does not bring hourly pleasure, she compared her love for Edgar to spring foliage - you know that winter will not leave a trace of it, and yet you cannot don't enjoy it.

Heathcliff, barely learning about the upcoming event, disappeared from Wuthering Heights, and nothing was heard about him for a long time.

Soon the wedding took place; Leading Catherine to the altar, Edgar Linton considered himself the happiest of people. The young couple lived at Starling Manor, and anyone who saw them at that time could not help but recognize Edgar and Catherine as an exemplary loving couple.

Who knows how long the serene existence of this family would continue, but one fine day a stranger knocked on the Skvortsov gate. They did not immediately recognize him as Heathcliff, for the former uncouth youth now appeared as a grown man with military bearing and the habits of a gentleman. Where he was and what he was doing in the years that had passed since his disappearance remained a mystery to everyone.

Catherine and Heathcliff met like good old friends, but Edgar, who had previously disliked Heathcliff, was displeased and alarmed by his return. And not in vain. His wife suddenly lost the peace of mind that he had so carefully preserved. It turned out that all this time Catherine had been executing herself as the culprit of Heathcliff’s possible death somewhere in a foreign land, and now his return reconciled her with God and humanity. Her childhood friend became even more dear to her than before.

Despite Edgar's dissatisfaction, Heathcliff was received at Skvortsov Manor and became a frequent guest there. At the same time, he did not bother himself at all with observing conventions and decency: he was harsh, rude and straightforward. Heathcliff did not hide the fact that he returned only to take revenge - and not only on Hindley Earnshaw, but also on Edgar Linton, who took his life with all its meaning. He bitterly blamed Katherine for the fact that she preferred a weak-willed, nervous slobber to him, a man with a capital M; Heathcliff's words painfully stirred her soul.

To everyone's bewilderment, Heathcliff settled in Wuthering Heights, which had long since turned from a landowner's house into a den of drunkards and gamblers. The latter worked to his advantage: Hindley, who had lost all the money, gave Heathcliff a mortgage on the house and estate. Thus, he became the owner of all the property of the Earnshaw family, and Hindley’s legal heir, Hareton, was left penniless.

Heathcliff's frequent visits to Starling Manor had one unexpected consequence - Isabella Linton, Edgar's sister, fell madly in love with him. Everyone around tried to turn the girl away from this almost unnatural attachment to a man with the soul of a wolf, but she remained deaf to the persuasion, Heathcliff was indifferent to her, because he did not care about everyone and everything except Catherine and his revenge; So he decided to make Isabella the instrument of this revenge, to whom her father, bypassing Edgar, bequeathed Skvortsov Manor. One fine night, Isabella ran away with Heathcliff, and as time passed, they showed up at Wuthering Heights as husband and wife. There are no words to describe all the humiliations to which Heathcliff subjected his young wife, and who did not think of hiding the true motives of his actions from her. Isabella endured in silence, wondering in her heart who her husband really was - a man or a devil?

Heathcliff had not seen Catherine since the day of his escape from Isabella. But one day, having learned that she was seriously ill, he, in spite of everything, came to Skvortsy. A painful conversation for both, in which the nature of the feelings that Catherine and Heathcliff had for each other was fully revealed, turned out to be their last: that same night Catherine died, giving birth to a girl. The girl (who, as an adult, was seen by Mr. Lockwood at Wuthering Heights) was named after her mother.

Catherine's brother, robbed by Heathcliff Hindley Earnshaw, soon also died - he literally drank himself to death. Even earlier, Isabella’s reserve of patience had been exhausted, and she finally ran away from her husband and settled somewhere near London. There she had a son, Linton Heathcliff.

Twelve or thirteen years passed, during which nothing disturbed the peaceful life of Edgar and Cathy Linton. But then news of Isabella’s death came to Skvortsov Manor. Edgar immediately went to London and brought her son from there. She was a spoiled creature, inheriting sickness and nervousness from her mother, and cruelty and devilish arrogance from her father.

Cathy, much like her mother, immediately became attached to her new cousin, but the very next day Heathcliff appeared at the Grange and demanded to give up her son. Edgar Linton, of course, could not object to him.

The next three years passed quietly, for all relations between Wuthering Heights and Skvortsov Manor were prohibited. When Cathy turned sixteen, she finally made it to the Pass, where she found her two cousins, Linton Heathcliff and Hareton Earnshaw; the second, however, was difficult to recognize as a relative - he was too rude and uncouth. As for Linton, just like her mother once did, Katie convinced herself that she loved him. And although the insensitive egoist Linton was not able to respond to her love, Heathcliff intervened in the fate of the young people.

He did not have feelings for Linton that were anything like his father's, but in Katie he saw a reflection of the traits of the one who had possessed his thoughts all his life, the one whose ghost haunted him now. Therefore, he decided to make sure that both Wuthering Heights and Skvortsov Manor, after the death of Edgar Linton and Linton Heathcliff (and both of them were already dying) would come into the possession of Cathy. And for this the children had to be married.

And Heathcliff, against the wishes of Cathy's dying father, arranged their marriage. A few days later, Edgar Linton died, and Linton Heathcliff soon followed.

So there are three of them left: the obsessed Heathcliff, who despises Hareton and has no control over Cathy; the infinitely arrogant and wayward young widow Cathy Heathcliff; and Hareton Earnshaw, the poor last of an ancient family, naively in love with Katie, who mercilessly bullied her illiterate hillbilly cousin.

This is the story old Mrs. Dean told Mr. Lockwood. The time came, and Mr. Lockwood finally decided to part with the solitude of the village, as he thought, forever. But a year later, he was passing through those places again and could not help but visit Mrs. Dean.

Over the course of a year, it turns out that a lot has changed in the lives of our heroes. Heathcliff died; Before his death, he completely lost his mind, could neither eat nor sleep, and kept wandering the hills, calling on the ghost of Catherine. As for Katie and Hareton, the girl gradually abandoned her contempt for her cousin, warmed up to him and finally reciprocated his feelings; the wedding was supposed to take place on New Year's Day.

In the rural cemetery, where Mr. Lockwood went before leaving, everything told him that, no matter what trials befell the people buried here, now they are all sleeping peacefully.

Feeling an urgent need to take a break from the bustle of London society and fashionable resorts, Mr. Lockwood decided to settle for a while in the wilderness of the village. He chose an old landowner's house, Skvortsov Manor, as the place of his voluntary seclusion, which stood among the hilly heathers and swamps of northern England. Having settled in a new place, Mr. Lockwood considered it necessary to pay a visit to the owner of the Starlings and his only neighbor - Squire Heathcliff, who lived about four miles away, in an estate called Wuthering Heights. The owner and his home made a somewhat strange impression on the guest: a gentleman in clothes and manners, Heathcliff’s appearance was a pure gypsy; his house resembled more the harsh abode of a simple farmer than the estate of a landowner. In addition to the owner, the old grumpy servant Joseph lived at Wuthering Heights; young, charming, but somehow overly harsh and full of undisguised contempt for everyone, Catherine Heathcliff, the owner’s daughter-in-law; and Hareton Earnshaw (Lockwood saw this name engraved next to the date “1500” above the entrance to the estate) - a rustic-looking fellow, not much older than Catherine, looking at whom one could only say with confidence that he was neither a servant nor a master here son. Intrigued, Mr. Lockwood asked the housekeeper, Mrs. Dean, to satisfy his curiosity and tell the story of the strange people who lived at Wuthering Heights. The request could not have been addressed to the right address, for Mrs. Dean turned out to be not only an excellent storyteller, but also a direct witness to the dramatic events that made up the history of the Earnshaw and Linton families and their evil genius, Heathcliff.

The Earnshaws, Mrs. Dean said, had lived at Wuthering Heights since ancient times, and the Lintons at Skvortsov Manor. Old Mr. Earnshaw had two children - a son, Hindley, the eldest, and a daughter, Catherine. One day, returning from the city, Mr. Earnshaw picked up a ragged gypsy child dying of hunger on the road and brought him into the house. The boy came out and was christened Heathcliff (later no one could say for sure whether it was a first name, a surname, or both at once), and soon it became obvious to everyone that Mr. Earnshaw was attached to the foundling much more than to his own son. Heathcliff, whose character was not dominated by the most noble traits, shamelessly took advantage of this, childishly tyrannizing Hindley in every possible way. Heathcliff, oddly enough, struck up a strong friendship with Catherine.

When old Earnshaw died, Hindley, who had by then lived in the city for several years, came to the funeral not alone, but with his wife. Together they quickly established their own order at Wuthering Heights, and the young master did not fail to cruelly recoup the humiliation that he had once suffered from his father’s favorite: he now lived in the position of almost a simple worker, Catherine also had a hard time in the care of the narrow-minded, evil bigot Joseph ; Perhaps her only joy was her friendship with Heathcliff, which little by little grew into a love that was still unconscious to young people.

Meanwhile, two teenagers also lived at Skvortsov Manor - the master's children Edgar and Isabella Linton. Unlike the savages of their neighbors, these were real noble gentlemen - well-mannered, educated, perhaps overly nervous and arrogant. An acquaintance could not fail between the neighbors, but Heathcliff, a rootless plebeian, was not accepted into the Linton company. This would be nothing, but from some point on, Katherine began to spend time in Edgar’s company with undisguised great pleasure, neglecting her old friend, and sometimes even mocking him. Heathcliff swore terrible revenge on young Linton, and it was not in the nature of this man to throw words to the wind.

Time passed. Hindley Earnshaw had a son, Hareton; The boy's mother fell ill after giving birth and never got up again. Having lost the most precious thing he had in life, Hindley gave up and went downhill before his eyes: he disappeared in the village for days on end, returning drunk and terrifying his family with his irrepressible violence.

The relationship between Catherine and Edgar gradually became more and more serious, and then one fine day the young people decided to get married. This decision was not easy for Katherine: in her soul and heart she knew that she was doing the wrong thing; Heathcliff was the focus of her greatest thoughts, the one without whom the world was unthinkable for her. However, if she could liken Heathcliff to underground rock layers on which everything rests, but whose existence does not bring hourly pleasure, she compared her love for Edgar to spring foliage - you know that winter will not leave a trace of it, and yet you cannot don't enjoy it.

Heathcliff, barely learning about the upcoming event, disappeared from Wuthering Heights, and nothing was heard about him for a long time.

Soon the wedding took place; Leading Catherine to the altar, Edgar Linton considered himself the happiest of people. The young couple lived at Starling Manor, and anyone who saw them at that time could not help but recognize Edgar and Catherine as an exemplary loving couple.

Who knows how long the serene existence of this family would continue, but one fine day a stranger knocked on the Skvortsov gate. They did not immediately recognize him as Heathcliff, for the former uncouth youth now appeared as a grown man with military bearing and the habits of a gentleman. Where he was and what he was doing in the years that had passed since his disappearance remained a mystery to everyone.

Catherine and Heathcliff met like good old friends, but Edgar, who had previously disliked Heathcliff, was displeased and alarmed by his return. And not in vain. His wife suddenly lost the peace of mind that he had so carefully preserved. It turned out that all this time Catherine had been executing herself as the culprit of Heathcliff’s possible death somewhere in a foreign land, and now his return reconciled her with God and humanity. Her childhood friend became even more dear to her than before.

Despite Edgar's dissatisfaction, Heathcliff was received at Skvortsov Manor and became a frequent guest there. At the same time, he did not bother himself at all with observing conventions and decency: he was harsh, rude and straightforward. Heathcliff did not hide the fact that he returned only to take revenge - and not only on Hindley Earnshaw, but also on Edgar Linton, who took his life with all its meaning. He bitterly blamed Katherine for the fact that she preferred a weak-willed, nervous slobber to him, a man with a capital M; Heathcliff's words painfully stirred her soul.

To everyone's bewilderment, Heathcliff settled at Wuthering Heights, which had long ago turned from a landowner's house into a den of drunkards and gamblers. The latter worked to his advantage: Hindley, who had lost all the money, gave Heathcliff a mortgage on the house and estate. Thus, he became the owner of all the property of the Earnshaw family, and Hindley’s legal heir, Hareton, was left penniless.

Heathcliff's frequent visits to Starling Manor had one unexpected consequence - Isabella Linton, Edgar's sister, fell madly in love with him. Everyone around tried to turn the girl away from this almost unnatural attachment to a man with the soul of a wolf, but she remained deaf to the persuasion, Heathcliff was indifferent to her, because he did not care about everyone and everything except Catherine and his revenge; So he decided to make Isabella the instrument of this revenge, to whom her father, bypassing Edgar, bequeathed Skvortsov Manor. One fine night, Isabella ran away with Heathcliff, and as time passed, they showed up at Wuthering Heights as husband and wife. There are no words to describe all the humiliations to which Heathcliff subjected his young wife, and who did not think of hiding the true motives of his actions from her. Isabella endured in silence, wondering in her heart who her husband really was - a man or a devil?

Heathcliff had not seen Catherine since the day of his escape from Isabella. But one day, having learned that she was seriously ill, he, in spite of everything, came to Skvortsy. A painful conversation for both, in which the nature of the feelings that Catherine and Heathcliff had for each other was fully revealed, turned out to be their last: that same night Catherine died, giving birth to a girl. The girl (who, as an adult, was seen by Mr. Lockwood at Wuthering Heights) was named after her mother.

Catherine's brother, robbed by Heathcliff Hindley Earnshaw, soon also died - he literally drank himself to death. Even earlier, Isabella’s reserve of patience had been exhausted, and she finally ran away from her husband and settled somewhere near London. There she had a son, Linton Heathcliff.

Twelve or thirteen years passed, during which nothing disturbed the peaceful life of Edgar and Cathy Linton. But then news of Isabella’s death came to Skvortsov Manor. Edgar immediately went to London and brought her son from there. She was a spoiled creature, inheriting sickness and nervousness from her mother, and cruelty and devilish arrogance from her father.

Cathy, much like her mother, immediately became attached to her new cousin, but the very next day Heathcliff appeared at the Grange and demanded to give up her son. Edgar Linton, of course, could not object to him.

The next three years passed quietly, for all relations between Wuthering Heights and Skvortsov Manor were prohibited. When Cathy turned sixteen, she finally made it to the Pass, where she found her two cousins, Linton Heathcliff and Hareton Earnshaw; the second, however, was difficult to recognize as a relative - he was too rude and uncouth. As for Linton, just like her mother once did, Katie convinced herself that she loved him. And although the insensitive egoist Linton was not able to respond to her love, Heathcliff intervened in the fate of the young people.

He did not have feelings for Linton that were anything like his father's, but in Katie he saw a reflection of the traits of the one who had possessed his thoughts all his life, the one whose ghost haunted him now. Therefore, he decided to make sure that both Wuthering Heights and Skvortsov Manor, after the death of Edgar Linton and Linton Heathcliff (and both of them were already dying) would come into the possession of Cathy. And for this the children had to be married.

And Heathcliff, against the wishes of Cathy's dying father, arranged their marriage. A few days later, Edgar Linton died, and Linton Heathcliff soon followed.

So there are three of them left: the obsessed Heathcliff, who despises Hareton and has no control over Cathy; the infinitely arrogant and wayward young widow Cathy Heathcliff; and Hareton Earnshaw, the poor last of an ancient family, naively in love with Katie, who mercilessly bullied her illiterate hillbilly cousin.

This is the story old Mrs. Dean told Mr. Lockwood. The time came, and Mr. Lockwood finally decided to part with the solitude of the village, as he thought, forever. But a year later, he was passing through those places again and could not help but visit Mrs. Dean.

Over the course of a year, it turns out that a lot has changed in the lives of our heroes. Heathcliff died; Before his death, he completely lost his mind, could neither eat nor sleep, and kept wandering the hills, calling on the ghost of Catherine. As for Katie and Hareton, the girl gradually abandoned her contempt for her cousin, warmed up to him and finally reciprocated his feelings; the wedding was supposed to take place on New Year's Day.

In the rural cemetery, where Mr. Lockwood went before leaving, everything told him that, no matter what trials befell the people buried here, now they are all sleeping peacefully.

Retold

The events of the book take place around the 17th-18th century, on a small estate in the north of England, far from London and the bustle of the capital. A certain Mr. Lockwood arrives in such remote places and becomes the temporary owner of an estate with the very poetic name “Skvortsov Manor.”

Having rested from the road, Mr. Lockwood sets off to explore the surrounding area and pay visits to neighbors. The first person he gets to is the owner of Skvortsov Manor - Squire Heathleaf, who lives in a large estate called Wuthering Heights. Hoping to find the good and smart in this wilderness

The interlocutor, Lockwood arrives at Heathleaf's estate, but sees in him only a gypsy dressed in a gentleman's clothes.

He did not like Heathleaf, neither externally nor internally; his house looked more like a poor farm than a nobleman's home. The owner showed the guest all possible respect, but was clearly not happy with him, after some time leaving him to his own devices.

Along with Heathleaf, an elderly servant Joseph, a young girl named Catherine Heathleaf, who is either the owner’s daughter or niece, lives on the estate, as well as Hareton Ernshno, a rustic-looking fellow who clearly doesn’t fit into the overall flavor. Watching

Behind the relationships between family members, Mr. Lockwood became curious about how such different people get along under one roof. Unable to ask Heathleaf himself about the history of this family, he begins to flirt with the housekeeper Miss Dean, who happily tells Lockwood everything she knows about Heathleaf himself and his household.

Miss Dean said that quite recently no one had heard of Heathleaf in Wuthering Heights; the Earnshaws and Lintons lived here. The Earnshaws occupied Wuthering Heights, and the Lintons occupied Skvortsov Grange. The elderly Mr. Earnshaw had two children - a son, Hindley, and a daughter, Catherine. He was an extremely trusting and kind man, and therefore, returning home one day, he picked up a little boy along the way, brought him home and made him his adopted son. This was the current owner of Wuthering Heights.

The old owner of the estate fell in love with the foundling very much, depriving him of attention even to his own son, which offended him greatly and aroused hostility towards Heathleaf. Heathleaf himself did not strive to please anyone; he was rude, uncouth, but at the same time cunning. He understood perfectly well that if his benefactor died, the sweet life on the estate would end.

The only person with whom Heathleaf managed to establish relations was the owner's daughter Catherine. Sympathy even broke out between the young people, but if Heathliff’s feelings were sincere and lasting, then Catherine’s love was more akin to friendship, which made Heathliff very angry, giving him no rest.

A little time passed, and old Earnshaw died, assigning the estate to his son, who by this time had managed to leave for the city and get married. After his father's funeral, Hindley announced his decision to stay and personally handle the business, even though he was a terrible manager. His first act as an owner was to transfer Heathleaf to the position of a servant, which, of course, was revenge for long-standing grievances.

It was not easy for Katherine, who had never enjoyed much love from her brother. Catherine and Heathleaf become even closer, and the latter even thinks that love is breaking out between them.

But his dreams were not destined to come true, as Catherine met Edgar Linton, a neighbor in the lands. Refined and well-mannered, Linton impresses the girl and after some time they marry and settle at Skvortsov Manor. The angry and saddened Heathleaf vows to take cruel revenge on his rival and disappears from the lives of the main characters for some time.

Several years pass, the Wuthering Heights estate becomes increasingly bankrupt, becoming a haven for gamblers and drunkards. Hindley, whose son Hareton was born and took the life of his mother, began to drink heavily and lost his zest for life, but all is well at Skvortsov Grange. One day, a handsome and courageous young man appeared at the gates of the estate, in whom Catherine did not immediately recognize Hithif, who had returned home to take revenge.

Heathleaf easily scams Hndli out of a mortgage on the house, moves there and spends his days waiting for the former owner to die. As an old friend, he also visits Catherine’s house, where he seduces Linton’s sister, Isabela. Having no feelings for the girl, Hithif runs away with her and marries purely out of revenge. He mocks his wife in every possible way until she loses patience and leaves for the city, where her son Linton is born.

Heathleaf did not communicate with Catherine for several years, the last time he sees her dying of childbirth fever, an explanation occurs between them, but nothing can be corrected. She gives birth to a girl, named after her. Catherine's brother also dies, and Heathleaf becomes the sole owner of Wuthering Heights.

10-12 years pass, the reader finds the matured Catherine at Skvortsov Manor, where she is awaiting the arrival of her cousin, whom her father invited from London after Isabella’s death. Young Linton Heathleaf turns out to be an exact copy of his father, and therefore Catherine, as her mother’s daughter, cannot help but have special feelings for him.

Having learned about the arrival of his son, Heathleaf claimed him for himself and for the next three years he raised him himself, hoping to soon marry him to Catherine and take possession of new lands. And so it happened, after the death of her father, Katherine agreed to the marriage, but her fiancé also did not live long. Catherine was left alone and moved to Wuthering Heights with her father-in-law and cousin, who was madly in love with her.

But the story of this family in this country does not end there. Having satisfied his curiosity, Mr. Lockwood left the estate, and when he returned to these parts a year later, he no longer found its owner alive. Catherine agreed to marry Hareton, and the spirit of Heathleaf found rest forever in the local cemetery.

I opened another book with a mechanical movement. The next cover, the next first page... It didn’t seem to me then that I would meet with something special, with something that I hadn’t read or didn’t know about before. This was intended as a “meeting for show”, which I did not try to pin my hopes on. But page after page - and suddenly, for myself, the swift cold air carries me away, and I hear its gusts, and as if I myself were standing on the heather moors of northern Britain, trying to understand the unconscious impulses of the human soul. When the story came to the last page, I realized that in the future it would be difficult for me to find a work like this.

“This novel has nothing in common with the literature of the era.
This is a very bad novel. This is a very good novel. He's ugly. There is beauty in it.
This is a terrible, harrowing, powerful and passionate book."
(Somerset Maugham)

The story of the Bronte sisters is a story with its own sorrows, with its own peculiar joys and secrets. Charlotte, Emily and Anne were born into the family of a country priest, Patrick Brontë, in Yorkshire, northern England. The area surrounding them was devoid of bright colors: harsh heather moors, dark gray buildings, an almost complete absence of greenery, and the nearby cemetery did not add warmth to the dull picture... But nevertheless, it was among this harsh nature that the Bronte sisters managed to create their wonderful works filled with strong feelings and real passions.

The family of the Brontë sisters could not call themselves rich. She was not distinguished by nobility either. But Patrick Brontë's daughters were amazingly talented: from an early age they were fond of literature, loved to fantasize and create imaginary countries. There is no doubt that the harsh nature left its certain indelible imprint on the character and worldview of little girls. British literary critic Victor Soden Pritchett reviewed Emily Brontë's novel, comparing its characters with the gloomy inhabitants of Yorkshire: “Perhaps its heroes will initially strike the reader with undisguised cruelty and ruthlessness - but in reality, the harshness and intransigence of judgments, pride, and a heightened sense of sin were expressed the philosophy of life inherent in the inhabitants of these places, which placed the will of each human person above all else. In order to survive in these parts, it was necessary to learn to subjugate others, while not subordinating to anyone.”

Of course, the life of future writers was distinguished by its originality: it combined a kind of natural asceticism, steely severity and at the same time an irresistible desire to create and write.

The life of little girls who lost their mother early could not be called rosy. They spent most of their time in each other's company, deprived of simple childhood communication. The isolated place where their house stood, a rather monotonous, boring life contributed to even greater solitude and the inevitable withdrawal into their own spiritual world.

Emily was perhaps the most reserved of the three sisters. According to eyewitnesses, she rarely left the house, and if she did take walks, she was not particularly inclined to have friendly conversations with her neighbors. But she could often be seen walking around thoughtfully and whispering something to herself...

For some time, little Emily and her sister Charlotte studied at a charity school in Cowan Bridge. It was this terrible place that served as the prototype for the Lockwood Orphanage in Charlotte’s novel “Jane Eyre,” where all the horrors of such institutions were described: hunger, bad food, and monstrous treatment of the pupils...

After studying at Cone Bridge, Charlotte and Emily decided to continue their education in Brussels. But, unlike her older sister, Emily could not get rid of the homesickness that constantly tormented her, and, returning to England in 1844, she tried never to leave her native land.

1846 is a significant date for the Bronte sisters. At this time, a collection of their poems was published - the first fruit of their literary activity. The writers deliberately took male pseudonyms, and the collection was entitled: "Poems of Kerrer [Charlotte], Ellis [Emily], and Acton [Ann] Bell." Subsequently, of all the poems in the collection, it is Emily’s poems that receive the highest critical praise, poems permeated with sadness and longing for impossible or lost love (“Stanzas”). Particularly remarkable are Emily's philosophical lyrics, which raise themes of personal freedom and independence (“The Old Stoic”). But, despite the undeniable beauty and grace of Emily’s poems, one cannot help but note the sadness and melancholy breaking through them. The most optimistic and hopeful works in the collection were, perhaps, the poems of the younger sister Anne (especially the poem “Lines Folded in the Woods on a Windy Day”). However, then the first experience of the young poetesses, unfortunately, did not gain wide popularity among the reading public.

But the Brontë sisters did not give up, and soon each of them decided to devote herself to prose: in 1847, Charlotte wrote her first novel “The Teacher”, Anne wrote the novel “Agnes Gray”, and Emily wrote “Wuthering Heights”. From this moment, their intense literary activity began, however, it continued for a relatively long time only for Charlotte, since Emily and Anne, soon after the release of their first works, suddenly died of consumption. Most likely, this was a hereditary illness of the Brontë family: all the girls were distinguished by an extremely fragile physique and very poor health, which, by the way, was significantly undermined during the years of training of the sisters at Cone Bridge. Unfortunately for the entire reading world, this hereditary serious illness did not allow the sisters to create further and cut short the lives of women who were in the prime of their strength (Emily died when she was 30, Anne at 29, Charlotte did not live to see 40).

Meanwhile, the creative heritage of the Brontë sisters, although not numerous, has been striking researchers with its depth and originality for almost two centuries.

Their works are very emotional, very honest and a little mysterious. The last definition, however, to the greatest extent and in its entirety applies specifically to Emily Brontë’s only novel, Wuthering Heights.

What kind of novel is this? And what is his mystery?

When people in Russia talk about the works of female writers, I’m almost sure that most people remember the novel “Jane Eyre” by her older sister Charlotte. The work of Emily Brontë is rarely discussed. The very fact that “Jane Eyre” was first translated into Russian in 1849 (the novel was published in the journal “Otechestvennye zapiski”), and “Wuthering Heights” only in 1956, serves as evidence of insufficient attention to the work of the writer in Russia.

Meanwhile, this only novel by Emily Brontë is in no way inferior to the works of her sister. I would even be afraid to compare them, since the writers consider human nature using completely different coordinate systems. Virginia Woolf compared the work of the two writers most imaginatively and deeply in her critical article “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights”: “She [Charlotte Brontë] does not think about human fate; she doesn’t even know that there is something to think about here; all its power, all the more powerful because its area of ​​application is limited, goes into statements like “I love,” “I hate,” “I suffer... “Wuthering Heights” is a book more difficult to understand than “Jane Eyre” because Emily is more of a poet than Charlotte. Charlotte used all her eloquence, passion and richness of style to express simple things: “I love,” “I hate,” “I suffer.” Her experiences, although richer than ours, are at our level. And in “Wuthering Heights” I am completely absent... From beginning to end, in her novel [now we are talking about Emily] this titanic plan is felt, this high effort - half fruitless - to say through the lips of her characters not just “I love” or “I hate ”, and - “We, the human race” and “You, the eternal forces...”. This excerpt from the article, it seems to me, perfectly conveys the intention of “Wuthering Heights” - to extremely generalize what is depicted, to bring it to a cosmic scale.

The novel “Wuthering Heights” was published, as mentioned above, in 1847, but during the writer’s lifetime it was not appreciated. World fame came to Emily Brontë much later, which, however, often happens for inexplicable reasons with great works, but, subsequently appreciated by descendants, they have lived for many centuries and never grow old.

At first glance, the plot of this unusual novel does not appear to be anything complicated. There are two estates, two opposites: Wuthering Heights and Starling Grange. The first personifies anxiety, violent and unconscious feelings, the second - a harmonious and measured existence, home comfort. At the center of the story is a truly romantic figure, a hero without a past, Heathcliff, who was found by the owner of Wuthering Heights, Mr. Earnshaw, unknown where and when. Heathcliff, it seems, from birth does not belong to any of the houses, but in spirit, in his make-up, he belongs, of course, to the Wuthering Heights estate. And it is on the fatal intersection and intertwining of these two worlds that the entire plot of the novel is built.

The genre of this novel is definitely romantic. “Wuthering Heights is a wildly romantic book,” said the classic of English literature Somerset Maugham in 1965. Nevertheless, Emily Brontë, having written her only work, surprisingly could not fit into the framework of the usual literary trends. The thing is that Wuthering Heights cannot be classified as a purely romantic novel: it also contains elements of a realistic understanding of man, but Emily Brontë’s realism is special, completely different from the realism of, say, Dickens or Thackeray. We can say that here it is absolutely inseparable from romanticism, partly due to the fact that the writer refuses to consider and resolve the conflict of the novel in the social or public sphere - she transfers it to the philosophical and aesthetic area. Like the romantics, Emily Brontë longed for the harmony of life. But in her work it is expressed, paradoxically, through death: only she tried on the descendants and helped to reunite the tormented lovers. “I wandered around the graves under this kind sky; looked at the moths flying in the heather and bluebells, listened to the soft breathing of the wind in the grass - and marveled at how people imagined that the sleep of those who sleep in this peaceful land could be unpeaceful,” the novel ends with these words. Still, it is surprising that such a “powerful, passionate, terrible” book, in the words of Somerset Maugham, ends with such an almost idyllic ending. But what is “powerful and creepy” about it?

This is a book about love, but about strange love, about love that does not fit into any of our ideas about it. This is a novel about a place, but a place born of passion. This is a novel about fate, about will, about man, about space...

The very structure of the novel, its stylistic and visual means, are quite sophisticated. It is difficult to say whether Emily Brontë created such a harmonious text on purpose or unconsciously. The theme of fate and continuity of generations is clearly visible thanks to repetitions: the names, characters, and actions of the heroes are repeated, which creates some kind of mysterious, mystical atmosphere, a sense of inevitability and regularity of what is happening. An equally important role is played by descriptions of nature, which is not only the background of the unfolding events, but also expresses the inner experiences of the characters, personifying their exorbitant, violent feelings.

We can talk about these descriptions of nature separately and for a very long time. Emily Brontë really makes the wind blow and the thunder rumble, while the breath of the heather seems to break through the text of the novel and showers us with its coldness, but at the same time with its unique romanticism.

… “Wuthering Heights” is a controversial and mysterious work. If you understand the text, it is impossible not to encounter moral and ethical inconsistencies in the behavior of the characters that strike the reader: Catherine and Heathcliff, on the one hand, personify cosmic love, love that is stronger than death, but in reality it somehow takes on grotesque forms , expressed, essentially, through Evil - Good as such is practically not shown at all in the novel, except perhaps in the last scenes. Critic Georges Bataille, in his article about Wuthering Heights, says that “...in the knowledge of Evil, Emily Brontë reached the very end.” And really, who else in literature has portrayed Evil like this? Evil, existing in an unnatural synthesis with love, Evil is completely beyond control and any kind of moral justification. And this is another big mystery in this whole story: how was Emily Brontë, raised on the Bible, able to create characters completely devoid of Christian humility and peace? Even during his last meeting with Catherine, who is on the verge of death, Heathcliff is unable to overcome his thirst for revenge; after Catherine betrayed him by marrying Linton, an inhabitant of the “serene” Skvortsov Grange, revenge in Heathcliff’s heart constantly takes the place of love. “Oh, you see, Nellie, he will not relent for a minute to save me from the grave. That’s how he loves me!” exclaims Catherine herself.

But even after the death of his beloved, Heathcliff does not resign himself: “God grant her to wake up in torment! - he shouted with terrible force, and stamped his foot, and groaned in an unexpected attack of indomitable passion. - She still remains a liar! Where is she? Not there - not in heaven... and she didn’t die - so where? Oh, you said that my suffering means nothing to you! I have only one prayer - I repeat it constantly until my tongue ossifies: Catherine Earnshaw, find no peace while I live! Virginia Woolf wrote that “there is no more vivid male figure in literature.” But this image is not just “alive”, it is unusual, it is mysterious and endlessly contradictory. However, like the whole novel. Somerset Maugham, who highly appreciated Wuthering Heights, spoke about the image of the main character this way: “I think that Emily put all of herself into Heathcliff. She endowed him with her furious rage, her frantic suppressed sexuality, her passionate unquenched love, her jealousy, her hatred and contempt for the human race, her cruelty...” Be that as it may, this extraordinary image cannot leave the reader indifferent. However, these are all the images of the novel.

A modern reader will probably have a completely logical question: is it possible to learn something for yourself from this middle-aged novel? It would seem that during this time almost everything in our lives has changed: is it worth looking for answers to the questions that concern us in a book written more than 150 years ago? Costs. It's still worth it.

This is the indescribable charm of Wuthering Heights. The book makes us understand that some laws that apply to people are eternal - they do not disappear over time and are completely independent of changing eras, regimes and systems. Emily Brontë seems to show a natural person, a person who has thrown back the veil of a certain time. “She frees life from the dominion of facts,” notes the same Virginia Woolf. If you think about it, the novel doesn’t even have a developed plot or an open, acute conflict. The theme of social inequality is not properly developed, and, in general, no one prevented Catherine from connecting with Heathcliff. Thus, in the novel we do not see open social confrontation and, most importantly, all the heroes are free to choose their own path. Even the terrible, cruel scenes of Cathy’s imprisonment in Heathcliff’s house are, in essence, the result of her own careless behavior. She, burning with curiosity, ran away from home and went of her own free will to the Wuthering Heights estate, went without any coercion, without any instructions from anyone else, as if some unknown forces forced her to do this. In general, this amazing freedom and total disobedience to the will of others in all the characters in the novel is striking. They build their own destiny, making fatal mistakes or unraveling the most difficult life situations (as Katherine Jr. did at the end of the novel). We can say that this is a novel about fate, which a person sometimes cannot resist.

So, here are the two main themes of the novel, the two main words around which the narrative of Wuthering Heights unfolds - inexplicable love and fate. But I would add one more thing - forces beyond human control.

We can deny the logic of Emily Brontë, which is expressed rather unconsciously and spontaneously in the novel (“Wuthering Heights” is completely devoid of moralizing, which was also noted by the English writer and literary critic Victor Soden Pritchett), we can even be frightened by this mystical chill that permeates the book, but deny it all strength and power simply will not succeed. The book really packs a punch. You can agree or disagree with it, but it is still impossible not to fall under its influence.

Without a doubt, this novel is a mystery that you can ponder endlessly. A novel that overturns all the usual ideas about Good and Evil, Love and Hate. Emily Bronte forces the reader to look at these categories with a completely different look, she mercilessly mixes seemingly immutable layers, while simultaneously shocking us with her impartiality. Life is broader than any definitions, broader than our ideas about it - this thought confidently breaks through the text of the novel. And if the reader manages, like me, to grasp this energetic message, then getting to know this novel will be truly unforgettable.

The writer, having created her only work, at the same time shrouded it in such mystery that even an inexperienced reader cannot help but stop in thought - “Wuthering Heights” will simply force one to reflect on its poetics, since the author himself is detached and impartial, his subjective “I” ” is silent, bringing the story to the reader’s judgment. Emily Brontë, leaving the narration to the housekeeper Nellie Dean and Mr. Lockwood, is hiding behind seven locks - we cannot fully understand her relationship to the created characters. What is it: hatred or love? Somerset Maugham noted that “by first entrusting the narrative to Lockwood, and then forcing him to listen to Mrs. Dean’s story, she [Emily Brontë] hid, so to speak, behind a double mask.” He further argues that narration from the perspective of an omniscient author “would mean a contact with the reader unbearably close to her painful sensitivity.” “I think her fierce and uncompromising integrity would have rebelled if she had decided to tell this frantic story in her own person.” Most likely, Emily Brontë did not want to, and probably could not, finally define her attitude towards the incredible characters she created. She simply poses a question, but leaves it to the reader to answer. Although, on the other hand, how, in general, can anyone fully comprehend these eternal cosmic themes touched upon in the novel? The task posed by the author is too ambitious, too big and difficult to solve on our everyday scale. Depicting completely unimaginable passions, unconscious manifestations of human nature, showing forces that are stronger than humans and at the same time shrouding it all in some kind of impenetrable fog, deliberately confusing the reader, Emily Bronte left no doubt about only one thing - that these forces are higher and stronger than us. And the plot of Wuthering Heights, its entire impulsive and impetuous text prove this statement, and, as I see it, this is precisely where its mysterious power, charming mysticism and inexplicable charm lie.

P.S. There are more than 15 film adaptations of Wuthering Heights, including the famous 1939 film starring Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. The premiere of the next film adaptation is scheduled for 2010 in the UK.

1. Bataille J. Emily Brontë and evil // “The Critic”. - 1957 (No. 117).
2. Wolf W. Essay. - M.: ed. AST, 2004. pp. 809-813.
3. Charlotte Bronte and Another Lady. Emma // Bronte sisters in England. - M.: ed. AST, 2001.
4. Mitrofanova E. The fatal secret of the Bronte sisters. - M.: ed. Terra Book Club, 2008.