Protected: The Enchanted April Group Read – Week 2 Ch. 7-12
Protected: The Enchanted April Group Read – Quotes from the Book
Protected: The Enchanted April Group Read Week 1 – Ch. 1-6
Protected: Les Misérables Group Read 2021 – Introduction
It’s Almost Time for The Enchanted April Book Club/Group Read!
Spring is peeping it’s head out here in our area by giving us some warmer days here and there and more sunshine! I love when the days begin to show signs of spring arriving! And The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim is the perfect spring read! Set in the month of April, the author whisks us away to a beautiful villa in Italy…full of wisteria and sunshine.
In The Enchanted April, four women agree to share the expenses of renting an Italian villa for the month of April. Each of these women are having their own troubles at home and are anxious to get away. In the beginning, they don’t know each other; but by the end they’ve become good friends. This story takes a look at their lives and how this holiday helps them learn more about themselves, helps them grow personally, and helps them each find needed healing in their lives. It’s easy to be swept away to Italy in this novel; especially in the movie also, which gives you all the beautiful scenery on screen. It’s a perfect read for April; not just because of the title and that it takes place in April, but also because in nature April is a time of renewal and restoration in the beauty of spring. And like the renewal and restoration in nature during spring, the characters in this classic novel also find their own lives being renewed and restored.
We will read this book together in April and have a live video discussion at the end of the month on my Instagram page. So be sure to follow my Instagram account so you won’t miss out! My Instagram account is @karenluvstoread or you can simply click on one of my Instagram pictures over in the sidebar area of the blog here.
I have created a page for our group read that gives all the information, includes links for a free printable book discussion guide and free printable bookmarks, and will be the landing page for the book discussion posts I will put up here on the blog to give us the opportunity to discuss the book as we read it. You will need to sign up below to be able to access the group read page. (It’s free!) However, you don’t need to sign up to participate in the video discussion at the end of the month. Simply join in for the live discussion on my Instagram page at the date and time still to be determined. You can find the group read page on the menu bar at the top of the blog here or you can click HERE.
I’m looking forward to traveling to Italy with you through the pages of this book!
Sign up below to join The Enchanted April
Group Read.
2021 Book Clubs Here at The Simply Blog
I’ve hosted a couple of read-alongs here on my blog but they were both done kind of short notice because I had an interest and simply decided to put it out there. 🙂 I have been already thinking ahead for 2021 and have been planning a handful of book clubs. A traditional book club format is a little different than a read-along format. With the book club format, you have a time frame to read a book and then get together to discuss it at the end of that time frame. A read-along format has a schedule of what to read each week and you discuss the book as you go. I’ve chosen the book club format for these three novels and will explain how that will work in an upcoming post. 🙂
2020 was a hard year. And we are still dealing with the pandemic as we’ve started 2021. Reading can be a great comfort when times are tough. When we read, we can escape to other places and times and also the lives of the characters. For the first book club title, I thought it would be great to choose a book that has lots of atmosphere and can easily whisk the reader away to another place and other people’s lives. That book is The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim and I’ll be hosting the book club for this title in April.
In The Enchanted April, four women agree to share the expenses of renting an Italian villa for the month of April. Each of these women are having their own troubles at home and are anxious to get away. In the beginning, they don’t know each other; but by the end they’ve become good friends. This story takes a look at their lives and how this holiday helps them learn more about themselves, helps them grow personally, and helps them each find needed healing in their lives. It’s easy to be swept away to Italy in this novel; especially in the movie also, which gives you all the beautiful scenery on screen. It’s a perfect read for April; not just because of the title and that it takes place in April, but also because in nature April is a time of renewal and restoration in the beauty of spring. And like the renewal and restoration in nature during spring, the characters in this classic novel also find their own lives being renewed and restored.
During the summer, I thought it might be nice to read a non-fiction title that’s all about the power of books and reading. So in July, the book club title is The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma. I love this book and have read it a couple of times now! This book illustrates the power of reading aloud and the power of books in general. You’ll find yourself drawn into the author’s world; sometimes you’ll be laughing …and sometimes you’ll be in tears. I think it is the perfect pick for summer time!
And finally, for a classic gothic pick for September and October, we’ll read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I’ve talked in the past of my complicated relationship with Dickens’ works. Ha! It took me a bit to determine if I actually liked his works initially. But I’ve decided I do like his writing style overall. A Tale of Two Cities is my least favorite of all the ones I’ve read; Great Expectations is my favorite. In Great Expectations, I feel like the reader is grabbed from the very beginning in the very first chapter. From there, an intricate plot unfolds with some unexpected twists and turns. I am looking forward to reading this novel again and to read it with you all! Reading it over the course of September and October means we can read a chapter a day if you like that pace.
2021 Read-Alongs Here at The Simply Blog
April – The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
July – The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma
September & October – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Interested in joining me in reading these three great books this year? I’d love to have you join in! Make sure you subscribe to my blog here so you won’t miss any posts for the book clubs this year. And I’m also on Instagram now so you can check that out in my sidebar and keep updated there as well. 🙂 Speaking of Instagram, I’ve posted a few pictures of my 2020 reading journal there if you want to check that out. I am still hoping to do a reading journal post here on the blog soon as well. 🙂
And due to a library book coming in and a couple of other titles I need to read, I haven’t been able to start Anna Karenina yet. I plan to start reading it in the next few days hopefully. So if anyone is inclined to tackle this Russian classic with me, let me know in the comments. I’d love to read it with other people!
What a Year It’s Been! Plus Anyone Up for Reading Anna Karenina?
2020 has been quite a year, hasn’t it? I think most people are ready to say goodbye to it and welcome in a new year. It’s not been easy. That’s for sure. My own family was quarantined and wasn’t able to spend Christmas with our family. My husband got covid somehow and ended up in the ER twice in a week because of it. Thankfully, he is on the mend and is doing much better. I, myself, exhibited mild symptoms; but I’m doing okay. So our Christmas shaped up to be nothing at all like we expected.
But you know, despite it all, we still have so much to be thankful for. I’m thankful for waking up on Christmas Day with snow on the ground outside. We got to have a white Christmas this year! The first in many years.
I’m thankful for friends who offered to bring us home-cooked meals on days when I just didn’t feel up to cooking. They were able to drop it off outside with no contact. I simply went out and got it after they left. It was so nice to have some healthy home cooked food when I didn’t feel up to making dinner.
I’m thankful for books and the reading community. First, books. Ernest Hemingway said, “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” Books are my friends (and yes, in case you are wondering, I do have people friends too. LOL). During our time of quarantine, I had a few days where my concentration wasn’t the best because I didn’t feel the best. But it didn’t take long before I was right back at it with reading. I dove into a YA fantasy book that proved to be interesting and a little bit odd.
I also love my reading journal. On those days when I couldn’t concentrate well, I worked on wrapping up my 2020 reading journal and started prepping my 2021 reading journal. There should be a post up and coming soon on that. 🙂
Second, the reading community. I love having people to talk to about books. I’m a reader, we know that. And I’m going to read whether I have someone to talk to about books or not. But I love it when I can chat about books. And I love to read in community. My love of reading with other people is why I often want to join in lots of read-alongs and book clubs. And often I can be a bit over ambitious in those endeavors. LOL
And speaking of reading in community, anyone up for reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy? I hear it is a good pick for winter time so I’m planning to give it a go in January. I’d love to read it with others though! Anyone interested? Let me know in the comments.
Do you have any reading plans lined up for 2021?
Wuthering Heights Read-Along – Wrap-up Discussion Post
Bookish Moment
While I’ve been reading Wuthering Heights, I have also been reading The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I love the Twilight movies but have yet to read the books. So for October, I decided to read through the series. During this last section of reading for Wuthering Heights, I was in book 3 of the the Twilight series called Eclipse and the characters Edward and Bella are discussing Wuthering Heights. Here is part of their conversation:
“‘Photographic memory or not, I don’t understand why you like it. The characters are ghastly people who ruin each others’ lives. I don’t know how Heathcliff and Cathy ended up being ranked with couples like Romeo and Juliet or Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. It isn’t a love story, it’s a hate story.’” (p. 28)
And then later in their conversation, there’s this:
“His face was thoughtful as he considered my words. After a moment he smiled a teasing smile. ‘I still think it would be a better story if either of them had one redeeming quality.’
‘I think that may be the point,’ I disagreed. ‘Their love is their only redeeming quality.'” (p. 29)
Just curious, what do you think about this point of redemption? Do you think their love is their only redeeming quality?
Edward says he doesn’t know how Heathcliff and Catherine got ranked with couples such as Romeo and Juliet. Consider a comparison of these two couples. Romeo and Juliet were kept apart by family and the society of their time. On the other hand, Heathcliff and Catherine were, by and large, the ones that kept themselves apart from one another.
Wrap-Up Discussion
All the questions below are taken from the discussion guide I provided at the beginning of the read-along. You can find the link to download the free discussion guide HERE.
- Who is the main narrator of the story and what are the advantages/disadvantages of this point of view for the reader?
The main narrator of the story is Nelly. Lockwood is the other narrator but I would consider him a secondary narrator since Nelly does the bulk of narrating. Nelly narrating the story is an advantage because she is an eye witness to a lot of what she talks about. However, having a narrator means you are likely getting the story from his/her perspective. Is Nelly then an unreliable narrator? Likely. Could the story have had a different take if it had been told from a different character’s perspective? Very likely.
2. What can be observed about Heathcliff and Catherine at the beginning of the novel that might give the reader insight into these characters later in the story (characteristics, actions, responses, etc.)?
If you notice, their relationship started out antagonistic when Catherine’s father brought Heathcliff home. But then Catherine and Heathcliff began to grow closer to one another. How would you consider their love? Do you think it was more obsessive than anything?
3. Emily Brontë did an excellent job creating unlikable characters. Were these characters completely unlikable or did any have at least one redeeming moment at some point in the novel?
Brontë created some complex characters. Even though Heathcliff is definitely our gothic villain, we feel sorry for him at least in the beginning when we see how he was treated as a child (this is why he is technically a gothic hero-villain). When I think about a character that definitely had unlikeable moments but also likeable times, I think of Little Cathy. She took care of Linton. She was mean to Hareton which were definitely moments that made her very unlikeable. But towards the end we see her being likeable again and see a redeeming moment here:
“Then she comprehended that Earnshaw took the master’s reputation home to himself; and was attached by ties stronger than reason could break – chains, forged by habit, which it would be cruel to attempt to loosen. She showed a good heart, thenceforth, in avoiding both complaints and expressions of antipathy concerning Heathcliff; and confessed to me her sorrow that she had endeavoured to raise a bad spirit between him and Hareton; indeed I don’t believe she has ever breathed a syllable, in the latter’s hearing, against her oppressor since.”
4. Wuthering Heights is often described as a love story. Do you agree or disagree and why?
When I read this novel for the first time, I didn’t see this as a classic love story. I saw it as a story about obsessive love. As I read it this second time, I did see a glimpse of more of the classic love story, but still think by and large it’s about obsessive love. I’m curious to hear what you think!
5. Do you think Wuthering Heights as a place has a strong presence in the novel?
I think Wuthering Heights has a very strong presence in the novel. It’s very much like Manderley in the novel Rebecca. What do you think? And along those same lines, what about the presence of Thrushcross Grange?
Please share your thoughts on the questions and the novel in general in the comments.
Important Notice about Great Expectations Read-Along
I have been looking forward to reading Great Expectations with others as part of our Fall Classic Gothic Literature Read-Along. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, I need to cancel the read-along. I hope to be able to still host a read-along for this Dickens novel at some point. If there is still interest in reading this together, let’s discuss a future date that might work. Let me know in the comments. Thanks for understanding!
Wuthering Heights Read-Along – Week 4, Chapters 26-34
Ch. 26
Cathy and Linton meet up. However, Linton seems like it’s more of a chore or responsibility to meet with her. He seems as if he has gotten worse instead of better. Nelly described him as having a lack of interest in the topics of conversation, not being able to contribute to entertaining Cathy, and an overall sense of apathy. Cathy was disappointed and frustrated. But Nelly said Cathy’s displeasure “softened into a perplexed sensation of pity and regret, largely blended with vague, uneasy doubts about Linton’s actual circumstances, physical and social…” (p. 252) Nelly encouraged a second visit before saying much because a second visit with Linton might help them judge the scenario better.
Ch. 27
Cathy and Linton’s next meeting was once again a tumultuous one. Linton had expressed in both meetings how he feared his father. During this meeting, Heathcliff showed up. Heathcliff was harsh with Linton. Linton begged Cathy to not leave him. In the end, Cathy and Nelly went with Linton and Heathcliff back to Wuthering Heights. When they got there, Heathcliff bolted the door and that startled Nelly. Cathy made it clear to Heathcliff that she was not afraid of him. She insisted that her and Nelly would be leaving. A bout of violence occurred between Cathy and Heathcliff. Nelly sprung on Heathcliff and then about fainted away. It was all over in a matter of minutes. Heathcliff left to get their horses and Nelly saw it as a potential opportunity to escape; but they could find no way to get out.
They discover from Linton what Heathcliff was planning. He was planning that Cathy and Linton would be married in the morning. And as long as they did as Heathcliff wished, they would be allowed to return home the next day with Linton with them. I have to stop here and wonder – did Linton purposely put on an act before in order to get Cathy and Nelly to Wuthering Heights – whether for his own purpose or out of fear of Heathcliff?
Heathcliff returned. He claimed that their horses had “trotted off”. (p. 261) No amount of pleading on Cathy’s part to return home or at least let Nelly return home worked. In the end, they could not get out and had to stay the night. Heathcliff came and got Cathy the next morning, shutting Nelly back up in the room when they left. Heathcliff kept Nelly locked up in that room for five nights and four days. During that time she only saw Hareton once in the mornings when he brought her food for the day. About Hareton she said, “…he was a model of a jailor: surly, and dumb, and deaf to every attempt at moving his sense of justice or compassion.” (p. 264)’
Ch. 28
Zillah returned and went to Nelly. She told her the tale that was being told around the village which was that Nelly had been lost in a marsh, had been found, and Heathcliff let her stay at Wuthering Heights. Nelly was released. She went downstairs, looking for Catherine, but only found Linton. He said Cathy was upstairs, that they were married, and he spoke harshly about Cathy and had been treating her terribly. He had taken his father’s side and believed the things he said.
Nelly went back to the Grange to get help. Edgar said he needed to change his will so that Cathy’s fortune would be left in the care of trustees so she and/or her children would have access to it. Nelly sent for the lawyer. A little later, Cathy showed up at the Grange. She made it in time. She went in to see her father and shortly after he died peacefully.
The lawyer did not make it in time before Edgar died. Nelly said that the lawyer “sold himself to Mr. Heathcliff: that was the cause of his delay in obeying my master’s summons.” (p. 271) Linton ended up helping Cathy escape from Wuthering Heights; but he suffered the consequences for helping her.
Ch. 29
On the evening of the funeral, Heathcliff came to the Grange and demanded Cathy return to Wuthering Heights. Nelly suggested that Cathy stay at the Grange and Linton come to her; but Heathcliff would have none of that. He had plans to rent it out. Cathy said she would go. Heathcliff talked about the bad nature of Linton and Cathy was bold in talking back to him. She said:
“‘I know he has a bad nature,’ said Catherine: ‘he’s your son. But I’m glad I’ve a better, to forgive it; and I know he loves me, and for that reason I love him. Mr. Heathcliff, you have nobody to love you; and, however miserable you make us, we shall still have the revenge of thinking that your cruelty arises from your greater misery. You are miserable, are you not? Lonely, like the devil, and envious like him? Nobody loves you – nobody will cry for you when you die! I wouldn’t be you!’” (p. 274)
Nelly requested that she and Zillah switch places so that she could be at Wuthering Heights with Cathy; but Heathcliff refused. He saw a portrait of Catherine and said it was to be moved to Wuthering Heights. Then he talked to Nelly and told her how the night before he had the sexton uncover Catherine’s grave. He said how her face looked as it did eighteen years ago. We might find this hard to believe. But actually, I read that the peat in the soil around Haworth had kind of an embalming effect. If you go back to Chapter 3, Lockwood actually makes mention of this when talking about a chapel:
“We came to the chapel. I have passed it really in my walks, twice or thrice; it lies in a hollow, between two hills; an elevated hollow, near a swamp, whose peaty moisture is said to answer all the purposes of embalming on the few corpses deposited there.” (p. 23)
Heathcliff told the sexton to bury his body next to hers whenever he dies. Nelly was appalled at this and questioned how he wasn’t concerned for disturbing the dead. He went on to tell her of how Catherine has been haunting him now for eighteen years. He also told her of how the evening of the day she was buried, he went and dug up Catherine’s coffin. But while he was trying to get the screws out, he felt her presence. It comforted him, yet tortured him. And ever since, he felt that he could almost see her but just not quite. After he finished talking, he and Cathy left.
Ch. 30
Nelly paid a visit to Wuthering Heights but Joseph wouldn’t let her see Cathy. She found out through Zillah that Cathy was in complete charge of taking care of Linton. Heathcliff didn’t care whether Linton lived or died. One night, Cathy went to Zillah and told her Linton was dying. Finally Heathcliff came in to the room, but Linton was already dead.
Cathy was ill. She stayed in her room for two weeks. Heathcliff informed her that Linton left everything to him.
“He had bequeathed the whole of his, and what had been her, moveable property, to his father: the poor creature was threatened, or coaxed, into that act during her week’s absence, when his uncle died….Catherine, destitute of cash and friends, cannot disturb his possession.” (p. 280-281)
Zillah told Nelly that one day when Heathcliff was gone, Cathy came downstairs. She was very cold and not nice at all. She had become the unfriendly person that Lockwood met that day when he visited Wuthering Heights.
Nelly wanted to get a cottage and have Cathy live with her; but she remarked that Heathcliff would not allow that. So she could see no solution except that Cathy could marry again. However, Nelly was in no position to try to bring that about. And that’s where Nelly ended her story.
Lockwood narrates again at this point and says that he is recovering well. He says that he plans to go to Wuthering Heights and tell Heathcliff that he will be going to London for about six months; therefore, Heathcliff can look for another tenant for Thrushcross Grange. He was not about to spend another winter there.
Ch. 31
Lockwood is narrating now. He went to Wuthering Heights. Cathy was unfriendly as before. Nelly had sent a letter with Lockwood for Cathy. Lockwood tried to slip the note to her in a way that Hareton wouldn’t notice; but she questioned what it was. Hareton swooped in, picked up the letter, and put it in his pocket. But he softened about it and threw it on the floor at Cathy. She read it. She and Hareton talked back and forth about books and learning. Cathy made fun at Hareton’s attempt at learning to read and it provoked him. He put some books in her lap but she continued to mock him. He slapped her, threw the books into the fire, and left.
When Hareton was leaving, Heathcliff walked in. Cathy had seen him through the window approaching and ran out to the kitchen; so Lockwood was left alone when Heathcliff came in. Lockwood explained that he would not be staying at the Grange. Heathcliff said he would still be responsible for payment for the remaining months of his contract with him to which Lockwood said he would pay it. Heathcliff invited him to stay for dinner – which he did. But he said it was a cheerless meal. Heathcliff had banished Cathy to the kitchen to eat her meal with Joseph.
When Lockwood left, he ruminated about what things were like there at Wuthering Heights. The chapter ends with him commenting, “‘What a realisation of something more romantic than a fairy tale it would have been for Mrs. Linton Heathcliff, had she and I struck up an attachment, as her good nurse desired, and migrated together into the stirring atmosphere of the town!’” (p. 290)
Ch. 32
The chapter starts with the familiar mark of time we saw in the very first chapter. 1802. Lockwood had returned to the area and decided to lodge at Thrushcross Grange. When he arrived there, Nelly was no longer there. The new person there said Nelly had gone to Wuthering Heights. He ventured to Wuthering Heights and as he approached, through one of the windows he heard and saw a young man trying to read and a young lady who looked like she was teaching him. When he did well, she rewarded him with kisses and he returned the kisses. He knew it was Hareton and thus didn’t want to be seen. He went around to the kitchen and there he saw Nelly.
Nelly recognized him and seemed glad to see him. He told her he wanted to settle his rent payments with Heathcliff but she told him Heathcliff had died about three months back. He was shocked and asked her to tell what happened.
Nelly shared how a couple of weeks after Lockwood left, Heathcliff summoned her to Wuthering Heights. She went. She was happy to see Cathy but Cathy’s personality had changed some. Then she shared about a whole interchange between Cathy and Hareton that resulted in them finally becoming friends.
Ch. 33
One day, Nelly found Cathy and Hareton planting a garden in the middle of Joseph’s currant bushes. She warned them that he would be mad about that. Sure enough, later when they were all eating, Joseph came in and went on about what they’d done. Hareton said he had dug some of the bushes up but was planning to re-plant them. However, Cathy said that it was all her idea. She and Heathcliff argued. Heathcliff got mad and told Hareton to throw Cathy out of the room. Hareton quietly tried to convince Cathy to leave. Heathcliff ended up grabbing Cathy by the hair but finally released her and told all of them to go. They all left and Heathcliff was left alone until dinner. During dinner, they were all there but Heathcliff did not say anything. Afterwards, he left and intimated that he would not be back until evening.
Later, Hareton and Cathy were talking and Hareton asked Cathy not to speak ill of Heathcliff. We see a change in Cathy here.
“Then she comprehended that Earnshaw took the master’s reputation home to himself; and was attached by ties stronger than reason could break – chains, forged by habit, which it would be cruel to attempt to loosen. She showed a good heart, thenceforth, in avoiding both complaints and expressions of antipathy concerning Heathcliff; and confessed to me her sorrow that she had endeavoured to raise a bad spirit between him and Hareton; indeed I don’t believe she has ever breathed a syllable, in the latter’s hearing, against her oppressor since.” (p. 307)
Heathcliff noticed the resemblances of Catherine in both Cathy and Hareton. He talked to Nelly about how he hardly even took interest in daily life anymore. Nelly questioned if he was ill but realized that wasn’t the case. As he went on about how Catherine haunted him in different ways, he showed why he felt the way he did about Hareton:
“…‘In the first place, his startling likeness to Catherine connected him fearfully with her…Hareton’s aspect was the ghost of my immortal love; of my wild endeavours to hold my right; my degradation, my pride, my happiness, and my anguish – But it is frenzy to repeat these thoughts to you: only it will let you know why, with a reluctance to be always alone, his society is no benefit; rather an aggravation of the constant torment I suffer…’” (p. 309-310)
When you really think about how Heathcliff sees Catherine in everything like that, maybe this is Brontë’s way of describing a haunting. Which, by the way, fits the characteristics of gothic literature. Heathcliff may not be haunted by an actual ghost that he sees; but he is haunted by Catherine in his mind. To him, she’s everywhere he turns. This gives the scenario more a feeling of madness than an actual scary, eerie feel. Nelly even comments:
“He began to pace the room, muttering terrible things to himself, till I was inclined to believe, as he said Joseph did, that conscience had turned his heart to an earthly hell. I wondered greatly how it would end. Though he seldom before had revealed this state of mind, even by looks, it was his habitual mood, I had no doubt…” (p. 310-311)
Ch. 34
Heathcliff began roaming outside at night and ate very little. Cathy came across him at one point and described him as being excited and wild. What was going on with Heathcliff? Nelly wondered this very thing. When she questioned him, he told her he was “‘…within sight of my heaven. I have my eyes on it: hardly three feet to sever me!…’” (p. 314) One wonders from this statement what Heathcliff was up to.
Heathcliff began acting more and more strange and uttering things to himself.
“I distinguished Mr. Heathcliff’s step, restlessly measuring the floor, and he frequently broke the silence by a deep inspiration, resembling a groan. He muttered detached words also; the only one I could catch was the name of Catherine, coupled with some wild term of endearment or suffering; and spoken as one would speak to a person present…” (p. 317)
Heathcliff seemed to decline more and more and it appeared he was sinking into a madness of sorts. Then one morning, Nelly was taking her walk outside and noticed Heathcliff’s window open and the rain pouring into the room. She went to see if Heathcliff was in his room and she found him there dead.
They buried Heathcliff as he had requested. Nelly commented that tales would be heard that Heathcliff would be seen about the church and the moors and even at the Heights. It was said that even two could be seen sometimes. Nelly didn’t want to believe it until one time, she came across a boy tending some sheep. The sheep wouldn’t budge and Nelly asked what was the matter. The little boy said he saw Heathcliff and a woman ahead and wouldn’t dare pass. After that, Nelly didn’t like to be alone in Wuthering Heights.
As the novel comes to a close, we learn that Cathy and Hareton were engaged and that Joseph would remain to tend to Wuthering Heights. As Lockwood walked home, he noticed the bad state of disrepair the church was in. He also noticed the graves of Edgar, Catherine, and Heathcliff.
“I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.” (p. 323)
*********************
And that concludes our reading of Wuthering Heights. I will post a wrap-up discussion post for the whole book tomorrow as well as share a bookish moment I had that relates to our novel.
Today, let’s consider: How are the relationships between Catherine and Heathcliff and Cathy and Hareton similar and/or different?
