"Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff's dwelling. 'Wuthering' being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather." (6)
This quotation stood out to me because it reveals where Bronte got the title for the novel. Wuthering Heights is a place, where much of the action in the beginning of the book takes place. The fact that the entire book is named after with estate indicates that it is of great significance and will weigh heavily on the plot for the rest of the book as well. The "atmospheric tumult" to which the narrator is referring is weather but in actuality it reveals that the house has endured much more tumult than storms. Very early in the book this mystery surrounding Heathcliff's checkered and sad past is created and maintained.
"The intense horror of nightmare came over me; I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, a most melancholy voice sobbed. 'Let me in - let me in!" (28)
This quotation represents a break in the story. Before this, the action is very subdued and quiet. This passage is intense, even frightening. It breaks this monotonous plot-line and begins to reveal the true tragic past of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. The dream, in its entirety is very exciting, terrifying, and bloody. It is highly symbolic though the reader does not yet know how or why. A lot of mystery surrounds Catherine and why even the mention of her name or the narrator staying in her room affects Heathcliff so much. This dream is really what hooked me into the story and afterwards I could not put the book down. I had to learn more. I am completely invested and now I have to know: what happened with Heathcliff and Catherine? Why is her story so haunting?
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