Research on Setting Elements in Wuthering Heights

Huyujiao

1. Introduction

As inspiration in her masterpiece， one of the great works of genius in English fiction， Emily drew equally on her own emotional， and introverted nature. On the basis of the wild and mysterious moorland around her， Emily produced the story about passionate Cathy and Cathys savage lover Heathcliff. Their love lasted through their lives and beyond their death. Whats more， the love between Cathy and Heathcliff was buried under the quiet churchyard on the moors. Wuthering Heights brought to the novel an introspection and an intense concentration on the inner life of emotion which before them had been the province of poetry alone.”Wuthering Heights is a riddle which has meant so many thins to so many people. “It is small wonder Clement Shorter would call its author the sphinx of our modern literature.”The author used some settings to build the characters and made them rich， which is the indispensable element contributed a lot to the value of the novel.

2. Setting

An event occurs and a character exists in a particular time and place， which is referred to as setting. Its purpose is to provide an imaginary link between what happens in the novel and what the reader takes to be reality. “Once upon a time there lived a king named Midas in Phrygia. He loves gold more than anything else but his little daughter.”⑶ The opening sentences of “Golden Touch” introduce the time， place， and the usual mentality of the character.

In the thesis， environment discussion is one of the topics. The novel focuses on two mountains where the two houses locate. When Lockwood arrived there at the first time， he described like this：“ This is certainly a beautiful country！ A perfect misanthropists heaven.”Wuthering Heights is a significant provincial adjective， descriptive of the atmosphere tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure， bracing ventilation they must have been up for many years， indeed， one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge， by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house， and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way， as if craving alms of the sun. These are descriptions of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights， in reality， they are the place where Emily lived. The novelist set on her familiar environment， the story was about love and revenge. She wanted to show her agony and desperation from deep heart. Besides， the author intended to reveal the struggle between Angel and Monster， depravity of society.

“Above the chimney were sundry villainous， old guns， and a couple of horse pistols， and by way of ornament， three gaudily painted canisters disposed along its ledge. The floor was of smooth， white stone; the chairs， high—backed， primitive structures， painted green.”Contrast to primitive apartment， Thrushcross Grange seemed splendid， like a palace.“A splendid place carpeted with crimson， and crimson covered， chairs and tables， and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold， a shower of glass drops hanging in silver chairs from the centre; and shimmering with little soft tapers.”They were completely two different sceneries， the former was the representative of the low class， such as a homely， northern farmer， with a stubborn countenance， while the latter symbolized the upper class， it belonged to civilized people， good manner and well educated.

Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange are both located on desolated mountain. The moor with many guises， dreary in winter but divine in summer， provide a stage of grandeur for the passionate protagonists to act out. The two houses not only dominate the landscape， but also take on contrasting characteristics and atmosphere. The vegetation around Wuthering Heights is sparse and the house is seen as the home of life in the raw， of the rough indiscipline， and of unbridled emotions. Thrushcross Grange set in a pleasant valley and surrounded by garden trees and the high wall of the court stands for the splendid， cultivated and civilized life of the landed gentry. On the basis of windows， doors， locks， and keys， the group of interrelated images are considered as the representations of minds .

At the beginning of the novel， one of the narrators Lockwood tells the readers about Wuthering Heights “The narrow windows are deeply set in the wall， and the corners defended with large jutting stones.”It shows the architectural style， similar to Gothic building. “One step brought us into the family sitting room， without any introductory lobby or passage： they call it here ‘the house preeminently. It includes kitchen and parlour. The vast oak dresser had never been under-draw： its entire anatomy lay bare to an inquiring eye， except where mutton， and ham concealed it.”

3. Gothic settings of the novel

It is not difficult to find that the writer adopts gothic method to create a mysterious background， which emphasizes the atmosphere of grotesque， mysterious， and desolate. To begin with， the theme is Gothi. The buildings are Gothic architectures. The characters are most of primitive quality： homely， natural， straightforward， hardy， strong love and crazy behavior. In addition， the plot is also with Gothic feature： bloody hand in Lockwoods nightmare， melancholy voice of the Ghost， Hareton hung a litter of puppies， all these make one fear and shiver.

In this novel there are many descriptions about weather： stormy， gloomy， sunny etc. It seemed dreadful day appear more than pleasant one. In chapter eight， “It was a very dark evening for summer; the clouds appeared inclined to thunder. About mid-night， the storm came rattling over the Heights in full fury. There was violent wind， as well as thunder”. It is the day that Heathcliff went out because he happened to hear the interaction between Cathy and Nelly. “No moon， everything beneath lay in misty darkness， not a light gleamed form any house. Far or near， all had been extinguished long ago; and those at Wuthering Heights were never visible—still she asserted she caught their shining.”In the evening， Cathy was tormented by illness， she was almost at mad， her mind had strayed to other associations. At a deeper level， it shows psychological action of Catherine， she was in great pain， her memory dated back to the happy time when she stayed together with Heathcliff. Agony and ravings provided new space for Gothic development. It required readers make judges of characters while experience terror things. At the beginning of chapter17， “The Friday made the last of our fine days for a month. In the evening， the weather broke; the wind shifted from south to northeast， and brought rain first， and then sleet and snow. The primroses and crocuses were hidden under wintry drifts; the larks were silent， young leaves of the early trees smitten and blackened. And dreary， and chill， and dismal， that morrow did creep over！”. “The wild snow blowing outside， there was no sound through the house but the moaning wind， which shook the windows every now and then， the faint crackling of the coals， and the click of my snuffers as I removed at intervals the long wick of the candle”.This is the evening after the death of Catherine， Hareton and Joseph sere fast asleep in bed， Isabella and Hindley sat at the sitting room. It was so quiet， but dismal. The doleful silence was the prediction of storm， its true， Hindley attempted to take revenge on Heathcliff， he cried： “Treachery and violence are a just return for treachery and violence.”Unfortunately， Hindley was nearly dead， he had fallen senseless with excessive pain and the flow of blood that gushed from an artery or a large vein.

4. Conclusion

Emily inherited tradition of Gothic style， which made the whole story full of horror and mystery. The house was like Gothic architecture， the weather was dreary and dismal. The story focused on the two houses： Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights， the two respectively symbolized different lives. It is space limitation that makes the novel with dramatic characteristics. The description of change of season indicated emotional conflicts， psychological movements and struggle of characters. Besides， the physical settings made the novel full of life， the dramatic effect revealed by different natural objects and creatures that represent of real life in chaotic society.

References：

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