Narrative Perspectives in Wuthering Heights: The Role of Nelly Dean and Mr. Lockwood as Character-Narrators

Abstract

In this paper, the narrative structure of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë will be discussed in relation to dual narrative functions of Nelly Dean and Mr. Lockwood. The novel uses a complicated narrative method where the novel story is presented in more than one perspective instead of using one omniscient narrator. Lockwood, who is an outsider, a tenant at Thrushcross Grange, is the first person to bring in the mysterious world of Wuthering Heights and Nelly Dean, who serves in the events over many years, is the one who tells the core of the past. With the help of such a stratification of narration, Brontë creates a complex characterization of characters like Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw with the readers being able to observe events through a prism of both social status and personal prejudices. The paper states that the plot of interaction between Lockwood and Nelly Dean adds to the realism, suspense, and psychological meaning of the novel. Lockwood is an interested spectator who acts as a framer of the story, and Nelly Dean is the main narrator who connects two generations of characters and happenings. Their views influence the readers with the perception of the themes of passion, class struggle, and human suffering. However, in the end, the novel unfamiliar narrative approach reveals the literary artistry of Brontë and adds much to the complexity and depth of Wuthering Heights that persists up to this day.