Introduction to Place in Wuthering Heights

Welcome! If you are studying Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights for the OxfordAQA International AS Level (Unit 2), you are exploring a novel where the setting isn't just a background—it is a character in its own right. This unit focuses on "Place in prose texts," which means we look at how the physical environment, the buildings, and even the "feeling" of a location shape the story and the people in it.

Don't worry if the 19th-century language feels a bit dense at first. Once you understand the symbolic contrast between the two main houses and the wild moors, the rest of the novel starts to fall into place. Let's break down how Brontë uses "place" to tell this powerful story of love, revenge, and social status.

The Two Main Houses: A Study in Contrasts

The entire novel is built around the tension between two homes: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. They represent completely different ways of living and being.

1. Wuthering Heights

Located high on a hill, this house is exposed to the harsh weather. The word "Wuthering" is a local descriptive term for the "tumultuous" atmospheric storms that occur there.

  • Physicality: It is built with narrow windows and deep-set stones to withstand the wind. Inside, it is often dark, rugged, and functional.
  • Social Identity: It represents the working world, physical strength, and a lack of social "polish." Characters here are often angry, violent, or unrefined.
  • Symbolism: It stands for nature, storm, and the raw human spirit. When Heathcliff is the master, the house becomes even more isolated and "wild."

2. Thrushcross Grange

Located in the valley below, the Grange is protected, lush, and grand. It is the home of the Linton family.

  • Physicality: It is described with carpets, chandeliers, and mirrors. It is full of light and luxury.
  • Social Identity: It represents social class, civilization, and gentility. People here are educated and polite, but they can also be physically weaker or more superficial.
  • Symbolism: It stands for culture, calm, and the social elite. It is a "protected" space that often feels stifling or trapped to characters like Catherine Earnshaw.

Key Takeaway: The movement between these two places usually marks a change in a character’s personality or social status. For example, when Catherine stays at the Grange, she transforms from a "wild" girl into a "lady."

The Natural World: The Moors

In between the two houses lie the Moors—vast, open, wild landscapes. In this novel, the natural world is not just "pretty"; it is a powerful force.

  • Place as Freedom: For Catherine and Heathcliff, the moors are the only place where they can truly be themselves, away from the rules of both houses.
  • Place as Danger: The moors are also treacherous. Characters get lost in the snow or stuck in the bogs. This reflects the dangerous nature of their passions.
  • Boundary and Border: The moors act as a border between the "storm" of the Heights and the "calm" of the Grange. Crossing the moors often leads to a collision of these two worlds.

Social Class and "Being Placed"

In the Unit 2 syllabus, you are asked to think about how people are "placed" in society. In Wuthering Heights, your physical home determines your status within a social group.

  • Heathcliff's Displacement: When Heathcliff first arrives, he has no "place." He is a nameless outsider. Much of the plot is driven by his desire to dispossess others—to take over their houses (places) to prove he belongs.
  • Ownership and Upkeep: Notice how Brontë describes the state of upkeep of the buildings. When a house is neglected (like Wuthering Heights under Heathcliff), it reflects the moral or emotional decay of the master.
  • Colonisation of Space: Heathcliff eventually "colonises" both houses through legal trickery. He uses the laws of property to get revenge, showing that place is also a political and legal space.

Abstract Place: Belonging and Isolation

The syllabus mentions that "place" can also be abstract. This means it’s about the feeling of belonging or being isolated.

  • Isolation: Wuthering Heights is a place of extreme isolation. Characters are often locked in rooms or barred from entering. This physical isolation leads to emotional intensity and obsession.
  • The "Home" in the Other: One of the most famous ideas in the book is Catherine saying, "I am Heathcliff." For her, "home" isn't a building; it is a person. Her sense of identity is tied to him, not to the Grange where she lives as a wife.

Authorial Methods: How Brontë Shapes Meaning (AO2)

To get top marks, you need to look at how Brontë writes about place. This is called authorial method.

  • Narrative Structure: The story is told by Lockwood, an outsider who is visiting the "place" for the first time. His confusion helps the reader feel how strange and isolated these locations are.
  • Gothic Imagery: Brontë uses "Gothic" elements—locked doors, rattling windows, and ghosts—to make the houses feel haunted by the past.
  • Place Names: The name "Wuthering Heights" itself tells us about the weather and the mood of the location before we even meet the characters.
  • Sensory Language: Brontë uses the sounds of the wind, the feel of the "heath," and the cold of the snow to make the setting feel physically real and oppressive.

Quick Review: Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don't: Just describe what the houses look like.
Do: Explain why the look of the house matters for the characters' relationships or social class (this is significance).

Don't: Treat the moors as just a nice background.
Do: See the moors as a symbol of the characters' internal wildness and their rejection of social rules.

Don't: Forget about the "Grange."
Do: Always compare the two. You cannot understand Wuthering Heights without comparing it to Thrushcross Grange.

Summary Checklist

  • Specific Locations: Wuthering Heights (Storm/Nature) vs. Thrushcross Grange (Calm/Culture).
  • The Natural World: The moors as a space of freedom, danger, and passion.
  • Social Identity: How owning a "place" gives Heathcliff power and status.
  • Abstract Concepts: The feeling of being "locked out" or finally "coming home."
  • Method: Use of Gothic atmosphere, contrasting imagery, and the outsider's perspective (Lockwood).

Note: For more on the concept of place in other Unit 2 texts, you might briefly look at F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" to see how they use houses to show class in a different setting.