When it was first published, Wuthering Heights received almost no attention from critics, and what little there was proved to be negative. Critical opinion deemed the book immoral, and Charlotte Brontë felt moved to apologize for it after Emily’s death by saying that her sister wrote during the feverish stages of tuberculosis. To publish at all, the Brontë sisters chose to submit their works using male pseudonyms because they believed that it would be impossible to market their poems and novels otherwise. They experienced many rejections and were never recompensed fairly for the value of their work. When their identity was revealed, many critics expressed surprise (that the novels could be written by inexperienced women who lived in isolated circumstances) and shock (that the violence and passion of Wuthering Heights could be conceived by a woman at all). There has even been a serious attempt made to prove that Emily’s brother, Branwell, was the true author of Wuthering Heights.

This reaction suggests the reluctance of the Victorian public to accept challenges to the dominant belief that women were beneficent moral influences whose primary function was to provide a pure environment for men who, of necessity, sullied themselves in the world of work. Wuthering Heights provides no overt rebellion against this view, but the depiction of female characters who display anger, passion, and a desire for independence demonstrates Emily Brontë’s judgment that women were suited to a wider sphere of action.

Contemporary feminist critics have seen Catherine Earnshaw as a character for whom no meaningful choices are possible. Her self-starvation and periods of madness can be read as signs of female powerlessness and rage. Even her death can be seen as the last resort of the oppressed, a kind of willed suicide which she announces is her only form of revenge against both Edgar Linton and Heathcliff for thwarting her true nature. The second half of the novel, focusing on Catherine Linton, is then an assertion of Victorian society’s values countering Catherine Earnshaw’s desire to be self-determining. Catherine Linton is beautiful in a conventional way, and she dutifully serves as daughter, wife, nurse, and teacher. Yet, compared to her mother’s, her story has much less drama and fails to persuade the reader of its truth. In fact, it best serves to highlight the unique and deeply felt nature of her mother’s subjugation.

The Victorian Age (1837-1901)

During Queen Victoria's reign, England experienced a prolonged period of expansion. The Industrial Revolution transformed the nation from a primarily agricultural economy to one dominated by factories. Millions eventually migrated to London in search of new employment opportunities. However, Emily Brontë grew up during the waning days of rural England. The era was conservative, and due to society's reluctance to accept women as authors, Emily, Charlotte, and Anne Brontë published their works under male pseudonyms.

The harsh climate of northern England in Haworth, Yorkshire, profoundly influenced the Brontë children. Their fascination with the vast moors and frequent storms is evident in their writings. For Emily, who was never content far from home, the local moorland, valleys, and the grit stone architecture of the period served as the setting for Wuthering Heights.

Another significant influence on Brontë's work was the folklore of the Yorkshire community. Tabitha Ackroyd, a maid in the Brontë household, provided a wealth of stories about fairies and ghosts. These folk beliefs and rituals are woven throughout Wuthering Heights, particularly regarding the Yorkshire deathwatch tradition. For instance, Edgar spends the entire night with Catherine's body after her death, and the funeral ritual of "bidding," which involves inviting people to accompany a body to the grave, offers insight into family relationships.

Illness, Death, and Funeral Customs

Due to the harsh climate and inadequate heating, illness and death were common in Yorkshire during the time the novel was written. Lockwood, who falls ill after his stay at Wuthering Heights, laments, "Oh, these bleak winds, and bitter, northern skies, and impassable roads, and dilatory country surgeons!" Emily Brontë's older sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, succumbed to tuberculosis before turning fifteen. In Wuthering Heights, characters like Edgar and Linton also die from wasting diseases. The death of Maria Branwell when Emily was only three years old may have inspired the many motherless children depicted in the novel.

A formal period of mourning followed the death of a family member, with the duration depending on the closeness of the relationship. For instance, mourning for a spouse typically lasted a year, while mourning for a second cousin lasted a week. In Wuthering Heights, Nelly is instructed to "get mourning"—to prepare dark clothing—after Catherine's aunt Isabella passes away.

As children of a minister, the Brontës were deeply influenced by religion both at home and at school. Emily Brontë may have drawn inspiration for the character Joseph from a fire-and-brimstone preacher, as Joseph rarely speaks without invoking hellfire. Critics also believe this religious influence is evident in Lockwood's dream at the beginning of Wuthering Heights, where he is compelled to listen to Reverend Jabes Branderham deliver a sermon split into 490 parts.

Literary Traditions and Romanticism

While Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre received immediate praise, the intense passion and roughness of Wuthering Heights left its readers puzzled. In an essay in the Reference Guide to English Literature, Winifred Gerin attributes the novel's initial failure to its theme of the spirit's indestructibility, stating it was a "subject … far removed from the general run of Victorian fiction—it belonged, if anywhere, to the gothic tradition, still being followed by Mary Shelley with her Valperga (1823) in Emily Brontë's childhood."

The setting and themes of Wuthering Heights align with the Romantic Movement in Europe, which emphasized nature and the individual over reason and intellect. This movement was partly inspired by the French Revolutionary War of 1789.

Inheritance and Social Position

During this period, social status and respectability were closely linked to property ownership. Estates owned by landed gentry like the Earnshaws and the Lintons were referred to as "seats," a term that encompassed both tangible assets (such as the house and land) and intangible assets (like the family name and any hereditary titles). In Wuthering Heights, the first Catherine tells Nelly that she plans to marry Edgar Linton because marrying Heathcliff would lower her social status (they would be beggars) and she intends to use Linton's wealth to elevate Heathcliff.

Seats were typically passed from father to the eldest male offspring or to the nearest male relative if there were no sons. The only way to circumvent this tradition was through "strict settlement," a legal device in use between 1650 and 1880 that allowed a father to distribute his holdings as he wished via a trustee. Since Edgar Linton dies without securing Thrushcross Grange for his daughter Catherine, the property first goes to her husband Linton, and after his death, to his father, Heathcliff.

Unlike earlier times when incest was prohibited by law, eighteenth-century England viewed marriage between first cousins favorably as a means of preserving social status and property. A common arrangement was for a woman to marry her father's brother's son, thereby keeping the bride's family's estate under their control. In a perverse twist in Wuthering Heights, the second Catherine Linton marries her father's sister's son, and without a strict settlement, she loses her family's estate.

Landholding families usually employed a substantial number of servants to handle various roles. For men, these roles included steward, valet, butler, and gardener. For women, they covered lady's maid, housekeeper, cook, and nurse. In a household the size of Wuthering Heights, where hosting guests was uncommon, it was economically practical to combine these roles. In the novel, Joseph fulfills the duties of both valet and steward, while Ellen acts as the housekeeper, though her responsibilities are quite extensive.

Although Emily Bronte had limited interaction with people beyond her household, she was deeply intrigued by the human psyche. In Wuthering Heights, she delves into the minds of her characters. Each character is portrayed as a genuine individual with their own hopes, fears, ambitions, and desires. She also examines the relationships between men and women from different social classes, creating an almost ethnographic study of these interactions. Bronte refrains from passing moral judgment on Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar, or any other character. Instead, she allows them to live out their lives, showcasing them with all their imperfections.

In some ways, Bronte also illustrates the consequences of excessive passion. Heathcliff's intense passion for Cathy is nearly overwhelming. His desire for revenge against those he believes wronged him, akin to Hamlet, propels the narrative. His refusal to accept Cathy's marriage to Edgar triggers the ensuing events. Heathcliff ultimately brings about the downfall of both "houses," leaving it to his descendants to "redeem" or "save" the two families.

Throughout the novel, Bronte depicts Heathcliff as a rustic figure who, in many respects, is unbound by social norms. His vitality and nonconformity are initially appealing. However, his overly emotional reaction to Cathy leads to the downfall of everyone, including Cathy herself.

Although Wuthering Heights is Bronte's only published novel, it is entirely possible that it is not her sole work. Evidence indicates that she and her sister Anne spent years working on a Gondal epic/novel. Unfortunately, none of this work has survived or been discovered. Only their poetry remains.

Wuthering Heights can be read as part of the larger tradition of Gothic novels. It features supernatural elements, a dark setting, and star-crossed lovers, similar to what one finds in Hugh Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1765) and Anne Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). According to critic Lyn Pykett, it also blends the romantic qualities of Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads with the realism found in Sir Walter Scott's novels. Additionally, many other novels explore themes that Emily Bronte delved into. The unconventional views on religion, combined with passionate love and psychological depth of the characters, can also be seen in D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers (1913).

• Late 1700s: Global economies are primarily agricultural.

  1847: England is experiencing the Industrial Revolution, impacting economies globally. Workers migrate from rural areas to cities.

  Today: Economies around the world are interconnected in a “global community.” Advances in transportation and communication have led to increased intercultural interaction and cultural diversity in the service economy.

• Late 1700s: Life expectancy is low due to harsh living and working conditions. Childbirth deaths are frequent.

  1847: Medical advancements and improved public health and sanitation reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.

  Today: Despite high-tech medical solutions, heart disease and cancer remain leading causes of death. There is no cure for AIDS, and many nations face rising healthcare costs for aging populations.

• Late 1700s: Inheritance in England is passed from father to the first-born son. The “strict settlement” procedure is required to bypass these inheritance laws.

  1847: Elizabeth Cady Stanton in the United States begins advocating for full legal and economic equality for women.

  Today: Women have the right to vote in most of the world, with a few exceptions in some Muslim countries. In the United States, although the Equal Rights Amendment was not ratified, women increasingly win sexual discrimination and harassment cases against employers.