Perspectives on Wuthering Heights

Elizabeth Baines writes about Wuthering Heights, as part of a series "Writers Choice"on Norman Geras's normblog. I so much enjoyed reading Elizabeth's piece. Not only is it insightful about Wuthering Heights as a novel, but it contrasts the experience of reading it when young with reading it when older.

This echoes the continuing discussion of the same book, initiated by Marydell at her BookBlog, at posts here and linked herein. Marydell also writes thoughtfully about the different ways she sees the characters now compared with how she saw them when young, as well as making other pertinent points about the novel.

In both cases, the discussants were sympathetic to Cathy when young readers, but far less so when re-reading the book later. I haven't read Wuthering Heights for some years; perhaps if I did so again, I would also be less sympathetic this time round to the characters I liked when young.

Norman Geras has featured many subjects in his writer's choice series: you can see the entire archive in a link at the foot of his Elizabeth Baines post.

Elizabeth Baines is known to some of us as the Tart of Fiction, and has been one of those placed at the centre of the recent "litbloggers vs Observer" storm in a teacup. I also discover by reading the normblog entry that she is the author of two novels, The Birth Machine and Body Cuts, as well as numerous short stories; and is an actor, playwright and producer of her own plays Drinks with Natalie and O'Leary's Daughters.  I'm impressed. (Subscribing to blogs by rss means that you often miss crucial information about the blogger, as I've done on this occasion, because you only read the posts on the blog in your reader, you don't visit the actual blog itself.)

Comments

[marydell]

Ah, youth. When we're young and trying to figure ourselves out (by seeking someone to identify with) it's easy to forgive faults. Age and experience has a way of making us a bit more critical of bad behavior. Back then, I would have been Isabella and wanting to be Catherine. Now, sadly, I'm Nelly Dean.

An interesting find, Maxine. Thanks for posting it!

[Maxine]

Thanks, Marydell, a perceptive point.
Back then I was probably more of a Cathy wanting to be an Isabella; nowadays I would like to be Dumbledore, but I'm a long way off that, I fear.
(Wonderful thing, this internet and what one can find on it.)