Unreliability

The novel thus far has been very dark and interesting. One thing that has stuck out the most is the narration techniques. The split narration technique in the novel provides large contrast between present and past, yet both present very similar unreliability throughout the novel (through chapter 14). 

Starting with the present narrator, Mr. Lockwood, it is clear that one cannot trust what he says when going back to the first paragraph, where Lockwood calls Heathcliff “A capital fellow,” calling the despicable man delightful. Soon after, he changes his mind, seeing him as what he really is. But what made Lockwood see a delightful man in Heathcliff in the first place? He was treated like an outsider upon his arrival, yet he still thought he saw a connection with the man. This could lead to more changes in the future, where Lockwood goes back to seeing Heathcliff as a good person. 

In the story of Wuthering Height’s past, Nelly mirrors this same uncertainty about Heathcliff. She leaves him in the hallway on the first night he is on the property, then seems to take a liking for the child and pities him, then later hates him again. These ideas will likely continue to change throughout the novel. Also, Nelly is too indulged in the action of the family to be trusted, as personal biases will be favoring whichever side she is on, as one can see that she was talking about Heathcliff like he was the victim of terrible treatment up until the point that she didn’t agree with him anymore, at which point she begins to portray him as terrible. 

Looking on Heathcliff’s side of things, one could understand his case. He wants to see the ruination of the man who beat him his entire life and the man who stole his one true friend and love away from him. As a man who has very little, he will go a long way to protect what he loves, even if that means revenge as dark and twisted as slowly making Hindley go mad and using Nelly to get around Mr. Linton’s rules that keep Heathcliff at bay. 

Foreshadowing the rest of the novel, I believe that Catherine will get better upon seeing Heathcliff, as she was talking about being with him while sick, and her love still lies with him despite her marriage with Mr. Linton, who will attempt to stop Heathcliff, causing Heathcliff to kill Mr. Linton, which will in turn make Catherine despise Heathcliff and get sick again and die after giving birth to her daughter. Heathcliff will then take this daughter as his own and name her Cathy to punish himself, and he will be haunted by Catherine’s ghost (This is only from textual clues, if I just guessed the rest of the book then it’s too predictable and I will no longer find it interesting).