Why is "Wuthering Heights" so great?

Question

I'm reading "Wuthering Heights" (well into it) and I cannot understand the big deal about it being the best book of all time (or other similar accalades). I hate nearly all of the characters, with the exception of Isabella, and the language is so unnecessary. Don't be hatin', just explain to me why it is regarded with such high standing.

Answer 1

It was published in 1847.

I think that effectively explains the "excessive adjectives".

It's regarded as a classic romance and probably loved for the idea/concept behind it just like Shakespeare's stuff.

Answer 2

I really don't like Wuthering Heights very well, either.  I also hate all the characters - ugh!  There is just nothing likable about them!

It's considered a great because it was very ground-breaking during its time.  It broke some conventions in literature that just were not broken back in the day.  It was important in the same way the Beatles were important.  I don't like the Beatles, either.

Answer 3

You shouldn't like the characters; pretty much, they're all awful, selfish people. It is very romantic though, which explains why it's so popular, and masterfully written, which is why it is a classic. Dark, evocative things with good metaphor content often end up classified as masterpieces. And no, the adjectives are NOT unnecessary. The descriptions of the moors are where a lot of the symbolism is, and are the greatest art of the Bronte sisters.

Why do so few teens have the patience to appreciate anything other than plot? Why do my peers ignore the joys of language? Alas, there is no answer. (Overdramatized, but basically how I feel.)

Answer 4

I hate all the characters too, but it's still my favorite novel. But you aren't *supposed* to like the characters. Cathy is a selfish *****; Heathcliff is a shortempered, violent, awful man. That's kind of what makes it so romantic-- their love is their only redeeming quality.

Wuthering Heights perfectly portrays how insane and ruthless those who have been deprived of their love can be. It makes you feel and understand the torture those who love someone yet can't have them experience. It shows what happens when two people who should be together aren't. Heathcliff is vile, but the way Emily Bronte wrote his character is so good at portraying that desperate, deranged, passionate emotion those deprived of love feel. That's why I love Wuthering Heights-- because of the emotion it makes me feel.

I disagree about the "language being unnecessary". Everything you read is important to the story somehow.

Answer 5

I don't think it's the best book of all time but one of the better classics outside of Jane Austen.

I think the hatred the characters invoke is whats so intriguing.  And among all the darkness there are about three romances that all revolve around the central romance of heathcliff and cathy.  Give little Cathy and little Hareton a chance, though.