III.      SPACE ANALYSIS

            III.A- INDOOR SPACES

There appear two main houses in the novel which are Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange which come to represent opposing worlds and values. The two houses are highly symbolic and they also come accompanied by the weather conditions equally opposed. In Wuthering Heights there always seems to be stormy weather which represents the stormy personality of its inhabitants, the Earnshaws, who are fiery, fierce and untamed, especially Heathcliff, one of the main characters.

            On the other hand, Thrushcross Grange is set in a civilized valley. Here the weather conditions are not so hard, they tend to me calm and gentle. The place is in fact a luxurious one with well-off householders, who are the Lintons. This place represents social conventions, civilization, culture and refinement. It is an ideal place to bring up children in a comfortable way.

            “In Wuthering Heights, the author plays nature and culture against each other.

Nature is represented by the Earnshaw family, and by Catherine and Heathcliff in particular. These characters are governed by their passions, not by reflection or ideals of civility. Correspondingly, the house where they live—Wuthering Heights—comes to symbolize a similar wildness.” * Thrushcross Grange, by contrast symbolizes the values of social conventions and is mainly represented by Edgar Linton.

At a certain point in the novel, these two places come together. This happens when Catherine is bitten by the Lintons’ dog in chapter VI. This is a crash between the two opposing worlds which will corrupt each other. This can be seen as both, nature corrupting culture and also culture corrupting nature.

            Wuthering Heights is where the first nine chapters of the novel are set until Catherine’s marriage to Edgar Linton, when the setting shifts to Thrushcross Grange.  

            III.B- OUTDOOR SPACES

From chapter 10 to 28 the setting keeps shifting between the two houses and the moors, which lie between the two houses.

In this novel the moors play an important role since it is the place where Cathy and Heathcliff play when they are children, and then when they grow up it becomes a place for love and finally when they are adults the author makes us visualize the moor again through Catherine’s eyes before her death. It is the place where the two beloved will finally find each other although not in the earthly world.

Moorland is infertile and uneven so this makes navigation difficult. There are also flooded areas in which people could drown, a fact which is indeed mentioned in the novel. Therefore, the moors also symbolise the threat of nature. In this case, nature could be interpreted as the primary instincts, which, according to what we have mentioned before, would be mainly represented by Heathcliff, so, having a relationship with him could be a threat for Catherine, this means, following her instincts could mean a threat for her. That is the reason why she finally decides to marry Edgar Linton, and live in a luxurious and well-considered place as it is Thruscross Grange.

            III.C- PSYCOLOGICAL MAP

Apart from the spaces that we could find within the novel parameters, there is also another “site” which is worth mentioning as from my point of view the spaces in the novel highly remember the “spaces” within the unconscious in freudian terms.

According to Sigmun Freud, everyone has an inner struggle between the primary emotions and the moral values that one may be imposed depending on the time and society one belongs to.

The Id is considered to be a hidden part that escapes from our understanding where all primary emotions and strong feelings reside. The Id does not understand of rationality or human rights. The place where strong emotions happen in the novel is Wuthering Heights. If we wished to personify the Id in the novel, it would be represented by Heathcliff.Throughout the novel he shows love, hatred, and wish for revenge.

The Superego is a part of our unconscious where moral values imposed by our society reside. They restrict our most savage emotions that the Id pushes to display. In the case of Wuthering Heights, the Superego would be identified with Thrushcross Grange. In Victorian times it was the ideal place to stay in. Edgar Linton, the owner of Thrushcross Grange is the ideal husband to marry, moderated in manners and wealthy.The lightness in this place is opposed to the obscurity in Wuthering Heights, that represents the obscurity of the unknown feelings which we are unable to control.

The Ego is the part of our unconscious that tries to moderate the two opposed energies that pull towards the outside. The Ego works as a moderator and a restrictor. It is in a privileged position because it has the capacity to decide whether to let the Id or the Superego beat the other. In the novel, it is Catherine who works as the moderator and the restrictor. She is the Superego that decides if the Id (Heathcliff) or the Superego (society and Edgar Linton) are the most appropriate for her. As she finally betrays her inner feelings awakened in her id (Wuthering Heights, with Heathcliff), she is repressed. in the course of time she realises that betting for the most well- considered part has been the cause of her destruction.

III.D- COMPARISON BETWEEN THE AUTHOR AND THE NOVEL

Emily Brönte has more to do with the characters of this novel as we can think of. To start with, it is worth-mentioning that she lived in a very similar place to Wuthering Heights. She lived in Hawort, in the north of England. The scenery is the same to the one she sets for the life of Catherine and Heathcliff. An old house made of stone. Her mother died very early and she lived with her father, and three siblings, two sisters and one brother. Catherine’s mother also dies before her father. The place where she lived resembles Wuthering Heights in the weather conditions it is exposed to. The weather was very windy and stormy as well. She died of tuberculosis in 1848. She was not able to get married. She could not love and be loved by a man because. That was her restriction. She feels repressed as well, like Heathcliff and Catherine.