Following up on the Kate Bush post, here's a 1995 cover of her song "Wuthering Heights" by British punk band China Drum.

MP3: China Drum - Wuthering Heights (Kate Bush cover)

Just a note to say that the Tour pages on www.northernballettheatre.co.uk have been updated with the latest details and information about next season's productions...

Tour Map

The best book ever. Well if you're me anyway. Wuthering Heights is a pretty singular book, full of complex relationships and dark themes. It takes place in the desolate manors of the British moors, and you have proof simply by the way the characters have developed as people. Things fester and rot in this kind of isolation, and more than a few times I was thinking "these people need to get out more." I picked this book because firstly the excerpt in Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer interested me with the tone, and secondly because three days after the book literally fell off the bookshelf and onto the floor in front of me. Fate people, fate.

Wuthering Heights does three things I really like. It surprises me with a very lovely ending involving people and circumstances that wrap things up very nicely. I liked this book so much that for once I don't want to spoil how this is accomplished. The other thing is this very intriguing relationship between Cathy & Heathcliff. They are the only people who really understand it. They have an exclusive party, and no invites are sent. They recognize in each other this quality they mention a few times about how they think they're deeper than everyone else. Since the references to this quality are so specific, and they dwell on it, I'd like to know how they know. Adults don't run around thinking that they're oceans compared to other people's water troughs do they? They spent their childhood together in the moors, and sneaking around the house. They get older, Heathcliff vanishes for three years, comes back and chaos ensues. I imagine when this book was written that Heathcliff was supposed to be the picture of evil. There's foreshadowing for his outrageous deeds and everything. There was an incident with a dog, yes. Slight necrophiliac habits, and elaborate plans to make Linton unhappy. These things aside, I got this feeling that Nelly and Heathcliff were the most balanced people in the book. Other people had curious judgment. The last thing I really liked was Heathcliff's tendency to make venomous yet romantic speeches, when he did decide to stop glaring.

Also, I love old diction. People see to things "directly"!

I hope that the book doesn't follow the formula of the wonderfully nice superintendent being fired because she was too nice.  Their meals remind me of Oliver Twist (for how crappy they were) and the regime of the school itself reminds me vaguely of Anne of Green Gables.

I think it will be funny to see how many books I can in the time it takes my husband to read his one book.  Already I've finished one book to his 5 chapters.  :)

I spent all morning, and indeed much of the afternoon, in the bed curled up with Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. I had always wanted to read it and it is the assigned reading for this week's 19th Century British Women Novelists class. Plus it was one of those books that I felt like I should have read. I am sorry to say that I didn't much care for it. I found both Heathcliff and Cathy to be utterly detestable human beings. But it is finished now and I can say that I've read it.

That was pretty much Monday. I did run out to the supermarket for bread and milk. I also worked a bit on a midterm essay I've been assigned, prepared for a presentation that I had to give today, and studied some for a quiz that I had this afternoon, but on the whole the day was consumed with Wuthering Heights.

This morning I woke up feeling like I had been hit by one of those lovely double decker buses. I ached, I couldn't breathe and it hurt to swallow. Alas, I've finally caught what's going around. All my friends have had it, and I finally got it. It's rather unpleasant and the weather today was no help, cold and rainy. 

I made it through my presentation on T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" and got through my quiz. Thankfully, my last class, the one that runs from 5.30-8.00 had been cancelled, so I was able to come home, go to the chemist and buy some stuff to hopefully help me start feeling better. Other than that I've been trying to take it easy. I finished up some reading and tried to get a jump on some other reading. This is going to he a hellaciously busy week for me. We (that is about 40 of us) are going to Belgium Friday and Saturday to go to Ieper, site of many WWI atrocities and also place of many, many graves and the Menin Gate. It will be interesting not only from a human perspective, but also from a literary one. I really enjoy some of the WWI poetry like "In Flanders Fields" and "Dulc et Decorum Est." We are actually going to the In Flanders Fields museum, which was voted Europe's Best Museum. Should be interesting. On a lighter note, I'm also excited about some Belgian chocolates and Belgian waffles. Most everyone seems to be excited about the beer, but not being much of a drinker, I don't really care.

But in addition to Ieper this weekend, I have a TON of reading this week. Most of it is for my history class, we have about 300 pages to read this week, which is about triple the normal, and the history reading takes forever. I also have to read The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield and The Merry Wives of Windsor by Shakespeare. There's probably something else I have to do that I'm forgetting, but oh well. I'll manage, mostly because I don't have a choice.  So on that note, I'm off to crawl into bed with a book in an attempt to both get work done and feel better.

For information on the Bronte production, click here for IMDV.  There is also yet another  screen version on tap (or sort-of) ... see the Bronte Blog for the latest news of this not-quite-happening-yet production.

Who's the Daddy?

Poor old Russ. His life in Chester has hardly been idyllic. His brother Sam turned rohypnol rapist. Lost a ball to testicular cancer. Married and soon after divorced to Mercedes. A one night stand with Tina. Things seemed to be looking up when he met the slightly mental yet very foxy compulsive liar Caroline. Lots of bunny sex later, they decided to up sticks and head to Hanoi. And why not? A sunset happy ending seemed to be on the cards - tickets booked, condoms bought in bulk - when Tina dropped the baby-shaped bombshell that is Max's true parentage. So, like the Event Horizon, the village wouldn't let Russ leave. His blonde strumpet is off to Hanoi and he stayed in town to face up to his responsibilities. What a gent, what a chump.

Queen beyatch

So that leads us onto Tina. When did she become such a harpy? Did Russ's man juice short circuit her brain? Dom might be a bit of a wet blanket but he so doesn't deserve to have that titwitch whinging at him 24/7 - we can't blame him for spending the night with someone else, even if it was with some random northern bird (see below) who he didn't even shag - we wish he had! No one is more self-righteous than a cheat however and this was all the reason Tina needed to throw him out and then chase after Russ with the fruit of her superfertile womb. Run for the hills! 

Loony tunes?

Much like Russ's failed attempt to escape the village, young Newt is having similar luck trying to escape his mentalness. Notable for two OMG moments (see below), his week began on a happy note with him winning a writing competition (much to Michaela's chagrin) and ended with him pouring his anti-schizo pills down the sink. There may, as they say, be trouble ahead...

Darren - boo!

Here at WLH we always have something positive to say about Darren, however we must say we are little disappointed him in. He started the week so well: serving behind the bar in The Dog in one of his trademark string vests after a smoothie-related mishap; finally getting the shags on with Cindy (though we feel this is crossing the streams of gold-diggerness. danger!); further bonding cuteness with Newt which appeared to be branching off into wrestling . And then little Newt went into meltdown and we all know Darren could have helped him by telling him the truth about Jack. But alas he didn't. Tut tut! Cue more tears - but what can we say Darren? You've let us down, you've let Newt down but worst of all you've let yourself down...

Alpha Josh

Meek little Josh found his mojo this week. Still holding a torch for pramface Amy, he invited her round for a romantic weekend at his- smooth! When this later degenerated into a house party thanks to Michaela, he decked Ste when he manhandled Amy - hooray! I am ratboy, hear me roar!

Talkin about the (wo)man in the mirror...oh yeah!

The village was seeing double this week, with Gemma the random northern bird wreaking havoc (tempting Dom to the dark side for a free pint of cider and black in the Loft) but best of all coming face to face with doppelganger-tastic Jacqui. Winehouse style beehive?  Check. Gigantic hoopy earrings? Check. Ultra tight, jailbird chic clothing? Check. Drag queen make up? Check check check. "Wears it like a chav", Jacqui growled territorially and promptly sent her clone packing. Gonna make that...change!

See you next tuesday

A couple of weeks ago we were wondering what the point of Justin is and the question still remains.  Even after being knocked out and concussed by Leila, who then somewhat creepily pretended to be his girlfriend, we still found it hard to feel sorry for him - and as soon as we found out he was just playing along with it in order to put her off him any sympathy evaporated. He is a total CW!!! Let's hope Leila has finally seen the light!

Evil alert

A quiet week for the village's evildoers. As he was nowhere to be seen, we are hoping Vile Niall was in an underground, possibly volcanic, lair plotting his next evil deed but instead he was sending Steph bunches of flowers. Wuss - expect to see him on an advert for Moooonpig any time soon. Luckily, Evil Leah was on hand to puke all over Michaela. Hooray for such hardcore evillness!!

Heeathcliff...

We had to mention Wuthering Heights appearing unexpectedly appearing on the soundtrack this week. Can't beat a bit of Bush. You can check out the 'Oaks rather awesome soundtrack on WLH's blipfeed.

Gratuitous semi nudity 

Tony getting spray tanned clad in a bananahammock. Eeww!!

Zack in bed, post Michaela shag. Tasty!

Quotes

"Don't enjoy talking to a plank of wood much...enough about Jake" - Darren.

"Sorry I'm late, I couldnt find my pink thong!", Michaela overshares on arriving at Josh's party.

"Little ugly slapper" Michaela is somewhat misleading in her description of Zoe.

Film student moment

Leila and Justin mooch over each other, split screen.

OMG  moment

Newt sees Jack!

Zack and Michaela get the shags on!

Russ stays in the village to raise his unexpected offspring!

ELI RETURNS!!!!

In this post, I'd like to address a disconcerting tendency I've perceived in individuals of an age roughly equal to my own, namely a liability to believe that Gothic Fiction is 'lame', 'shit', 'lame shit', or of some other, similar nature that renders the genre unworthy of attention. What misguided individual originated this at once horrifying and laughable idea I cannot guess, though I suspect Chuck Palahniuk on the grounds that the besmirchment of quality literature and the advancement of its opposite is in his interest, that information is irrelevant, for this mysterious propagandist and his disciples have no evidence in which to ground their slander, whereas I am prepared to weave a virtually impregnable defense of overwrought Victorian melodramas.     

If you're a regular reader of OMGABAT, or have happened to notice that more of my posts fall into the category titled 'Dracula' than do into that titled 'Music', you may be anticipating the mention of a certain work of Bram Stoker's, but indeed in this you are mistaken, as the tirade into which I am about to boldly forge concerns an entirely different macabre tale of ancient, decaying edifices and dead who yet tread the earth, one which, unlike the forementioned vampire yarn, never spawned a decent movie-- Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. 

I hear you scoff even as I write this, youth of today. "Have you finally forfeited every iota of reason you once possessed?" You'd ask, perhaps not so eloquently, "surely this 19th century romance cannot contend with the work of edgy Gen X scribes and their terse musings on such provocative subjects as booze, drugs, and whores?" In response to this challenge, I turn your attention to Chapter 13 of the book in question, constituted by Isabella's letter to Nelly Dean imploring to be rescued from the tyranny of marriage to Heathcliff. An exchange between Isabella and Heathcliff's adoptive brother Hindley, in which the latter articulates his desire to see Heathcliff killed, proceeds as follows:

'Look here!' he replied, pulling from his waistcoat a curiously- constructed pistol, having a double-edged spring knife attached to the barrel.

This book features a handgun with a knife on top of the barrel. This isn't a musket or any sort of firearm for which a bayonet might be an appropriate accoutrement, it's a pistol, secured to which is a knife that I imagine is at least as large as it is itself. A knife-gun, or a gun-knife if you prefer. Can a mortal intelligence conceive of a more badass machine?  "I know what you're thinking, punk. Did I fire six shots, or only five? Doesn't fucking matter, I'm going to cut your throat open!" Though her imagination was tempered by the level of technology extant during her lifetime, Bronte prefigured this: 

Moreover, while I doubt Mr. Palahniuk could hold his own in a Fight Club, Emily Bronte, having lived during a turbulent age in an area frequently beset by riots, was a fucking sharpshooter, and was more than capable, should the need arise, of knifegunning a foe into oblivion. My befuddlement as to why I can't find a hard-boiled gunslinging poetess with whom to settle down is a diatribe for another day.

Perhaps I'll fortify my argument with examples drawn from other staples of the Gothic genre at a later date, but, in the meanwhile, I challenge all who remain unconvinced of Wuthering Heights' hardcore nature to produce a piece of prose which more effectively elicits from its reader the interjection 'oh shit, you're so fucked' than does the inquiry posed by the young Linton as he travels to meet his father for the first time: "Is Wuthering Heights as pleasant a place as Thrushcross Grange?" The poor little shit has no idea what he's getting himself into, they've got knifeguns up there.

-- Gothicus Maximus

Couldn't decide which clip I liked best so posted them both.

"Can I tell you what the worst part is?" he asked hesitantly when I said nothing... "The worse part is knowing what would have been..." Jacob shook his head. "I'm exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us - comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your life would have taken..." He stared onto space for a moment, and I waited. "If the world was the way it was supposed to be, if there were no monsters and no magic..."

I could see what he saw, and I knew that he was right. If the world was the sane place it was supposed to be, Jacob and I would have been together. And we would have been happy. He was my soul mate in that world - would have been my soul mate still if his claim had not been overshadowed by something stronger, something so strong that it could not exist in a rational world...

Two futures, two soul mates... too much for any one person. And so unfair that I wouldn't be the only one to pay for it. Jacob's pain seemed too high a price. Cringing at the thought of that price, I wondered if I would have wavered, if I hadn't lost Edward once. If I didn't know what it was like to live without him. I wasn't sure...

"He's like a drug for you, Bella." His voice was still gentle, not at all critical. "I see that you can't live without him now. It's too late. But I would have been healthier for you. Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun."

The corner of my mouth turned up in a wistful half-smile. "I used to think of you that way, you know. Like the sun. My personal son. You balanced out the clouds nicely for me."

He sighed. "The clouds I can handle. But I can't fight with an eclipse."

-Eclipse, pages 598-600

I am soooo addicted to this series. It's everything I've loved in reading. It's Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice (Twilight). It's Romeo and Juliet (New Moon). It's Heathcliff and Cathy from Wuthering Heights (Eclipse). In fact, I found that Edward points to these three couples on page 28 when I checked back to make sure I spelled Heathcliff correctly :-D . Makes me wonder if Breaking Dawn will be Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester. (Those of you who've already read it, DON'T TELL ME!!!!)

I really enjoy Meyer's writing style. Yes, this series is romantic in that it's about lovers whose love is epic and the opposition to their realization of this love almost insurmountable. It's everything I fell in love with when I read Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice as a teen. This series brings the same feelings of hope, agony, love, desire and despair, all occurring at the same moment, that I had at 15 with my first real boyfriend (by real I mean the first one you kiss for hours and wonder what's beyond the kissing but the kissing is satisfying enough not to cross that boundary... the first boyfriend you park with... that first boyfriend that when we broke up it felt like my heart had been ripped out with a dull spoon).

Okay, I admit it... The Twilight series isn't an intellectually stimulating set of books, they are more like brain candy. But it's so nice that at 35 I can feel those fresh and new emotions. I give Eclipse 4 out of 5 stars.

• Israeli PM Olmert declares intent to resign
• CNNMoney: Bush wants $700B bailout power
• Mbeki's departure marks 'end of an era'
• Nightclub fireworks blaze kills 43
• 50 dead in Chinese mining accidents
• Hong Kong girl sick from tainted milk
• Dozens hurt in Iraqi weekend violence
• German, Somali wife abducted in Somalia
• Police raid evangelist's compound
• Slovenians vote in tight elections 43 min
• German far right anti-Muslim demo banned
• Bolivians 'ready to storm' richest city
• Ocean debris expected to get worse
• Blaine's next stunt could leave him blind
• George Michael in 'toilet drugs arrest'

we need to remember what brings us joy....

What does the the charming french phrase

joie de vivre [zhwah de veev-ra]

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Scroll down for the cute sms that came through.

BBC's Tess apparently did very well on Sunday night; it helped the BBC win the weekend ratings with its almost 6 million viewers. A reporter at The Mirror thought Tess was "almost too perfect" -- Someone from the UK PLEASE put it on YouTube!! I am dying here!

Sinead Gleeson of Ireland's Herald plans to curl up this winter with some good classics -- always a good way to spend one's time. Of course the other option is to simply watch the film adaptations on BBC, which she commends for their stunning period dramas. There's a way to do them right:

There should be oodles of fabric -- from rustling dresses to chintz-covered chaise longues -- lots of brooding, scowling unattainable men and gorgeous stately homes that look wonderful but were probably bloody freezing back in the day. But then there's also the darker underclass side of things, like the BBC's new Tess of the D'Urbervilles which started on Sunday night. Forget carriages and ballgowns, this is gritty gutter stuff, but then no one can hold a candle to the Beeb when it comes to the genre. From Cranford to Sense & Sensibility, their adaptations are lavish, brilliantly cast and usually the perfect mix of tragic-comedy.

Not surprisingly, she finds ITV's new nightmare Lost in Austen to be a "dumbed-down and shoddy" version of a costume drama. If the original material is so classic, why is LIA so humiliating? Good question.

Never mind that time-travelling Amanda shows up at the Bennett household in a biker's jacket. The opening credits are straight out of Desperate Housewives and there's a Bridget Jones-style voiceover. Why do we need to drag these things kicking and screaming into the 21st century?

ITV may well redeem themselves with their imminent Wuthering Heights adaptation, but I'll be sticking with Tess and the upcoming Little Dorrit on BBC.

I am not holding my breath, as Mammoth Screen is also doing Wuthering Heights. But I could be wrong. As long as they stick to the plot, they might be able to redeem themselves. :)

A Telegraph article examines "the mystery of enduring love" through some literary analysis. It mentioned Rawdon Crawley (*swoons*), so I had to read it.

Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights (Ch. 2).

Mr. Lockwood's impression of Wuthering Heights adequately summarizes my own. When I seek refuge and enjoyment on a dreary day (although I love mist, rain, and cold, over sun, heat, and humidity), this is not the novel I seek to curl up with. Why wade through the heath and mud of Wuthering Heights when one can enjoy Thackeray, Austen, Dickens, &c.? Shortly after completing Jane Eyre, I was under the impression that these Bronte sisters were not nearly as weird as I thought. Well, I soon discovered that while Charlotte may be quite tolerable, Emily is way out in left field. With every turn of the page I felt as if I was drudging through the muck, dying to reach my destination -- the end of this crazy story. I had determined early on in my reading that Wuthering Heights needed some sort of visual to accompany it; I certainly was not enjoying the book, but perhaps the movie would clear some things up and redeem it. The last adaptation (barring the artistic remake in 2003 portraying modern-day teenagers) was made in 1998 by London Weekend Television, starring Matthew Macfadyen (P&P 2005) as Hareton, Sarah Smart as Cathy, Robert Cavanah as Heathcliff, and Kadie Savage as Young Cathy. The 1992 version looks really weird; I know Heathcliff is supposed to be somewhat of a monster, but this seems over the top.

All the other adaptations are from the 70's and earlier. So, it was with great excitement and surprise that I learned that not one, but two adaptations of this novel are in the works. There has been much confusion about which cast was for which film, which company was doing which film, &c., but with some free time and help from BronteBlog, the issues are finally cleared up. (If you have never read Wuthering Heights and plan to, or are one of those people -- like me -- who hates spoilers, do not click on the links to the various articles and websites below, because they give some MAJOR details away).

Mammoth Screen's version (please Lord, do not allow another Lost in Austen catastrophe), which will air in two parts this November on ITV, will star Tom Hardy as Heathcliff, Charlotte Riley as Catherine Linton, and Andrew Lincoln as Edgar Linton. A Telegraph article says, "The production is being described as 'edgy cool and raw' by sources close to the project." While I do not typically like "edgy" stuff, Wuthering Heights is a very edgy book, especially considering its historical context. For a Victorian gothic novel, its chock full of sex. Back to the film, the director is Coky Giedroyc, and the writer is Peter Bowker.

The British film version is supposed to star Michael Fassbender as Heathcliff, but the production has been plagued with problems from the start. Natalie Portman was originally cast as Catherine Linton, but she pulled because "she didn't think she could manage a Yorkshire accent" (judging from The Other Boleyn Girl, that might have been a problem); other sources also say she had scheduling issues. Keira Knightley, and Lindsey Lohan (that would have been strange...) were also considered for the role, as was Sienna Miller. Keira apparently didn't want the job Natalie turned down, and Sienna had other obligations. The director John Maybury also pulled in early August out due to conflicts with the producers, who wanted "a weird, dark version of the weird, dark tale." In late August, Abbie Cornish officially signed on for the role of Catherine Linton, though the production is still without a director. Some sources put the release date in 2010. That's a long time to wait.

Patsy Stoneman, a Bronte specialist and the author of several books on Wuthering Heights, welcomed the new adaptations but said she doubted whether either project would capture the essence of the novel.

"There has never been a definitive visual adaptation and there never will be," she said.

It would take quite an epic adaptation to make me actually like Wuthering Heights. But in terms of adaptations, the more the merrier!

Heathcliffe is frustrating.  He's hell-bent on destroying the lives of those who destroyed his and made him miserable.  Taking over Wuthering Heights to prove to Hindley that he could usurp him in power and then ruining Hareton's life the way his was; it feels like vengeance taken to the extreme.

What I found confusing is how exactly it was that Catherine was 7 months pregnant and nothing was known 'til she had the baby.  Was everybody else in the house simply not paying attention to her?  Or did Ellen simply omit any knowledge of it 'til that part of the story?

Well, I'm going to read a bit more tonight and hopefully have it finished by the end of the week!  More later.

Next up is Little Dorrit', a 15-part Dickens adaptation. And even Channel 4 are giving bonnet drama a bash with the grisly realism of Civil War England in The Devil's Whore. Fans of costume drama can also look forward to more than just the swell of the opening sequence of Oliver Twist this Christmas too.

15-part?! While that's wonderful news, why did Austen's films only get about 90 minutes each? Sense & Sensibility was only 2 parts. And Tess is only 4, and it is by no means a quick read.

A thrilling new version of Wuthering Heights by ITV is expected to land on the small screen later this year. Meanwhile, Hollywood executivess are busy casting for a new Cathy after Natalie Portman pulled out of a big-screen version of Emily Bronte's epic.

Two versions in one year! This is definitely progress, because the other adaptations from decades ago look really, really strange.  Of course, this two-version relationship will make it difficult to follow, but I'll do my best. I apologize in advance for all inevitable screwups. :) As I said earlier, Wuthering Heights is a freaky novel, so the big (or little) screen can only improve it. I am interested to see how Hollywood will deal with the mad Heathcliff, psychotic women, near-total lack of action, and other Gothic qualities. Seriously, I did not like the book. Of the Bronte sisters, Charlotte is normal, Emily is seriously confused, and Anne, well, I don't know anything about her -- but she has to be more stable than Emily.

The article also mentioned this year's new Sense and Sensibility, which was wonderful, and The City of Vice, which tells the story of the first Bow Street Runners, London's original police force in the Georgian Era; I will be returning to discuss both later.

"I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that there is or should be an existence of yours beyond you. What were the use of my creation, if I were entirely contained here?

My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff’s miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning; my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it."

Emily Brontë, “Wuthering Heights”

1. Applying for a one-year art course at Staffordshire University.

2. Turning twenty, and visiting Monkey Forest with Vicky and her friend David from Cambridge. Vicky gave me a photo box, a set of pencils and a beautiful toy monkey that looks like Rowan Williams. I also got plenty of other art supplies, £15 worth of book vouchers and a raspberry pavlova cake.

3. Staying in a caravan in Snowdonia.

4. Climbing some of the way up Snowdon and taking these photos (I am particularly impressed by the courage/stupidity of the rowan tree that decided to grow in the middle of a waterfall.)

Description: a miniature waterfall on mount Snowdon.

Description: a beautiful tangle of roots, grass and moss

Description: Ferns growing around a minature waterfall

Description: the aforementioned brave/stupid Rowan tree.

5. Drawing and getting a sheezyart site to put my drawings on.

6. Reading the amazing Lion boy trilogy by Zizou Corder.

7. Re-reading Wuthering Heights.

8. Struggling to memorise the formation of Ancient Greek participles.

9. Translating chunks of Sallust.

10. Protesting against the fact that there is not international treaty to control the sale of arms, even though over 1,000 people are killed by arms every day, there is one gun for every ten people on the planet and 12 billion bullets are produced every year.

11. Spending a small fortune in a bookshop in Porthmadog.

12. Walking along beaches.

13.Realising that life perhaps isn't so bad after all.

Acá una inglesita a la que le tomé cierto cariño (tiene decenas de videos en su canal de youtube), versionando (coreografía incluída) el tema Wuthering Heights, de Kate Bush:

Otro karaoke. Stupid Cupid, modo Connie Francis (por el gritito del estribillo más que nada):

Cantautor de acá (sin coreo, se versiona a sí mismo):

I'll admit that it is difficult to immerse yourself in. The diction is both intelligent and grandiose. That, and you're bombarded with Joseph's vernacular almost from the get-go. The frame story, once begun, is so compelling, however, that you soon find yourself enthralled. The story of Heathcliff and Cathy is unique, horrifying, and disastrously romantic.

These are two of my favorite anti-heroes. Heathcliff is a sadistic plotter, bent on ruining everyone's happiness if he cannot secure his own. He lusts after revenge and the downfall of anyone who has slighted him or anyone connected with them. He cares for no one but himself and Cathy. He is manipulative and takes advantage of situations as they are presented to him and twists them so he gets his way in the end. Cathy is selfish and a snob. She is pretentious and cares more about position and good-breeding than even love. She cannot bear to be connected to a man who cannot maintain or better her position in the eyes of society.

Eventually, these character flaws destroy them respectively. Cathy cannot handle the competing affections of both Heathcliff and her husband (she wishes for them to get along, for her sake) and falls ill, though it is more a psychological illness than anything else. Heathcliff, rather than wishing peace for Cathy, refuses to let her rest. He doesn't care if she walks the world for all eternity, haunting him as a ghost, but he cannot bear for her to leave him. He wishes no peace for her, only for the selfish consummation of his needs.

Heathcliff does not stop at Cathy. He takes advantage of Rebecca's affection towards him, and twists that situation to fit his needs. He demeans Hareton to the point of depravity. He manipulates his own son, and Cathy's daughter in an effort to ruin all of their lives, especially to get revenge on Cathy's husband. His occupations in these matters consume him, until all he can see is Cathy and the tangled webs of everyone's lives and how they correlated to his plots. Eventually, he is to the point where his plans could be realized.

These characters are immature. Critics have claimed they are not fully developed. That is true in a way, but not what was meant. These characters are not fully developed, because they're not supposed to be. They are not well-adjusted socialites. They were the victims of life, warped and abused by circumstance since infancy. They know nothing else, and they act accordingly. They have never known acceptance, caring, or compassion. They have only experienced, rage, violence, and passion, which can only lead to a tempest of emotion, not the adult relationship they would be expected to have. These characters are realistic in the fact that they are depraved and maladjusted. They are humans, and humans have their difficulties and their faults. It makes their passion that much more believable.

"CATHY stayed at Thrushcross Grange five weeks: till Christmas. By that time her ankle was thoroughly cured, and her manners much improved. The mistress visited her often in the interval, and commenced her plan of reform by trying to raise her self-respect with fine clothes and flattery, which she took readily; so that, instead of a wild, hatless little savage jumping into the house, and rushing to squeeze us all breathless, there 'lighted from a handsome black pony a very dignified person, with brown ringlets falling from the cover of a feathered beaver, and a long cloth habit, which she was obliged to hold up with both hands that she might sail in. Hindley lifted her from her horse, exclaiming delightedly, 'Why, Cathy, you are quite a beauty! I should scarcely have known you: you look like a lady now. Isabella Linton is not to be compared with her, is she, Frances?' 'Isabella has not her natural advantages,' replied his wife: 'but she must mind and not grow wild again here. Ellen, help Miss Catherine off with her things - Stay, dear, you will disarrange your curls - let me untie your hat." Chapter 7, Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte.

[The page numbers refer to the exact edition linked to on Amazon]

In the middle of the first volume of Wuthering Heights, Catherine confesses to Nelly her love for Heathcliff, but she tempers it by saying, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff” (81). Nelly then notices that Heathcliff had overheard their conversation, but “had listened till he heard Catherine say it would degrade her to marry him, and then he staid to hear no farther” (81). Though Heathcliff comes to realize that Catherine loves him passionately, her comment here stays with him for the rest of his life. Indeed, his later actions seem to be Heathcliff attempting to prove himself worthy of Catherine. Through such reasoning, Heathcliff becomes lord and master over not only both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, but also over all the people connected to Catherine.

First, Heathcliff marries Isabella, Catherine’s sister-in-law, to spite Catherine (112). Then he becomes master of Wuthering Heights essentially by force of character, with Hindley “on the verge of madness” (140) in his rage over Heathcliff’s doings. Even Joseph calls Heathcliff “t’ maister” (143). In this sense, Heathcliff is enacting his revenge over Hindley for his rejection of Heathcliff as a child and a young man, as well as proving himself to Catherine to be worthy of acquiring her family’s holdings.

After Catherine’s death, Heathcliff becomes even more aggressive in pursuing his goal, as if he feels the need to prove even more in order to be worthy of her in the afterlife and not just in life. Thus, rather than consenting to achieve superiority through trickery and force of character, Heathcliff moves to actual force in kidnapping young Catherine and Nelly, forcing them to stay until young Catherine agrees to marry his son, Linton (272). This must be accomplished before young Catherine’s father, Edgar – Catherine’s husband – dies, in order that Heathcliff might become master over Thrushcross Grange, which was Catherine’s domain after marrying into the Linton family.

Accomplishing both of these goals – his son marrying young Catherine and gaining control over Thrushcross Grange when Edgar died – Heathcliff seems to finally start to come to peace. We see his iron-fisted control start to slip as he grows older and there is nothing more to achieve in his quest. Indeed, he begins to avoid anything that would evoke the memory of Catherine, such as avoiding eating with Catherine’s daughter at mealtimes (326), perhaps wondering if everything he had accomplished will not be enough for him to be reunited with Catherine in heaven. Finally, he appears to achieve a sense of contentment after a night walk where he returns with the “appearance of joy” for he feels he is “within sight of [his] heaven” (328). We cannot know what he saw on that walk but it appears as though he realizes that he has realized his goal and will soon be with Catherine, having proved himself worthy. Thus, it follows that he soon dies, and Nelly notices that “he seemed to smile” (335).