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Library Book Clubs: February - Wuthering Heights

About the book

How To Access The Book

There are three print editions available through the library: 

The library also had access to Ebook versions of the book:

If none of these books are available or you prefer a different edition, you can order the book through Interlibrary Loan. Please allow a couple of days for the book to arrive. 

As a Marist College student, you have access to multiple public libraries. Both physical books, audiobooks, and ebooks are available through the Poughkeepsie Public Library. Ebooks and Audiobooks are available through the New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, and Brooklyn Public Library. By creating these cards, you will gain access to thousands of books! There are links to create these cards on the homepage of this guide. 

                                                                                                                 

Questions to ponder

Questions are from Penguins Books. 

1. To what extent do you think the setting of the novel contributes to, or informs, what takes place? Do you think the moors are a character in their own right? How do you interpret Bronte’s view of nature and the landscape?

2. Discuss Emily Bronte’s careful attention to a rigid timeline and the role of the novel as a sober historical document. How is this significant, particularly in light of the turbulent action within? What other contrasts within the novel strike you, and why? How are these contrasts important, and how do they play out in the novel?

3. Do you think the novel is a tale of redemption, despair, or both? Discuss the novel’s meaning to you. Do you think the novel’s moral content dictates one choice over the other?

4. Do you think Bronte succeeds in creating three-dimensional figures in
Heathcliff and Cathy, particularly given their larger-than-life metaphysical passion? Why or why not?

5. Discuss Bronte’s use of twos: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; two families, each with two children; two couples (Catherine and Edgar, and Heathcliff and Isabella); two narrators; the doubling-up of names. What is Bronte’s intention here? Discuss.

6. How do Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean influence the story as narrators? Do you think they are completely reliable observers? What does Bronte want us to believe?

7. Discuss the role of women in Wuthering Heights. Is their depiction typical of Bronte’s time, or not? Do you think Bronte’s characterizations of women mark her as a pioneer ahead of her time or not?

8. Who or what does Heathcliff represent in the novel? Is he a force of evil or a victim of it? How important is the role of class in the novel, particularly as it relates to Heathcliff and his life?

Contact

James A. Cannavino Library

3399 North Road
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
(845) 575-3106

In the Library