Emily Brontë
Biography: See NA, pgs 1328 -29
Questions below from Penguin Books website. Although these questions were written for the novel (1847), they can be applied to our film.
Know the plot and characters. Also, consider camera angles, music, and acting. Have notes about these as well as about the questions below.
1) Why do you think Emily Brontë chose to unfold the story through the
secondary sources of Ellen's narrative, Mr. Lockwood's two visits, and
Catherine's diary? How would the story have differed if it had been told
chronologically? Do you trust the narrators' versions of the events that
took place? Or are they, from time to time, a bit unreliable?
2) Compare Catherine's love for Heathcliff with her love for Edgar: What are
the defining characteristics of each relationship? Do you think Catherine
regrets her choice of husband?
3) When Heathcliff visits Catherine for the last time before she dies, she
says to him, "You have killed me--and thriven on it, I think." Nearly twenty
years later, when Heathcliff is approaching death, he says, "I have to
remind myself to breathe--almost to remind my heart to beat!" Did Heathcliff
and Catherine believe the only way they could be together was in death? Did
they, somehow, will themselves to die?
4) The characters in the novel have a great capacity for violence and
hatred, and revenge is one of Heathcliff's greatest motivations. Is
Heathcliff justified in the revenge he takes on Hindley? Do you think
Heathcliff's childhood experiences at Wuthering Heights contributed
to his monstrous behavior as an adult?
5) One critic stated that Wuthering Heights is "truly a novel without
a hero or heroine." What do you think of this statement? Is Heathcliff a
hero or a villain?
6) Wuthering Heights is considered by many to be one of the greatest
romances in literature. Do you agree with this? What is your definition of a
romantic novel? Must a great romance have a happy ending?