The Victorian Age was a period of remarkable development, growth and change for England. Dramatic changes happened in all spheres: economy, culture, trade, science and particularly literature. Due to the advancement of printing press and the increase of literacy, there was a boost in the literary culture. Among other genres, the English novel is the form that flourished the most in this period. With many novels being published, certainly a few have been irreplaceable and have resisted time, ‘’Wuthering Heights’’ by Emily Brontë being one of them.
Published in 1847, it is one of the most important novels in English Literature. Its greatness stands on its authenticity, complexity of narrative structure and character depiction, among other unique elements. It is a novel that explores the depths of human passion and emotion, in a way and intensity that was never seen before and quite impossible to recreate. Though critics struggle to label the novel with a particular genre, it is mainly considered to be a romance with gothic elements.
Set in the moorlands of Yorkshire, the novel is centered on the love story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Their love is of grand passion and even crosses the boundary between life and death. ‘’The love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw is far removed indeed from earthly considerations, for they travel in spheres unrecognized by the mortals in the novel’’ (R.Karl, 1992, p.151). Furthermore, this love story, particularly after the death of Catherine, is extended to the lives of the generation to come. As much as the novel is concerned with life, love, childhood, civilization, it involves death, hate, adulthood, savagery and society, too. It is a combination of reality and the supernatural or fantasy; including characters that believe in ghosts and show inhuman traits.
As of structure, the novel is an embedded narrative; we have stories within stories that begin with Lockwood. As he is a newcomer, he is interested to know the history of his new neighbors; by asking to hear it, we (the reader and Lockwood), listen to it from the housekeeper Nelly Dean and experience some intrusions throughout the novel from the narration of other characters.
While it is a work combining numerous themes such as love, family, suffering, social classes, marriage, childbirth, transcendence this paper will be of focus on revenge on morality. The aim of this paper is to explore revenge and morality as a personal trait of the characters and as depicted alongside the community of the novel.