A Gothic novel refers to an English genre of fiction popular in the 18th to early 19th centuries,

characterised by an atmosphere of mystery and horror and having a pseudo-medieval setting. Pseudo-
medieval setting in the other hand refers to seemingly, but not actually, medieval; resembling the
middle ages, or something from that era. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is widely regarded as a
classic example of Gothic literature. It is a novel that explores themes of supernatural, horror, violence,
passion, and mystery, which are all significant elements of the Gothic genre. Discussed below, are some
of the instances that makes Wuthering Heights a Gothic novel;

To begin with, we will look at the setting. The setting of Wuthering Heights is dark, mysterious, and
eerie. The novel is set in the isolated moors of Yorkshire, and the two houses at the centre of the story,
Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, are both depicted as gloomy and forbidding. The moors and
the houses are described in a way that emphasizes their supernatural and mysterious qualities. The
most important characteristic of gothic fiction is haunted and gloomy setting. The story takes place on
the unpleasantly rough and wild English moors. The setting of the novel is most of the time portrayed as
savage and gloomy, adding to the dusky and dark mood of the novel. Emily Bronte has shown the gothic
setting of Wuthering Heights from the very second page of the novel with gothic vocabulary like
“grotesque”, “wilderness” and “griffins” etc. These gothic words immediately create a sense of dread
and horror in the reader’s mind. The building of Wuthering Heights was also constructed 300 years ago,
so it is understandable that many generations resided there and possibly it has seen many evils and
deaths. All these make the building of Wuthering Heights an eerie and ghostly and apparently a perfect
setting for a gothic novel.

Secondly, we see the novel's atmosphere as being Gothic. The mood is bleak, oppressive, and haunted.
The story is told in a dark, brooding tone that creates a sense of unease and foreboding. The characters
are tormented by their passions, fears, and obsessions, which further contribute to the atmosphere of
dread. In particular, we see Heathcliff as fiendish, grim and moody. Hindley is always drunk and brutish,
while Joseph is rigid and hateful, not forgetting Hareton who is very rude and unfriendly. The whole of
Wuthering Heights is surrounded by weird people.

In addition, we have the super natural elements. Several super natural events are seen to occur in
Wuthering Heights. The first supernatural element we encounter appears early in the novel, when Mr.
Lockwood stays overnight at Wuthering Heights during a snowstorm. After having a nightmare, he finds
his hand gripped by the child ghost of Catherine Earnshaw, who asks him to let her in. Because she
won't let go, Mr. Lockwood angrily speculates to Heathcliff that she must have been a changeling in life.
In Irish and British mythology, a changeling is a mischievous fairy disguised as an infant or child who
switches places with a human child. Lockwood means that Catherine's ghost is too capricious for her
living self to have been human. After he leaves the room, however, he finds that Heathcliff is jealous of
his experience. Rather than fearing and avoiding the ghost, Heathcliff begs her to visit him instead.
Later, we learn that before she died, Catherine vowed to haunt Heathcliff, saying she wouldn't rest until
he was in the grave with her. Immediately after her death, he implores her to do so, proclaiming his
belief in ghosts and insisting that he cannot live without her. Near the end of the novel, Heathcliff seems
to finally perceive Catherine's ghost and to be content--and he dies of a mysterious cause shortly
thereafter.
Also, halfway into the novel, housekeeper Ellen (Nelly) Dean sees the phantom of her childhood
companion and Catherine's brother, Hindley Earnshaw. He appears as a young boy digging at the
bottom of a pillar where he and Ellen used to hide small items. She feels compelled to visit Wuthering
Heights, believing that the apparition is an omen of Hindley's death. Hindley passes away the following
autumn, having dug himself into Heathcliff's debt by gambling, and having found the bottom of too
many bottles of liquor. Both Catherine and Hindley have now appeared to other people as spirits in the
novel. Later, Isabella Linton describes her first impression of Hindley, noting that ''his eyes, too, were
like a ghostly Catherine's.'' This emphasizes their connection as siblings with supernatural or non-human
characteristics.

Furthermore, violence and horror are seen to be prominent in the novel. The characters are involved in
physical and emotional abuse, revenge, and destructive behaviour. The novel's depiction of violence and
horror is graphic, and it is used to create a sense of fear and shock in the reader. Also, there is an aspect
of the Chain of Cruelty which compels one to inflict cruelty upon others. In her novel, Wuthering
Heights, Brontë illustrates the rough life of Heathcliff, conflicted with whether he should focus his life on
loving Catherine Earnshaw or inflicting revenge on those who tortured him as a child. Mr. Earnshaw
adopts Heathcliff into the Earnshaw family as an orphan gypsy, a social class that most of the Earnshaw
did not care for. The eldest child of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley, abuses Heathcliff horribly, shaping the way
Heathcliff perceives the world around him. Catherine Earnshaw, Hindley’s younger sister, motivates
Heathcliff to endure this pain through their affectionate relationship. With his heart focused on revenge,
Heathcliff devises a cruel plan to retaliate those who hurt him; he returns to Wuthering Heights as a
refined, powerful man. He takes some of his anger out on Hareton Earnshaw, Hindley’s son; this
parallels Hindley’s abuse towards Heathcliff. Through Hindley’s and Heathcliff’s abusiveness in
Wuthering Heights, Brontë asserts that cruelty cycles from its perpetrators to its victims. Bronte shows
how cruelty passes through generations through Hindley’s mistreatment towards Heathcliff. From the
moment Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff, Hindley enters a state of melancholy and loathes that his
father clearly favours Heathcliff over him. Mr. Earnshaw’s adoption of Heathcliff upsets Hindley, his
father clearly favours Heathcliff over him. Consequently, Hindley reciprocates this hatred when he
meets Heathcliff, comparing him to Satan and wishing for his death. Heathcliff, unable to act against
these cruel words, silently absorbs them. This interaction reveals traits of each character: the
maliciousness of Hindley’s character, who hates on the young Heathcliff without reason; and the
timidity of Heathcliff, fostered by his inability to stand up for himself. Although timid at the moment,
Heathcliff assimilates this cruelty so that he can inflict it upon others, just as Hindley does the same to
him. This depicts how the victim of suffering develops into the bearer of cruelty.

Finally, passion and romance are also key elements of the Gothic genre, and they are present in
Wuthering Heights. The love story between Heathcliff and Catherine is intense, obsessive, and tragic.
Their love is depicted as a force that transcends time and death, and it is intertwined with the
supernatural and the mysterious. Wuthering Heights is filled with different examples of the Romantic
Movements. Heathcliff is an exceptionally difficult character to analyse because he displays numerous
altered personalities. This raises the question: which Romantic Movement was most common in
Wuthering Heights? An analysis of Wuthering Heights reveals the most common Romantic Movement in
the text: Romanticism. Romanticism is based upon the ideas of subjectivity, inspiration and the primacy
of the individual. Various examples of these from the text are when Heathcliff has Catherine’s grave
excavated, the repeated possibility of supernatural beings, and the love from the past that is seen from
Heathcliff and Catherine. At one point in the text, readers picture Heathcliff’s excavation of Catherine’s
grave. This scene is a vital extract in determining the most common Romantic Movement. “In the
evening, I went to the churchyard. It blew bleak as winter—all round was solitary. I didn’t fear that her
fool of a husband would wander up the glen so late; and no one else had business to bring them there.
Being alone, and conscious two yards of loose earth was the sole barrier between us, I said to myself ‘I’ll
have her in my arms again!” (page 297)

The scene above truly grasps the idea of Romanticism because Heathcliff is showing his emotions and
individuality. His desire to be with Catherine is so powerful that he allows himself to disturb the peace
and have enough space available for him to occupy after he has passed. This is very unusual because
there are not any characters similar to Heathcliff in this text. This scene makes Heathcliff even more
difficult to analyse.

In conclusion, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights can be considered a Gothic novel because of its use of
supernatural elements, violent and horrific scenes, and its bleak and mysterious atmosphere. The
novel's depiction of passion, romance, and obsession also contributes to its classification as a Gothic
work.