Wuthering Heights

by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights follows the story of the Earnshaw family and the Linton family, neighbors occupying the Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange houses. Specifically, the story centers around the character Heathcliff from his induction into the Earnshaw family as a child to his death. Wuthering Heights is full of commentary on social expectations, socioeconomic divides, generational trauma, and breaking of those toxic generational cycles.

Wuthering Heights is often touted as a romance novel; recent advertisements for the 2026 film adaptation of the book call it "the greatest love story of all time." This, I completely disagree with. Wuthering Heights should absolutely not be called a romance or a love story in my opinion. There is far too much violence and abuse in Wuthering Heights for that to be an accurate classification. Romance and romantic tension are present, most notably in the relationship between Heathcliff and Cathy, but I did not find it to be the main point of the story. More accurately, I believe the romance between Heathcliff and Cathy was meant to be used as a device to show the divides socioeconomic status, class structures, and trauma can draw and emphasize between people. Their romance is significant, but it was surprisingly far less significant than I had expected it to be based on reviews I had read before reading. Personally, I found the themes of social division and generational cycles of abuse to be more prominent and powerful.
With that being said, I loved Wuthering Heights. It easily reached a top place in my list of favorite books. I love a good gothic classic full of melodrama and gloom, and this book absolutely delivered. It is messy and convoluted, there is little redemption for morally bankrupt characters, and the characters a reader might expect to find together by the end of the story never get there. Somehow, despite a man's life being dedicated to perpetuating abusive generational cycles, the story ends on a hopeful note (which I will not spoil here).
I also love the supernatural elements of the story, which are typically present in a gothic piece. There are ghost sightings, characters driven mad attempting to see said ghosts themselves, and to top it off, eerie torrents of rain thrashing against the windows. Brontë sets the tone of her novel beautifully. There was not a moment where I didn't feel like I knew what I would be getting into. The exposition is beautiful and the story is masterfully told. Emily Brontë's writing is so powerful, I swear I could feel just about every word. I cannot say it enough times, I loved this book!
For readers who appreciate a happy ending or who don't like a gloomy read where sad and upsetting things happen to the characters, this is likely not the read I'd recommend. I also would not recommend this book to readers who struggle with themes of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, as all of these elements are present. Admittedly, it can be a disturbing read for those who don't often delve into pieces that tackle similar themes.

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