Monday, September 20, and Wednesday, September 22
For this week, read to chapter 20, if you can--to chapter 15 for Monday.
As you will discover, most of the novel concerns what happens after the death of Catherine, when she gives birth to Edgar's child-- not Heathcliff's, though some might wonder given the relationship.
Pay close attention, however, to the gender and sexual dynamics.
Note, for example, how Catherine deals with both Heathcliff's desires and her relationship with her husband. Remember that she is a woman who desires a whip early in her childhood--the symbolism is not without merit. Pay close attention, therefore, to how Heathcliff garners power beyond the enigmatic accounting or lack thereof of the 3.5 years he spends in self exile.
And remember how Heathcliff goes about avenging the past, all centered on Catherine, whom, as the death scene emphasizes, he blames but whom he will not attack, at least not directly. Be aware, too, that the story, his moral teething, extends beyond Catherine's death and her ghost.
The details play a very important role, to be sure. Among other things, consider the following focal points:
Catherine's duality, most evident in the events leading up to her death, which refer to her past as well.
Opening and shutting. Catherine asked Nelly to shut a window the night Heathcliff left--she wants back in as a ghost.
The evident and significant contrasts between the Grange and the Heights.
The role of marriage.
The role of law. (Heathcliff will use both law and marriage--remember what Hindley told Edgar when Heathcliff attacks him with apple sauce: use a lawyer next time.)
Gender
In many respects, Heathcliff--as outsider with respect where the power resides--plays a very feminine role his early relationship with Catherine emphasizes.
In other words, the novel only seems a ghost story.
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