Transcending Wuthering Heights

Perhaps its abiding fascination stems from the fact that the novel not only incorporates elements from a number of genres, but interrogates these different elements by creating a tension between them. So, for example, the pleasure of familiar detail provided by the text's realism is challenged by the transgressive power of the genres of fantasy and horror, gratifying both what Henry James has called 'the taste of emotions of recognition' and that 'for emotions of surprise.' Similarly, the intensity and escapism of the novel's romance is counterbalanced by the astute understanding of its…