Wuthering Heights
question
Anyone else find humor in Wuthering Heights
Michael
Jul 18, 2012 10:17PM
I noticed more on subsequent readings the humor that exists in the novel; usually buried amidst the passion and melancholia. On second read, I found many passages and actions of characters cracked me up. Certain parts may not have been intentional, but the frank and forwardness of the characters often made it funny. I'm not downplaying the serious themes of the novel, but I believe Emily also had a sense of humor about it as well.
Nelly's account of young Catherine's reaction to Heathcliff when he first appeared:
(Chapter 4)
Cathy, when she learned the master had lost her whip in attending on the stranger, showed her humor by grinning and spitting at the stupid little thing.
Nelly's description of Heathcliff to Mr. Lockwood:
(Chapter 4)
“Rough as a saw-edge, and hard as a whinstone! The less you meddle with him the better.”
Heathcliff's rebuff of Cathy:
((Chapter 27)
“Keep your eft’s fingers off; and move, or I’ll kick you!” cried Heathcliff, brutally repulsing her. “I’d rather be hugged by a snake. How the devil can you dream of fawning on me? I detest you!”
This part shows that Emily Brontë could pen humor and witty dialogue with the best of them, if she wanted to:
(Chapter 2)
Then it flashed upon me; “the clown at my elbow, who is drinking his tea out of a basin, and eating his bread with unwashed hands, may be her husband. Heathcliff junior, of course. Here is the consequence of being buried alive: she has thrown herself away upon that boor, from sheer ignorance that better individuals existed! A sad pity — I must beware how I cause her to regret her choice.”
The last reflection may seem conceited; it was not. My neighbor struck me as bordering on repulsive. I knew, through experience, that I was tolerably attractive.
“Mrs. Heathcliff is my daughter-in-law,” said Heathcliff, corroborating my surmise. He turned, as he spoke, a peculiar look in her direction, a look of hatred, unless he has a most perverse set of facial muscles that will not, like those of other people, interpret the language of his soul.
“Ah, certainly — I see now; you are the favoured possessor of the beneficent fairy,” I remarked, turning to my neighbor.
This was worse than before; the youth grew crimson, and clinched his fist, with every appearance of meditated assault. But he seemed to recollect himself, presently; and smothered the storm in a brutal curse, muttered on my behalf, which, however, I took care not to notice.
“Unhappy in your conjectures, sir!” observed my host; “we neither of us have the privilege of owning your good fairy; her mate is dead. I said she was my daughter-in-law, therefore, she must have married my son.”
“And this young man is—”
“Not my son, assuredly!”
Heathcliff smiled again, as if it were rather too bold a jest to attribute the paternity of that bear to him.
“My name is Hareton Earnshaw,” growled the other; “and I’d counsel you to respect it!”
“I’ve shown no disrespect,” was my reply, laughing internally at the dignity with which he announced himself.
He fixed his eye on me longer than I cared to return the stare, for fear I might be tempted either to box his ears, or render my hilarity audible.
Nelly's account of young Catherine's reaction to Heathcliff when he first appeared:
(Chapter 4)
Cathy, when she learned the master had lost her whip in attending on the stranger, showed her humor by grinning and spitting at the stupid little thing.
Nelly's description of Heathcliff to Mr. Lockwood:
(Chapter 4)
“Rough as a saw-edge, and hard as a whinstone! The less you meddle with him the better.”
Heathcliff's rebuff of Cathy:
((Chapter 27)
“Keep your eft’s fingers off; and move, or I’ll kick you!” cried Heathcliff, brutally repulsing her. “I’d rather be hugged by a snake. How the devil can you dream of fawning on me? I detest you!”
This part shows that Emily Brontë could pen humor and witty dialogue with the best of them, if she wanted to:
(Chapter 2)
Then it flashed upon me; “the clown at my elbow, who is drinking his tea out of a basin, and eating his bread with unwashed hands, may be her husband. Heathcliff junior, of course. Here is the consequence of being buried alive: she has thrown herself away upon that boor, from sheer ignorance that better individuals existed! A sad pity — I must beware how I cause her to regret her choice.”
The last reflection may seem conceited; it was not. My neighbor struck me as bordering on repulsive. I knew, through experience, that I was tolerably attractive.
“Mrs. Heathcliff is my daughter-in-law,” said Heathcliff, corroborating my surmise. He turned, as he spoke, a peculiar look in her direction, a look of hatred, unless he has a most perverse set of facial muscles that will not, like those of other people, interpret the language of his soul.
“Ah, certainly — I see now; you are the favoured possessor of the beneficent fairy,” I remarked, turning to my neighbor.
This was worse than before; the youth grew crimson, and clinched his fist, with every appearance of meditated assault. But he seemed to recollect himself, presently; and smothered the storm in a brutal curse, muttered on my behalf, which, however, I took care not to notice.
“Unhappy in your conjectures, sir!” observed my host; “we neither of us have the privilege of owning your good fairy; her mate is dead. I said she was my daughter-in-law, therefore, she must have married my son.”
“And this young man is—”
“Not my son, assuredly!”
Heathcliff smiled again, as if it were rather too bold a jest to attribute the paternity of that bear to him.
“My name is Hareton Earnshaw,” growled the other; “and I’d counsel you to respect it!”
“I’ve shown no disrespect,” was my reply, laughing internally at the dignity with which he announced himself.
He fixed his eye on me longer than I cared to return the stare, for fear I might be tempted either to box his ears, or render my hilarity audible.
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I read the entire thing as a black comedy, similar to Cruel Intentions or American Psycho :) .
You should read some of the books written by other authors about the Bronte sisters. I am currently reading The Three Brontes, by May Sinclair. It's not the best one I'm sure, as it is flowery and written in the typical 'fawning' manner of Victorian biographies. However, it does offer some insight into the personalities of these remarkable siblings. Unfortunately, there is less known about Emily than the rest of her family, except probably for Anne, since Charlotte and others burned all her letters and many other writings.
It paints the picture that Emily was the most free-spirited of the family and so she was probably quite silly when the mood struck her. She never had any desires to leave Haworth or fall in love and marry, or any of the things expected from the women of her time. She was content with her moors, her family, and God. She took almost everything in stride, even the deaths of family members. The only time she really fought back against life's plan was as she herself was in the last moments of death. (That could be a little exaggerated since it IS a Victorian book, after all.)
It amazes me that a young woman who never had or wanted any of the experiences of life, could write such a haunting, passionate and violent book. She transcended her physical self and tapped into a realm that most can only hope to understand half so well as Emily Bronte.
It paints the picture that Emily was the most free-spirited of the family and so she was probably quite silly when the mood struck her. She never had any desires to leave Haworth or fall in love and marry, or any of the things expected from the women of her time. She was content with her moors, her family, and God. She took almost everything in stride, even the deaths of family members. The only time she really fought back against life's plan was as she herself was in the last moments of death. (That could be a little exaggerated since it IS a Victorian book, after all.)
It amazes me that a young woman who never had or wanted any of the experiences of life, could write such a haunting, passionate and violent book. She transcended her physical self and tapped into a realm that most can only hope to understand half so well as Emily Bronte.
I have been listening to Wuthering Heights via Greatest Audio Books on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1GqB...
The different readers do a fab job and bring the story alive.
Chapters 1 & 2 are hysterically funny. For example, the hapless tenant, Lockwood, is set on by the dogs and he has to hold them off with a poker, much to Heathcliff's amusement.
On another visit, he is again attacked by the dogs, and to revive him, the housekeeper dumps icy water down his neck. And on his way home, he sinks up to his neck in snow!
My new favorite.
The different readers do a fab job and bring the story alive.
Chapters 1 & 2 are hysterically funny. For example, the hapless tenant, Lockwood, is set on by the dogs and he has to hold them off with a poker, much to Heathcliff's amusement.
On another visit, he is again attacked by the dogs, and to revive him, the housekeeper dumps icy water down his neck. And on his way home, he sinks up to his neck in snow!
My new favorite.
Mel Rhodes
I like how when the dogs are in a frenzy, and Lockwood calls out for aid, how he says, Mr. Heathcliff and his man climbed the cellar steps with vexati
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Agree with many others regarding Lockwood, the man was largely a buffoon. Petting what he thought were puppies but alas were dead rabbits.
‘Heathcliff smiled again, as if it were rather too bold a jest to attribute the paternity of that bear to him’
Yes! I would definitely find myself laughing out loud.
I think I also found it more funny, because you don't expect a classic novel written during this time to include a sense of humour.
The witty little comments caught me off guard, and I found myself cracking up :)
I think I also found it more funny, because you don't expect a classic novel written during this time to include a sense of humour.
The witty little comments caught me off guard, and I found myself cracking up :)
Agree with others. It was laugh out loud funny for the first few chapters. Weird considering the rest of the novel is so desperately dark and depressing! Maybe Bronte could have had a funny chapter, then a dark chapter, then another funny one and so forth. Would have only made the book more strange and enigmatic, and potentially cut down on the amount of prozac required for the subsequent recovery of the reader.
My brother and I were admiring this gem the other day:
"...But, with the help of Satan, I shall make you swallow the carving knife, Nelly! You needn't laugh, for I've just crammed Kenneth, head-downmost, in the Blackhorse marsh; and the two is the same as one - and I want to kill some of, I shall have no rest till I do!"
"But I don't like the carving knife, Mr Hindley," I answered; "it has been cutting red herrings - I'd rather be shot if you please."
"...But, with the help of Satan, I shall make you swallow the carving knife, Nelly! You needn't laugh, for I've just crammed Kenneth, head-downmost, in the Blackhorse marsh; and the two is the same as one - and I want to kill some of, I shall have no rest till I do!"
"But I don't like the carving knife, Mr Hindley," I answered; "it has been cutting red herrings - I'd rather be shot if you please."
I just finished Wuthering Heights. I got so into it (so sad the adventure is over) and while I was reading kept thinking this is not a romance it's a black comedy. I was laughing out loud at the onset. It's subsequent bleakness was really so darkly humorous. I think miss Bronte, if not aware of her skills wrote from her heart and her gut and was most definitely way ahead of her time.
I thought it was pretty funny when Lockwood kept coming to Wuthering Heights because he had a thing for Cathy. I never picked up on it at first, but when I realized that that was why he was so drawn to Wuthering Heights, I found it hilarious. Then again, my sense of humor is pretty strange.
I read the book once, last year during 10th grade. I don't recall any specific instances of humor, but I vaguely recollect there being some in the early years of Heathcliff's life and the Lockwood chapters.
I read the book once, last year during 10th grade. I don't recall any specific instances of humor, but I vaguely recollect there being some in the early years of Heathcliff's life and the Lockwood chapters.
‘Heathcliff smiled again, as if it were rather too bold a jest to attribute the paternity of that bear to him’
Poor innocent Lockwood making faces at the dog thus triggering the slow advance of some half dozen snarling curs upon him...
I thought certain stations were hilarious, particularly when Cathy had a screaming tantrum. Her husband was concerned until Nelly told him not to give her any notice and that she was acting spoiled.
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