The Narrative Structure of Wuthering Heights: An Examination of Nelly Dean and Lockwood

Brontë uses the literary technique of a dual narrative – a form of narrative that incorporates two different perspectives from two different individuals at varying points in time – to directly engage her readers by creating distance and objectivity. Lockwood's narrative is the outer framework of the novel which incorporates the intimate, eyewitness account of Nelly's story, who, in turn, relates the tertiary narratives of other characters.

Lockwood

Lockwood's heterodiegetic narration – one in which the narrator is not a character but an outsider – provides a framework for the story. his presence, lost in the transcription of Nelly Dean's tale, is nearly indiscernible. he decides not to stray from her story except to condense when necessary. Written in the format of a personal diary, the first few chapters of the novel are narrated by Lockwood himself it serves to create an underlying sense of intimacy between him, an impartial character, and the reader. Although Lockwood is nearly invisible for the majority of the story, what little he does share in his observations about others is crucial. Lockwood, the self-proclaimed misanthrope from a “busy-town,” comes off as a pompous intellectual. he fancies himself someone of “respectable character,” yet the facade of cultivated English politeness is unexpectedly tested when he enters a world that is both bewilderingly aggressive and foreign. Not surprisingly, he is fascinated by what he encounters, even though it leaves him feeling uncomfortable. Instead of absorbing what he experiences with an open mind, he views his surroundings with the preconceived notions of high-brow society, perplexed by how unconcerned the rural world of Wuthering Heights is in terms of gentility. Brontë chooses the one character who is incapable of being alone to reveal a major theme of the novel: the irrevocable effects of both locational and emotional isolation on individuals, and the raw passions that may erupt as a result. It is Lockwood's fickleness and ignorance of his own character that make him a thoroughly unreliable narrator, for he judges others according to his own ideas of himself. with an upturned nose, the presumptuous gentleman often belittles other characters with descriptors like “under-bred,” “rustic,” “uncultivated,” and “shabby,” thwarting the unconscious desire to belong by focusing on the appearance of things rather than what lies beneath. he continuously distances himself from that which cannot understand. Lockwood is at his core an emotional cripple whose transparent inability to engage his feelings...to act or feel exposes a vapidness that is in stark contrast with the other characters of the novel. As his emptiness is exposed, and we begin to reject the primary narrator. Bronte redistributes traditional judgment and adding weight to the emotionally charged actions of the characters he writes about. Lockwood is an outsider, which is what distinguishes him from the novel's secondary narrator

NELLY DEAN

Nelly's narration is homodiegetic: she is a character who is present for and participates in the action of the story she narrates. Presented with near breathless efficiency, Nelly's technique is packed with energy and vivid details. Nelly's personal speech, while elevated from that of an average servant in rural England, remains colloquial and approachable. Using shorter, less complex sentences than Lockwood, her story is life-like and imaginative, bursting with a sense of urgency as if she were relating events that transpired a few hours prior, rather than in years past. Given that Nelly's heavily dramatized narrative does not contain any editorial comments the impact is more powerful than Lockwood's narration. As the events tumble out of the natural gossip’s mouth and into Lockwood’s diary, the reader’s opinions, warped and uncertain, fluctuate wildly. Nelly is a character in the story she is presenting, and her perception is therefore questionable. It is important to remember that Nelly's past, present, and future are irrevocably intertwined with the land and people she details. Just as Heathcliff and Catherine are altered by their relationship with one other, her character is molded by circumstance and association with the others. Not only is Nelly continuously subjected to the whims and follies of others, but she remains the only character who is unable to live up to her biological function as a human being, sexually and socially excluded from the realm of courtship, love, and marriage. While she attempts to retain some sense of equality through self-education, Nelly ultimately forfeits her studies' knowing she has reached an intellectual impasse. the semi-educated housekeeper's first hand involvement in the story skews her objectivity and solidifies her as an unreliable narrator. Nelly's social status and subsequent hardships are a major guiding force in the novel. Lockwood perceives Nelly Dean as a curious human object belonging to the Grange. her position and age effect the story. Nelly, a lonely, dispossessed servant isolated from society at large, has been given a voice for the first time. Once she begins her account – on behalf of a flattering stranger who cannot contradict her – it is no surprise that the subtext begins to detail the psychological consequences of the trials listed above. In some ways, Nelly's narrative can also be interpreted as the story of her life. Her accounts are subject to partiality, often benefiting from alterations, edits, self-amnesty and justification, as she colors and shapes the story to suit her. Her presentation is dependent upon the inherent meaning she gathers from each event, and without a personal frame of reference, she would be unable to recreate a chronological timeline. Nelly’s attitude toward life is quite linear as a result. Intrinsically conservative and filled with resentment, Nelly exists in a constant state of insecurity, uncertain of her role and how she will be received by others. The scenes she focuses on in her narrative are selected with such precision that the reader, perceiving the essential spirit of the novel, can deduce the psychological aspects of each character. It is through these renditions of dialogue that the self-proclaimed “sensible soul” communicates who she is, interjecting her personal and religious beliefs through a pseudo-stoic story. Nelly's favorable opinion of herself as a “stout and reasonable kind of body” is not entirely unfounded, though. Her role as confidant, as well as the level of dependency each character exhibits for her, reinforces this belief. While Nelly does display altruistic tendencies at times, they only extend so far. Due to a continued sense of familiarity and the breach of master-servant relationships that transpire, Nelly is not averse to using the troubles of her superiors as a means of pointing up the intelligence and sobriety of her own mode of existence and that by shedding light on the moral defects or foibles of the other characters, she makes herself appear, by contrast, the essence of normality and good sense. Brontë utilizes Nelly’s often ambivalent attitude, in addition to Nelly's tendency to meddle in other people’s affairs and pass judgment, to reveal her hypocrisy and moral inconsistency. With help from Lockwood, who provides distance and objectivity, Brontë’s ultimate narrative tool is Nelly’s judgment which reveals how facile and incompetent human judgment can be.

dual narrative

Drawing heavily on the oral tradition, the dual narrative utilized by Brontë engages her readers in a dramatic see-saw to create the effect of real-time action despite major shifts in time. t the author incorporates the “two distorted view points” of her unreliable narrators, each suffering from the effects of their socioeconomic positions and subsequent emotional states, to lessen the impact of the otherwise cruel and morally defunct actions of the primary characters. By removing her voice as an author and replacing it with the strong, emotive language of Lockwood and Nelly Dean, Brontë allows the story to speak entirely for itself. This tactic, in turn allows the reader to recognize their errors and focus more on understanding the tale rather than judging it by suggesting the personal failings of her narrators. Coming to the realization that the narrators are simple tools rather than personas who should be taken literally, then, the reader is able formulate their own opinions by the end of the novel. Brontë's alteration of traditional techniques of oral narrative, delivered by the misguided narration of Lockwood and Nelly Dean, serves to immortalize the key players, elevating them above moral and ethical judgment so that their story transcends time.