Before the Afterlife

Abstract

I noted in the Introduction that the analysis of Wuthering Heights provided in this book is determined by the novel’s afterlife. As such, this chapter focuses on issues and themes that are significantly reworked in, or relevant to, the adaptations discussed in subsequent chapters. Rather than providing a comprehensive analysis, or a theoretical position regarding the text, this chapter instead offers detailed analyses of particular aspects and passages in the novel, through a focus on the characters of Lockwood, Heathcliff, Catherine and her daughter (henceforth referred to as ‘Cathy’).¹ I conclude with an exploration of the discourses of love expressed by Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, after which we move from the novel to the screen.