Okay, this is, perhaps, a controversial take. And quite possibly one which will make a lot of people angry at me. But, for some reason, this is a hill (or, perhaps, a moor) I am willing to die on: Wuthering Heights is not that hard. And, yes, you should be able to read it. And yes, the number of people openly struggling to get through it is concerning.
Recently, my FYP has filled to the brim with a similar brand of video – videos of grown women who, after seeing the sexed up trailer for Emerald Fennel’s version, have dashed to Waterstones to pick up their copies (Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi smouldering on the cover, naturally), perhaps expecting a BookTok-worthy rom-com, only to find that it is, in fact, a novel about class, inequality, racism, abuse and generational trauma.
There is also another genre of videos that sees people sharing guides to reading the book. Tips like highlight it within an inch of its life or, even worse, go to Sparknotes after each chapter for a summary.
I will say it: I am concerned. And I’m not the only one:
Let’s be real. Wuthering Heights is, compared to many classic novels, not all that difficult. Sure, a few characters have the same first names, but keeping track of the various Earnshaws and Lintons is a walk in the park compared to some of the Russian classics.
It is also a relatively simple narrative. It is largely plot-driven and mostly linear, once you get to grips with the rather simple story-within-a-story format. This is not a novel that experiments much with form. It is not, for instance, a work of poetic stream of consciousness. Try reading The Waves and get back to me.
In fact, Wuthering Heights is considered to be one of the easiest classics to read, so much so that it is (or was) often assigned to 16-year-old school kids.
Now, before I am accused of sounding snobbish, elitist, or privileged, I would like to clarify: this isn’t about being university educated, or being brought up in a house filled with books, or being encouraged to read as a child. I really think this is more about our education system and the general downward spiral into a largely anti-intellectual society. Ours is, increasingly, a society that simply does not prize skills like critical thinking or long-form reading. I don’t blame any of the individuals posting about not being able to read Wuthering Heights; I mainly blame the world we are living in. A world that, over the course of the last decade or so, has slowly but surely been teaching us that intelligence, thinking and reading don’t really matter anymore.