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Objections and Implications
The reader may well have reached this point in a state of general
assent to what has been written in these pages, yet at the end feel
with a sense of shock that their effect has been to undermine the
value of Emily Bronte
È's extraordinary book. It will be as well
therefore to take stock and consider the implications of the theory
which has been advanced and the strength of the evidence pro-
duced.
First, it may be noted that the idea that Wuthering Heights is not a
seamless whole is not a new one. E.F. Benson's comments on the
structure of the book go beyond what we have already noted.
1
He
considers it strange that Lockwood's interest in the younger Cathe-
rine is not developed, and sees this as an element of the initial
planning of the novel which was later abandoned. His comments
may seem harsh and to lack perception, as he goes on to say,
No single author could have planned a book in so topsy-turvy a
fashion . . . Nellie [sic] Dean must recount [the previous history of
Heathcliff] to [Lockwood], and it takes so long that he must
needs fall ill so that his convalescence may be beguiled with it.
Nobody planning a story from the first could have begun with
an episode so misplaced that such an awkward device must be
resorted to.
As a novelist himself, Benson knew about planning, and is surely
correct within his limits to note that the planning of Wuthering
Heights is confused. Of course, this matter is ultimately of little
weight in judging the value of the book, but it is none the less a
perfectly fair point to make.
Benson is not alone in considering that Emily Bronte
È was not the
sole author of the book. There has been a persistent strain of
criticism which seeks to involve Branwell, at least in parts of the
book. This legend may stem from Branwell himself, as he is
reported to have claimed to have been involved in the early chap-
182
E. Chitham, The Birth of Wuthering Heights
© Edward Chitham 2001
183 Objections and Implications
ters by a friend, William Dearden.
2
An early commentator, Alice
Law, developed this in her book, Patrick Branwell Bronte
È (Alan
Philpott, undated). Stylistic arguments were used by Irene Cooper
Willis to refute the thesis, who asserted that
The author of Wuthering Heights was first and foremost a spec-
tator of events, an observer of drama from the outside.
3
It is just this `spectating' side of Emily, content to watch and allow
events to unfold, which renders it apparently unnecessary for her
to plan the book from the outset. Though Ms Willis points to
minor variations in style, she shows a homogeneity of approach
throughout the narrative which surely removes Branwell from the
account. Anne, as we shall see, may not be able to be removed so
easily.
Another commentator, already mentioned, who has pointed out
anomalies in Wuthering Heights is Q.D. Leavis. Publishing in 1969,
she deplores attempts to gloss over the problems in the design of
the book: `Desperate attempts to report a flawless work of art lead
to dishonest ignoring of recalcitrant elements or an interpretation
which is sophistical.' She goes on to suggest that Wuthering Heights
`has all the signs of having been written at different times . . .' She
sees the origin of the novel as Heathcliff's status as an illegitimate
son of Earnshaw and the half-brother of Catherine. The Romantic
theme of incest was to have been the nub of the story. I find this
interpretation of Heathcliff's birth and arrival at Wuthering
Heights convincing. The book does seem to deal with an identity
that hovers over the boundary between brother/sister love and
sexual unity. Even if we doubt that Heathcliff is Earnshaw's son,
he is Catherine's adopted brother. The incest theme must haunt the
story. However, I have suggested that this was not the very first
beginning of Emily Bronte
È's `tale', which is congruent with Anne's
contemporary story of `when we first began to teach'.
Q.D. Leavis considers that Emily Bronte
È, as a first novelist, tries
to do too much, and hence includes various large themes which
cannot be reconciled. As well as the King Lear theme previously
mentioned, she sees a Romantic child theme, and a social comment
novel contrasting Wuthering Heights with Thrushcross Grange.
There are some persuasive arguments to support these points.
4
Unlike some commentators, Q.D. Leavis sees the second part of
the book as relevant to its interpretation. She does not use many
