Wuthering Heights

My aim this year has been to read more, among other things. There's something gloriously delicious about curling up with a fat book and turning the pages as one's eyes devour the words that form lively pictures in one's head!

My favourite author, besides God of course - the original and best author of everything! - is Jane Austen. I've read all her novels many times, so it was time to branch out a bit and grow my brain a little further.

I'm starting with the Bronte sisters - Emily first. Her only novel is Wuthering Heights. I've only read about one-third of the novel and I have a list of words that were completely foreign to me. Laconic, for example. Penetralium. Lachrymose. Evincing. Physiognomy.

It was amazing to have to research prose!

Sadly, I've found it hard to get through the novel, so I turned to a TV series. I do this occasionally to help me understand the plot better. That in turn makes the novel easier to read. Previously, I've watched Jane Austen's Emma and Pride and Prejudice before reading the novels.

Tonight, I watched a 2009 production of Wuthering Heights, so I thought I'd offer my opinion on it.

I knew that the characters were deep and brooding, but I wasn't aware that Wuthering Heights is an outright tragedy - much like Shakespeare's star cross'd lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Relating to the spirited Catherine was easy - she is wild, free, fun and likeable. My opinion on Heathcliff, however, was more complicated - initially, I was dreadfully sorry for him. But to see him wreak havoc on the lives of people who are wholly innocent of any wrong doing towards him made me dislike him intensely. Knowing full well that those who are mucked up as children can go on to be very twisted adults (I'm one of them), I came to an understanding of Heathcliff, even though I didn't really like him in the end.

The movie is filmed in a brilliant location that matches Emily Bronte's precise description in the novel. Wuthering Heights reflects the darkness and broodiness that is so prevalent in the narrative. Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley are excellent as the passionate and desperate Heathcliff and Catherine. The supporting cast is also of the same calibre, so I found myself forgetting about the acting and being quite easily absorbed into the saga of two ill-fated families.

If you enjoy romance and drama, then I'd happily recommend Wuthering Heights. However, if you're a bit more like me - a Jane Austen fan who prefers happy endings with maybe only a touch of tragedy - you'll find Wuthering Heights a little heavy.

If you'd like to watch it, try clicking here. Then comment below to tell me what you thought of it!

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