This guest entry from CarrieS is in honor of Charlotte Bronte's birthday, which was last weekend, 21 April.
OK, Bitches, this is it. In honor of Charlotte Brontë's birthday (April 21, 1816), it's time to fulfill my long-time goal of establishing what I believe may be a universal truth:
You cannot passionately, deeply, own-multiple-copies-of, take-to-a-desert-island-as-your-one-book, love both Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Love one, hate the other. That's the deal. You may appreciate the quality of the writing in both books and their historical significance, but on a visceral level you will love only one.
How have I come to this conclusion? Well, to start with, I currently own at least three copies of Jane Eyre, one of which is wrapped in plastic and stored with my earthquake survival kit (along with a copy of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, in case you're wondering.). Jane is my role model, my friend, my faithful companion and guiding light. On the other hand, I've read Wuthering Heights three times out of a perverse sense of duty to Literature, and I can't stand that whiny, nasty Catherine with her tantrums or Heathcliff, also known as the king of collateral damages. I have also noticed that when I sell books at our Library's Annual Jane Austen Tea (check it out if you live in Sacramento, CA) people mention liking either Wuthering or Jane, but not both. This is scanty evidence towards my theory, so I turn to the Bitches to expand my sample size. Prove me wrong, so we Brontë fans may live in harmony!
Jane and Wuthering are both gothic novels, set in England, written by sisters Charlotte and Emily, respectively. But despite the shared atmosphere and setting of the books, they could not be more different. Jane is a romance novel (best one ever, says me). Not only does it provide an HEA, it provides an HEA that is complex and earned. Jane (the character) goes through many challenging circumstances but she never loses her sense of who she is – a human being worthy of respect. She holds to this sense of self as an abused child, as a shy young woman with a painful crush, as a vagrant and dependent, and ultimately as a woman of means, a wife, and a mother. Her relationship with Rochester is ultimately defined by mutual respect, affection, and love. Until he respects her autonomy, no amount of him swooning over her can win the day. Even when she is most powerless, or when she is at her most romantically passionate, she holds to saying, “”I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will.”
In contrast, Wuthering Heights is all about people who are so obsessed with each other that they have no sense of self as individuals. Catherine famously says, “Nelly, I am Heathcliff!” Heathcliff says of Cathy, “I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” Wuthering Heights is not a book I enjoy, but the fact that I loathe it on a visceral level is not actually a criticism of its fine (if somewhat hyperactive) use of language. If anything, the fact that it inspires such passionate dislike is almost as much of a complement as the fact that I so passionately adore Jane Eyre. A book that inspires deep feeling must hit a nerve and must strike something in the imagination. Lord knows I can't stand the book, but it certainly is packed full with vivid atmosphere, gothic psychological horror, desperate passion and, in Heathcliff, the ultimate Byronic Asshat Hero. It doesn't get broodier than Heathcliff, and emotions don't get any more raw than his do. If your thing is tragic people wandering the moors wailing in heartbroken anguish and concocting terrible vengeances in gloomy halls, while swept away with consuming passion and being mean to each other and every one around them, then it doesn't get better than this.
As a long-time defender of Jane Eyre, I'm always having to remind people that the point of the book isn't that the poor governess gets the rich guy to marry her. I hate Wuthering Heights because the characters are universally loathsome with the exception of a few who are simply spineless, and yet I'm constantly hearing about their great love. I'm thinking maybe I (and, ironically, many of Wuthering's admirers) am missing the point – maybe the whole point of Wuthering Heights is not to glorify the Catherine/Heathcliff relationship, but rather to point out the destructive quality of romantic obsession (in addition to, and arguably as a result of, generations of abuse).
So tell me, everyone, if you are a huge devotee of either or both of these novels. Is there room in the human heart for both, or, they say in the movies, can there be only one? I am desperately curious as to whether my theory is true. Happy [belated] birthday, Charlotte, and thanks for providing me with a character who has reminded me to stay true to myself from the day we, two ten-year old girls who liked to hide away from the world and read, became best friends.
Interesting. I hate Vilette with a fiery passion. To me, that book was work. And the non-ending? Could not believe my eyes.
I have also read Wuthering Heights 3 times. The latest re-read having happened this fall. I did it publicly with two friends who happen to be avid Heathcliff lovers. I thought maybe given the time and space away from forced readings and classroom discussions I may enjoy the book for it’s pleasure value…NOPE. They’re all batshit-cray-cray and deserve to wander amongst the moors forever. You start to think maybe you’re the one going a bit crazy (for not getting it) until that nurse or maid or servant – the woman who is not Nelly – straight up tells them all they’re crazy. Only supporting my point that they’re crazy.
Not. A. Fan. lol
I have 2 copies of Jane Eyre and 3 of Wuthering Heights. I loved JE first but love WH the best. The romance of JE and Orson Welles is a fabulous Rochester. But the different narratives of WH, and the fact that the story is told through biased eyes and so we never get a true telling. Most of the characters are vile or simply weak, and I like the story more for it, that it isn’t just rooting for the couple. It is a story of obsession and as much about revenge as it is about love. Weirdly the person I hate the most is Nellie.
Both and neither? I have read Jane once and Wuthering three times (mostly for English Major classes…) and although as literature they are fine examples, as reading for entertainment, not so much. I don’t see Jane as strong so much as she is enduring. She made it work with Rochester just by the simple fact she stuck it out.
I much prefer Tess of the Durbervilles by Thomas Hardy, or to go all Regency on you, any one of Austen’s heroines (excpet Fanny Price, that girl needs a spine. Yet another enduring heroine who is seen as strong.)
Kate Bush released a song about Wuthering Heights – says it all <3
I absolutely LOVE both of them. I first read WH in the 7th grade and JE not long after. Every time I re-read them, they affect me differently and mean different things, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop learning from either fantastic book
I hated both of them with a fiery passion that burns in my soul to this day.
That said, you’ve inspired me to reread Jane Eyre. The 8th graders at my school read it every year and I have to bite my tongue to keep from blasting Jane and Rochester. I’m hoping it reads better now that I am 40…
Totally disagee. I love both books. Read them both as an young teen. When I was young, the preference was Jane Eyre. But as I grew older, I enjoyed Wuthering Heights more and more. It is about pride, selfishness, cruelty, hate, and love.
I disagree, too! love, love, love both books. They aren’t books to be compared, but to be separately appreciate. Yes, written by sisters, but entirely different books. WH so full of angst, unfulfilled passion, and wonderful prose. And JE, the original, tautly written, HEA. Love love love them!
No vote from me. I love both novels. Both are complex and problematic, and both make me cry. But I love Anne’s books, too; I’m in the Acton Bell fan club.
For spin-offs/tributes, I vote for Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontës by Jude Morgan—I read it in Yorkshire two summers ago, “on site” as it were. It made my next rereading of the novels richer. And in music, “Wuthering Heights” by the fabulous Kate Bush.
I have read Jane Eyre many times but have only (barely) managed to get through Wuthering Heights once, more because I thought I *should* read it than for any other reason.
I own multiple copies of Jane Eyre, it is my favorite novel and I adore it. And yes, I do loathe Wuthering Heights. Catherine is insufferable, Heathcliff is abusive and the whole novel has vaguely incesty overtones.
I loved this post, but have to say I disagree that you can’t love both. I would agree that it’s not often that people enjoy both. Typically most people like one or the other.
I actually adore both novels tremendously! That being said, I love them for different reasons, and I do understand why people often love one and hate the other. WH isn’t for everyone, nor is JE. But for me, they are just two entirely different books and entirely different in tone that appeal to different sides of my soul. I relate to Jane, being small and plain and determined, like myself, but the dark turmoil and violence of WH appeals to the more passionate, darker side of me.
I own several copies of each novel – One copy of each for reading and writing in, one copy of each from the Easton Press, leather bound with gold edging for looking beautiful on the bookshelf, and then a two volume version of JE with “Bell” on the cover from a year after the first publication. I am always on the lookout for one such one for WH, but have not yet tracked one down. One of these days!!!
I own every version of JE and WH on DVD. When the last version of JE came out on DVD in 2011, I watched all of them in a single day,which means I had to stay up all night. I have not done this for WH yet, I’ve not gotten the latest version on DVD. But the watch-a-thon will absolutely commence once I obtain it.
I say all of this just to prove that, yes…I really, really, really like both novels. A LOT. I feel like I am equally obsessed with both of them.
I went to the Bronte parsonage three weeks ago and was overwhelmed to be under the very roof where two (three?) literary geniuses lived and wrote two novels that I love so much.
I think many of the people here underestimate Emily’s influence upon her sisters. Emily was the one who wrote the first great novel amongst them. Remember that Charlotte sent manuscripts of Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey and The Professor to various publishers in 1846, before they accepted Agnes Grey and Wuthering Heights for publication, whilst refusing The Professor.
Out of the three novels, it’s kinda obvious Emily was far beyond her sisters in terms of depth, experimentation and imagination. Imagine even their reactions when they read Wuthering Heights!
But to both Charlotte and Anne’s credit; Jane Eyre and Tenant of Wildfell Hall were written. Jane Eyre caught on and was published quickly, before Wuthering Heights, making Charlotte into a literacy sensation. Rightfully so, because JE is a timeless novel, but would she have written Jane Eyre if Emily hadn’t written Wuthering Heights? I don’t think she would have been as inspired to produce something as timeless as Jane Eyre if it wasn’t for Emily. Emily set the bar, the others were inspired to follow.
And don’t forget The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, it’s written almost like a reaction to Wuthering Heights….minus the melodrama and romantism. Anne went for a more realist and moralistic tone, but again, would she have composed something as bold and raw as The Tenant if Emily had not written Wuthering Heights?
Emily had balls, she had a fiery artistic soul. Technically speaking, she wasn’t quite up there with Dickens or even her sister Charlotte, but then, Emily did only produce a single novel. She didn’t have time to harness her craft or take it to new heights (no pun intended). But man, what a legacy to leave just from one novel. Give the woman her dues.
You are absolutely correct. I LOVE Jane Eyre and HATE Wuthering Heights. I’ve always thought Catherine and Heathcliff deserved each other… the miserable fools. Thanks for pointing out this fun either/or scenario. I plan to steal the theory. Love it!
So funny about the copy of Jane Eyre in your earthquake survival kit—I have my beloved paperback in a plastic baggie in my running-to-the-basement-for-tornado box.
I’m Jane all the way. What it has is one of the best literary reveals, ever. A few summers ago, a young teenage neighbor read it for the first time. Unlike me on my virgin read, she’d never seen a film version so she had no idea about the plot. Her mother told me the girl came downstairs, clutching the book and weeping, “He’s married!” I wish I’d had that emotional moment of discovery.
I use Jane Eyre a lot when teaching about secrets. In short, the crazy woman in the attic is a secret. The crazy WIFE in the attic is an Epic Secret.
But, Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Brönte, not Charlotte.
I adore Jane Eyre so much, I first read it when I was about 15 and was on a bit of a gothic novel angsty overload reading Northanger Abbey, Rebecca and Jamaica Inn over and over again!
I have read Jane Eyre many times since and I still love it as much as before. I cannot get through Wuthering Heights (used to drive back over a moor in the north of England on a vespa from a holiday job and used to get slightly terrified of a hand coming out of the mist after my mother persuaded me to watch the film version with Ralph Fiennes in?) and find it the most self distructive and depressing of novels, similar to Tess of the D’urbevilles in f’cked upness!
I also love Tenant of Wildfell Hall which I have read many times, that said I can remember the filming of the BBC version of it near where I grew up so it always seems very visual to me!
“If your thing is tragic people wandering the moors wailing in heartbroken anguish and concocting terrible vengeances in gloomy halls, while swept away with consuming passion and being mean to each other and every one around them, then it doesn’t get better than this.” – what a wonderful summary of Wuthering Heights; I was giggling for minutes about that. (My throat is too sore for laughter right now.)
And still I don’t entirely agree. Jane Eyre as the independent young woman who keeps to her notions of who she is and what is right – yes. The trouble is, Rochester doesn’t work as a romantic hero for me. You probably noticed that he has parallels to Heathcliff – he’s distainful towards those around him and even makes disparaging remarks about his ward/daugther in her presence, which is plain cruel. He takes three different lovers and likes to tell himself that the daughter of one of them can’t be his, keeping Adele in a sort of limbo with no-one she truly, securely belongs to. (For that matter, the whole “french = tart”, “german = boring and slow”, “english = perfect in every way” grates a bit.) He gets hit with the “punished by fate” stick, but still… it’s a bit too “my redemption is pasted on” for me.
For that matter (and I’m not the first one to point this out), the plot gets awfully contrived now and then, what with Jane ending up near-dead in front of the door of her long-lost cousins when she could just as easily have ended up in a village a hundred miles off, depending on where the coach she got on board ended up. (And didn’t Rochester give her the wages she had earned so far when she went to visit her dying aunt?)
On the other hand: Wuthering Heights. Yep, it’s a study in self-destructive behavior. But still I like it, maybe because it seems more honest than Jane Eyre in that some conflicts can’t be healed, that Catherine can’t cling on to a single, simple truth of who she is, because she is, in a way, both the lover of Heathcliff and, being raised with him, his sister, as well as (in the eyes of her own world) too different from him to marry him. And constant humiliation and attacks don’t make Heathcliff noble and virtuous, they make him resentful and looking for a satisfaction he can’t ever find.
You said the story might be a warning against romantic love; I think it reads best as such (or as a warning against not controlling one’s own impulses and emotions).
I liked the ending best, the short and mostly hinted-at romance between Cathy and Hareton. That always felt like a believable happy ending and a sign of resilience to me: those two at least not carrying on their parent’s old grudges.
To solve the “Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre” question?
Jane Austen is the fairest of them all. 😉
Julia makes a good point, and I think that’s what seperates Emily and Charlotte as writers. Jane Eyre is quite contrived in parts, whereas Wuthering Heights reads like something Emily truly believed in. You are absorbed you into that world without an invitation. It becomes ugly, yet you want to explore further. The characters are crazy, and remain true to that spirit throughout.
Happiness comes in glimpses at the end with Hareton and Cathy. However, I think Emily was wise in ending the novel at that moment, and not milking the romance to become a happy sappy ending. It wouldn’t have fit into the world of Wuthering Heights. By hinting at a happy union between Harreton and Cathy, it leaves anything open to suggestion.
I notice many people say the only good thing they got from the novel was Hareton and Cathy’s eventuating relationship. But to me, a perfect romance in this novel would be alien. Emily was smart in not going down that old tired route.
To me Wuthering Heights is a better novel than Jane Eyre, because I believe in what Emily is telling me. I don’t think she was even trying to write a great novel. It feels like something that existed in her mind, which she had to share with the world.
Tess? Oh, please. The only classic I liked less than the Bronte books. Other Hardy novels and Austen’s are fine, however. (and, btw, was an English major and taught, so am well aware this is just my personal reaction). Agree that the Brontes wrote well but weren’t all that entertaining. Loved Jane, hated Rochester almost as much as Heathcliff and Cathy.
Totally agree about WH. If you’re going to have characters’ destroying one another, there should be others learning from it, at least.
Wide Sargasso Sea? An interesting take by Jean Rhys.