Twentieth Century Interpretations of the Brontes: A Collection of Critical Essays

by Ian Gregor (Compiler)

Countless critics have tried to analyze the meaning and the haunting quality of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", one of the most popular and and widely read novels of the 19th century. "Much of what has been written on the book," the editor states, "tries to simplify is complexity by sizing only part of it, and claiming that part as the key which unlocks in some magic fashion all the mysteries and ambiguities of the text." Yet "any final view of the novel must be arrived at after immersion in the substance and complexities of the work itself; it must grow organically out of the experience of reading the work, and be related to it at every point." The essays in this collection reflect an interest in the novel's psychological philosophical depths, as well as an appreciation for its brilliance as a work of art. The diversified views of such eminent critics as Mark Schorer, Albert Guerard, V. S. Pritchett, and David Daiches give a better understanding of the significance of a work that

179 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1970