My Reaction to Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a very well written revenge/love story that makes up for the unlikeable characters by adding in some not too well thought out supernatural elements.  Ok, well maybe it wasn’t that bad.  Wuthering Heights is a well written revenge/love story, but not all the characters are unlikable.  I guess what I should say is that, Brontë never really gives the characters in her novel a chance to connect with the reader.  Part of what makes a legendary and/or novel (in my opinion) is a character or characters that really grow on the reader, connecting with them, making the reader feel as if he or she is a part of the tale.  In Charles Dickens’s famous novel Oliver Twist, the reader absorbs the young Oliver as they read of his trials and tribulations as an orphan.  Oliver grows and connects with the reader as he slowly reveals more and more of his life.  The reader reciprocates this by sympathizing with him.  When Oliver is denied that second bowl people feel horrible feeling in their stomach, some people might even cry.  The point is, the reader connected with Oliver.  Dickens reveals all about Oliver, his characteristics.  Brontë does not do this with any of her characters.  Heathcliff becomes very unlikable and un-connectable through the various acts of horrible revenge he imparts upon almost everyone in the novel (Hareton, by making him a slave, Catherine II by forcing her to marry Linton, Linton by treating him like utter dirt, etc…).  Hindly is very unlikable due to his overall sour attitude and jerkiness towards Catherine and Heathcliff and his own son Hareton (he almost kills him by dropping him off a second story ledge).  Even the sweet Catherine becomes unlikable when she opts for social advancement over true love by marrying Edgar Linton instead of Heathcliff whom she quotes is “the same as I”.  At this point, the last two possibilities for likable characters are Lockwood and the narrating house servant Nelly.  The only problem with them is that Brontë never expands upon them.  The reader only ever connects with Nelly on a surface level because all she does is narrate!  They may feel bad for her because of all of the crap she has had to put up with at Wuthering Heights, but that’s about it.  No Lockwood.  Lockwood, Lockwood, Lockwood…you were supposed to be the chosen one!  Nothing is revealed about Lockwood!  Lockwood is quite literally in the novel only to serve as half of the medium for which the story of Wuthering Heights is told (with Nelly being the other half).  Actually the reader does connect with Lockwood at one point and one point only, when he decides to get the heck out of dodge and burn rubber (probably from running) away from Wuthering Heights.  Lockwood leaves, gone from the story, the reader understands, but no real deep level connection going on.  Heathcliff dies, oh ok he was a jerk.  Catherine dies, oh ok she was kind of harlot-y.  Hindly dies, oh ok total jerk.  Linton dies, oh ok, didn’t really know him, but he was kind of snobby.  MY point is, Wuthering Heights would have been much better had Brontë spent more time developing the characters to be likable and to connect with the everyday reader.  Other than that, great book, 5 stars, loved everything about it.  And no I’m not just saying that because it’s considered a “classic” and if its snubbed writers and teachers will be up in arms (ok maybe not all of them would be that vehement about but still).  And no I’m not just saying this because it’s one of my teacher’s favorite books.  Absolutely loved Wuthering Heights almost as good as Twilight.