Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights

by

Emily Brontë

The Weather Symbol Icon
The frequent storms and wind that sweep through Wuthering Heights symbolize how the characters are at the mercy of forces they cannot control. For example, Lockwood, the city boy, thinks he can walk back to Thrushcross Grange through a storm, but the nature-respecting folks at Wuthering Heights tell him he's crazy; they know that the weather—nature—is far stronger than he is. Brontë uses the weather as a metaphor for nature, which she portrays as a magnificently strong force that can conquer any character. The strongest characters are those who give the weather the respect it deserves.

The Weather Quotes in Wuthering Heights

The Wuthering Heights quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Weather. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Gothic Literature and the Supernatural Theme Icon
).
Chapter 8 Quotes
Doubtless Catherine marked the difference between her friends, as one came in and the other went out. The contrast resembled what you see in exchanging a bleak, hilly, coal country for a beautiful fertile valley; and his voice and greeting were as opposite as his aspect.
Related Characters: Ellen "Nelly" Dean (speaker), Catherine Earnshaw Linton, Heathcliff, Edgar Linton
Related Symbols: The Weather
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 79
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes
I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and [Edgar's] is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.
Related Characters: Catherine Earnshaw Linton (speaker), Heathcliff, Edgar Linton
Related Symbols: The Weather
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:
My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods; time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath—a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff!
Related Characters: Catherine Earnshaw Linton (speaker), Ellen "Nelly" Dean, Heathcliff, Edgar Linton
Related Symbols: The Weather
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 93
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes
One time, however, we were near quarrelling. He said the pleasantest manner of spending a hot July day was lying from morning till evening on a bank of heath in the middle of the moors, with the bees humming dreamily about among the bloom, and the larks singing high up overhead, and the blue sky and bright sun shining steadily and cloudlessly. That was his most perfect idea of heaven's happiness: mine was rocking in a rustling green tree, with a west wind blowing, and bright white clouds flitting rapidly above; and not only larks, but throstles, and blackbirds, and linnets, and cuckoos pouring out music on every side, and the moors seen at a distance, broken into cool dusky dells; but close by great swells of long grass undulating in waves to the breeze; and woods and sounding water, and the whole world awake and wild with joy. He wanted all to lie in an ecstasy of peace; I wanted all to sparkle and dance in a glorious jubilee. I said his heaven would be only half alive; and he said mine would be drunk: I said I should fall asleep in his; and he said he could not breathe in mine.
Related Characters: Catherine/Cathy Linton Heathcliff Earnshaw (speaker), Linton Heathcliff
Related Symbols: The Weather
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 283
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 27 Quotes
Catherine's face was just like the landscape—shadows and sunshine flitting over it in rapid succession; but the shadows rested longer, and the sunshine was more transient.
Related Characters: Ellen "Nelly" Dean (speaker), Catherine/Cathy Linton Heathcliff Earnshaw
Related Symbols: The Weather
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 303
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Wuthering Heights LitChart as a printable PDF.
Wuthering Heights PDF

The Weather Symbol Timeline in Wuthering Heights

The timeline below shows where the symbol The Weather appears in Wuthering Heights. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Gothic Literature and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Nature and Civilization Theme Icon
...gypsy." Heathcliff lives in a manor called Wuthering Heights, which is named after the harsh winds that blow across the nearby moors. The house is strong and sturdy and has grotesque... (full context)
Chapter 2
Gothic Literature and the Supernatural Theme Icon
Nature and Civilization Theme Icon
Lockwood returns to Wuthering Heights the next day. As he arrives, it begins to snow. No one answers his knock at the door, and an old servant with a heavy... (full context)