Each week reporter Carson Abernethy drinks his way through great works of literature, reviewing books and the booze that inspired them.
"Wuthering Heights" is Emily Bronte's first and only novel, recounting the consuming love affair of Heathcliff and Catherine that ultimately destroys them and everyone around them.
Emily Bronte and her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, were all writers, and their works rank among some of the greatest in 19th century literature. "Wuthering Heights" is arguably the greatest work by the Bronte sisters, a title held undeservedly for too long by "Jane Eyre," but Emily still does not attract as much attention as Charlotte (though not as little as poor Anne, who still remains criminally understudied).
The Dark and Stormy is a rum-based drink that seems particularly suitable to "Wuthering Heights" — the novel's setting in the moors of England is often overcast and always foreboding. The central character, Heathcliff, is also dark, and his moods and temperament are certainly stormy. If the characters had tried this Dark and Stormy, maybe things would've turned out a bit better for them.
Recipe
2 oz. dark rum
5 oz. ginger beer
.5 oz. lime juice
Slice of lime to garnish
Combine ingredients in a Collins glass with ice and stir.
Prose: 4/5
"Wuthering Heights" is one of the best examples of Gothic literature, and the prose is dark and poignant, balancing romance with death and revenge. It is replete with beautiful phrases, particularly when uttered by Catherine or Heathcliff, as in, "He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." In most cases, an author moves from apprenticeship works to mature works, and their first few pieces are them learning the craft. It is remarkable then that Bronte's first work is so well-formed.
Characterization: 4.5/5
"Wuthering Heights" contains many interesting characters, including two of the most memorable characters in literature, Heathcliff and Catherine. Heathcliff is incredibly complex; at times a romantic hero, deeply in love with Catherine, at others, especially later in the novel's chronology, haunted, unable to escape from the shadow of the past. He is not limited to just one interpretation, and for every reader who sees him as tragic or misunderstood, just as many see him as villainous, cruel and obsessive. Characters like Edgar (who Catherine marries) and Isabella (who Heathcliff marries) serve as great foils for their counterparts, and the children from both marriages, Hareton and Cathy, symbolize the relationship that the protagonists can never have. Nelly, the servant and main narrator, serves as an interesting chronicler of the events in the novel. The setting itself is drawn so richly and is so full of symbolism that it also could be considered a character.
Cohesiveness: 4/5
The structure of the novel is very unusual; the first few chapters take place 30 years after the main story and focus on a narrator named Lockwood who happens upon an aging and bitter Heathcliff. The narration then shifts to Nelly, and skips around in time from there, recounting Heathcliff's childhood and maturity, eventually catching up to the present and ending there. The novel is nicely framed by the present at both the beginning and end, and the chronology is intricate without being too complicated. While most of the novel is tragic, it ends somewhat happily, which is a thematic shift that does not detract too much from its cohesiveness.
Relevance: 3/5
The exploration of themes such as love, death and revenge is perhaps all but too familiar today, as many of the elements of Gothic fiction have become tropes and even clichés. But while the novel is largely seen as a portrait of its time, it still has some relevance in its treatment of issues like the corrupting influence of passion and retribution, even if the archetype of the Byronic hero and the allure of all-consuming infatuation have fallen from favor.
Overall: 4.25/5
A tale of the dark side of passion, and the lengths to which people will go for vengeance and for those they love, "Wuthering Heights" is romantic without being saccharine, a morality tale without an easy definition of what actions might be wrong or right. Bronte captures and explores the darkness of the human psyche that lurks under the surface. One can only imagine what works Bronte would have written had she lived longer, but this novel alone is more than enough to stake her immortality on.
Related links:
Books & Booze: 'Watchmen' by Alan Moore
Books & Booze: 'Norwegian Wood' by Haruki Murakami
Reach the reporter at cabernet@asu.edu or follow @ccabernethy on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
