We followed this up by reading an article comparing limited and unreliable narrators in Lockwood and Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby. Within this article we learned the following;
Limited/unreliable Narrators
Wuthering Heights has a fairly unorthodox narrative structure. Although there are only two obvious narrators, Lockwood and Nelly Dean, a variety of other narratives appear throughout the novel. The whole action is presented in the form of eyewitness narrations by people who have played some part in the narration they describe. Lockwood’s narrative is the outer framework of the story. He is the recipient of Nelly’s story and she in turn is the recipient of other narratives. Nelly and Lockwood are fundamentally different personalities and, therefore, each contribute to the reader’s understanding of events and characters differently. This framed narration makes the reader doubt whether Lockwood's narrative is accurate and trustworthy, as there are so many contributors to the narrative and the story has been filtered through layers in which the narrative has perhaps become distorted. We can also doubt the accuracy of Lockwood's account due to him being the outsider and displaced from his normal surroundings and therefore is likely to be affected by this. Lockwood also has a wild judge of character as at first he believes himself and Heathcliff to be similar and both 'misanthropists', although later he retracts this statement and says he is 'sociable' compared to Heathcliff. This perhaps exacerbates our questioning of Lockwood as he lacks the ability to not only judge characters but also himself. It could therefore be argued that Lockwood's unsteady narrative could arouse the Gothic element of terror, as the reader has a psychological fear of what is to happen within the text as they remain in the unknown.
Observing The Hero
It is ironic that Lockwood has escaped from what they perceive as the threat and dangers of love, and then finds himself in the company of a fierce and passionate man in Heatchliff, who will go to extreme lengths to fight for his love. From the first meeting between Lockwood and Heatchliff we can decipher that Lockwood is in awe of Heathcliff and struck by the mystery of a 'dark skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners gentleman'.
Poor Men, Rich Women
As the subject of Lockwood's narration, we learn a lot about Heatchliff. We find out the details of Heathcliff's poor upbringing on the streets of Liverpool, so when he falls in love with the beautiful and rich Catherine we begin to wonder why Heatchliff has fallen for a woman socially out of his reach, and does not have the social advantage of other young men, such as Edgar Linton.
Use the following links to read more information about Bronte's choice of narrative and critical interpretation:
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