Hardly withering from its heights
Thursday, April 5, 2018
The year 1939 is considered the greatest in Hollywood history for several good reasons – among them, the theatrical releases of "Gone With the Wind," "The Wizard of Oz," "Stagecoach," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "Ninotchka," "Gunga Din," and" Dark Victory." Among that crowd, it's hard for a given film to stand out, but William Wyler's "Wuthering Heights" certainly deserves to be in the conversation for best of the bunch. At last night's CineVerse meeting, we suggested compelling reasons why and also explored the film's importance in the gothic romance subgenre that took root during this era. Here's a roundup of our discussion points:
WUTHERING HEIGHTS INCLUDES MANY ELEMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OFTEN FOUND IN THE GOTHIC ROMANCE FILM SUBGENRE. CAN YOU NAME SOME OF THESE TRAITS?
- The story involves a romance as well as elements of horror and mystery. This combination is drawn from the template for gothic fiction (also known as gothic horror), which Wikipedia defines as “a genre or mode of literature and film that combines fiction and horror, death, and at times romance or happiness.”
- There is an atmosphere of suspense and dangerous intrigue.
- The characters’ relationships or romances are often doomed or haunted, and sometimes involve love triangles.
- Often, the lovers face challenges related to class distinction or social rank.
- There can be a hint of paranormal activity or supernatural/ghostly forces.
- The story typically occurs within or near a large, brooding castle or mansion that boasts Gothic architecture.
- Dark secrets and/or scandals are commonly plot twists or catalysts.
- The visual style usually employs chiaroscuro high-contrast lighting and shadowy atmospheric sets and effects – borrowing generously from horror and film noir movies.
- The protagonist is often isolated and doubtful of the veracity of his or her love interest.
- One or more servants play an important supporting role in the story.
- According to Infoplease, the Gothic romance in literature was a “type of novel that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th cent. in England. Gothic romances were mysteries, often involving the supernatural and heavily tinged with horror, and they were usually set against dark backgrounds of medieval ruins and haunted castles. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole was the forerunner of the type, which included the works of Ann Radcliffe , Matthew Gregory Lewis , and Charles R. Maturin , and the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey satirizes Gothic romances. The influence of the genre can be found in some works of Coleridge, Le Fanu, Poe, and the Brontës. During the 1960s so-called Gothic novels became enormously popular in England and the United States. Seemingly modeled on Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, these novels usually concern spirited young women, either governesses or new brides, who go to live in large gloomy mansions populated by peculiar servants and precocious children and presided over by darkly handsome men with mysterious pasts. Popular practitioners of this genre are Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Catherine Cookson, and Dorothy Eden.”
- The poisonous power of jealousy
- The destructive power of love, particularly unrequited love – love that turns from a blessing to a curse
- Master and servant
- Social status and rank as impediments to love and happiness
- The struggle between the civilized and the wild. The former is represented by the Linton clan and the Grange, who embody sophistication, culture and good breeding. The latter is represented by Heathcliff, Kathryn, the Earnshaws, the Wuthering Heights home, and the moors.
- The moors personify “freedom and danger, a symbol of Heathcliff and Kathryn’s love that is trampled by the forces of order,” wrote Literary Hub blogger Craig Hubert.
- The folly of wishing the world would never change
- Doubles and dual natures: consider how this story has many matching or contrasting pairs – Heathcliff and Catherine view themselves as identical and soulmates; the Grange and Weathering Heights stand as to opposite structures that symbolize disparate cultures and values; Catherine has two sides to her personality, one that desires Heathcliff and one that yearns for Edgar. Note that when she’s indoors, she is Edgar’s woman; when she’s outdoors and on the moors, she’s Heathcliff’s woman.
- Ghostly apparitions and the supernatural. Catherine’s ghost is supposedly seen or heard by villagers, and Catherine and Heathcliff’s spirits are depicted in the final shot.
- Love triangles
- Windows
- Angels and devils
- Heather
- Pride and Prejudice
- Tess
- The Age of Innocence
- Emma
- Tuck Everlasting
- Water for Elephants
- Twilight
- Serena
- Jezebel
- The Little Foxes
- Mrs. Miniver
- The Best Years of Our Lives
- Roman Holiday
- The Big Country
- Ben-Hur
- Funny Girl