In reading Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, in our English class last year, it rapidly became one of my favorite books. The darker, supernatural style of writing thrilled me, and the book possessed some of my favorite plot pieces: a strong, independent heroine; a dark, brooding male lead; the conquering of obstacles; and finally, a happy ending. It was a great book, and I was eager to read more.
However, as you probably know, Charlotte Bronte wrote only Jane Eyre, and not much else. Undaunted by this, I chose to read Wuthering Heights, written by her sister, Emily. Also lauded as a stunning work of Gothic nature, and boasting one of the most popular romantic male leads of all time (besides Mr. Darcy), I was excited to get started. Not soon after starting, I realized this: There is barely a single likable character in this novel.
A lot of people said I came down too hard on it, but it is a truly truly truly dark Gothic. Their favorite romantic hero is a conniving, evil man, frequently referred to as "goblin", "vampire", etc. The woman he's in love with is a spoiled, petulant, overdramatic manipulator. The only tolerable characters in here are Ellen Dean, the narrator, and Mr. Lockwood, to whom the story is being told. Some people said that I would appreciate the book more when I got older, and I assure you, I will definitely not. Nueromancer, I 'll grow to understand, but Wuthering Heights? I'd only recommend it if the life you're leading is far too light and cheerful, and you need to become as bitter and depressed in as short a time as possible.
The one thing the book was professed to have, and actually did, was a happy ending. That's because it ended, and I was happy.
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