Brontës In Context Chapter 2 Wuthering Heights Structure & Narration

Transcription

1 Brontës In Context Chapter 2 Wuthering Heights Structure & Narration How would you describe the way the novel is structured? How do you view the narrators of the novel? Why do you think Emily Brontë chose these narrators? Watch the section on structure and narration: 00:03-11:09 How is the novel narrated? Why is the narrative described as a Chinese box? Why are Lockwood and Nellie viewed as unreliable narrators? How has Nellie s narration been understood by critics? Glossary: Heterodiegetic narrator: A narrator who is not a character in the story Homodiegetic narrator: A narrator who is a character in the story Unreliable narrator: a narrator who can t be trusted

2 Structure & Narration Why have some critics suggested that the novel should end with the death of the first Cathy? What do we gain from the second half of the novel? In what ways was Emily Brontë infuenced by Epipsychidion! by Percy Bysshe Shelley? Which structural oppositions did David Cecil identify in the novel? Give examples Further reading: Epipsychidion by Percy Bysshe Shelley The Madwoman in the Attic by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar - Chapter 8

3 Emotion and Class Consider the human emotions that are represented in the novel. In what ways is social class explored in the novel? Watch the section on emotion and class: 11:10-15:28 How does Dr Ballinger describe the representation of emotion in the novel? Glossary: Metonymy: is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something closely associated with that thing or How is Heathcliff s personality characterised? Which literary figure is his personality type associated with? In what ways has Brontë aligned the characters with nature? In what ways has Brontë aligned the characters with culture?

4 Emotion and Class What ideas did Emily Brontë discuss in her essay The Butterfly? How are these ideas represented in the novel? In what ways is social class represented in the novel? Skim and scan the novel: Identify structural oppositions in the novel & consider the effects created through this technique. Explore the metonymic relationship created characters and nature. Research class structure and contemporary debates about class in the early 19th Century. Explore the ways these ideas are represented in the novel.

5 Love Story Consider: What types of love are represented in the novel? Watch the section on emotion and class: 15:28-20:04 In what ways is Wuthering Heights considered a transitional novel? What types of love are represented in the novel? Find out more about ideas about love associated with romanticism and attitudes and values about love expressed texts in the Victorian period. Consider the ways the novel engages with these ideas.

6 Revenge Story To what extent do you think revenge is the driving force of the novel? Watch the section on revenge: 20:05-26:15 In what ways is Wuthering Heights considered a revenge story? Why is the narrative structure important to the revenge narrative? What is the Marxist interpretation of the novel? Further reading: Myths of Power - A Marxist study of the Brontës by Terry Eagleton.

7 The Gothic Novel What ideas and images do you associate with the gothic genre? Watch the section on the Gothic: 26:15-31:53 In what ways is the gothic used to explore the violence of human nature? How is the location of Wuthering Heights linked to the gothic? What role does the supernatural play in the love story? Research the conventons of the gothic novel Explore the use of the gothic in Wuthering Heights and the effects created.