The Gothic Setting in Wuthering heights
After all this term』s learning on English literature , Wuthering height may be the most impressive novel to me . So I will discuss something special in this book , the gothic setting.
What is gothic setting ?
Gothic setting is one of the fiction genres which first begin at the middle of 19 century in England . Savage , mystery , terror , backward , dark , family curse , supernatural and suspense are the signal features of this kind of fiction genre . It mainly talks something about the dark side of society such as family hatred and succession race . The story in this style usually happens in remote place that far away from city .
What do we know about gothic setting in Wuthering heights ?
In fact , what impresses me most in this novel is the description of the environment . It is full of gothic setting . We can find that there is no sunshine in Wuthering heights all the year around , the haze and atmosphere there make people feel mystery and depressive . The weather is always changing according to the plot . When there is something badly happen , the environment will be influenced . For example, rain comes at once after Catherine』s betray . When it comes to Catherine』s death , it changes quickly and suddenly to heavy rain and strong wind . All in all , I think all this gothic setting is to show the feeling of writer .
The gothic setting in the book not only shows us the mystery of the environment , but also tells us the society stage and the different life style between different classes in that period . To Catherine , Heathcriff who belongs to the lower class represents spiritual love while Linton in the upper class represents material . She is in a dilemma to make a decision . On one hand , all of us know Catherine loves Heathcriff deeply . On the other hand , Linton can give her the life she expects , a rich and comfortable life and be respected by people . Material wins in the end .
What do we learn from this novel ?
True love or material , this is a question . In the novel , Catherine sacrifice her love to pursue a comfortable live . Actually material is usually the first choice I think when most of the women come to this decision . This was one of the hotest topic at 2010 after a women said on TV she would rather to cry in a BMW than to laugh on a bicycle . What she said liked a big stone thrown into a peaceful lake . Can money really replace love ? A lot of people argue on this question whether it is worthy of sacrificing on the Internet .
As far as I』am concerned , nothing can take the place of our love . Though material is necessary , too much money can not make people happier . It is ordinary for us to persue a better life . But do we really have to sacrifice our love ? Why can』t we make our life comfortable through our hands or with our lover . Maybe we will come to some trouble . But all these obstacles are just to make us stronger . Though the process is difficult , it maybe the most precious memory and our treasures after overcoming all this difficulties .