Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

Read: 02.11.16

I've heard about this book since middle school and now, in a college literary analysis class, I've had the chance to read it. To be honest, it was a tough read. There were at least ten to fifteen words I didn't know per chapter, and it didn't help that multiple interpretations of the text already existed, forcing me to pay attention to the smallest details. Yes, it proved to be a challenge, but it was one I thoroughly enjoyed.

One thing that particularly caught my eye were Brontë's common references to animals. I suspect that all the main characters have been subjected to such a comparison at least once— most of which connect to other themes specific animals can represent, such as the lamb/goat for religion. Establishing connections from characters to their representation by animals, which highlight certain characteristics that build the foundation of interactions gave me a giant headache, but now that I've turned the final page I can definitely say that I found masochistic pleasure in struggling through the 300 or so pages.

(I cannot emphasize enough how much I hate the way Joseph's speech is spelt out the way he talks.)