34 Cont. Wuthering Heights Read By Stephanie Poppins

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a gothic novel that follows the antihero, Heathcliff, as he gets revenge on the people who kept him away from his love, Cathy Earnshaw.

In this episode, Heathcliff takes a turn for the worse.

Transcript

Hello.

Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,

Your go-to romantic podcast that guarantees you a calm and entertaining transition into a great night's sleep.

Come with me as we immerse ourselves in a romantic journey to a time long since forgotten.

Emily Bronte was born in Yorkshire in 1818 and along with her brother and sisters Anne and Charlotte,

Wrote from childhood onwards.

Wuthering Heights is the story she is best remembered for.

But before we begin,

Let's take a moment to focus on where we are now.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

Now close your eyes and feel yourself sink deeper into the support beneath you.

It is time to relax and fully let go.

There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.

Happy listening.

Chapter 34 continued.

What do you mean by a change,

Master?

Asked Nelly,

Alarmed at his manner.

Though he was neither in danger of losing his senses nor dying,

According to his judgment,

He was quite strong and healthy.

I shall not know that till it comes.

Said Heathcliff.

I'm only half conscious of it now.

You have no feeling of illness,

Have you?

No,

Nelly,

I have not.

Then you're not afraid of death?

Afraid?

No,

He replied.

I have neither a fear nor a presentiment nor a hope of death.

Why should I,

With my hard constitution and temperate mode of living and unperilous occupations,

I ought to and probably shall remain above ground till there is scarcely a black hair on my head.

Yet I cannot continue in this condition.

I have to remind myself to breathe,

Almost remind my heart to beat.

It is like bending back a stiff spring.

By compulsion I do the slightest act not prompted by one thought,

And by compulsion that I notice anything alive or dead which is not associated with one universal idea.

I have a single wish,

And my whole being and faculties are yearning to attain it.

They've yearned for it so long,

And so unwaveringly I'm convinced it will be reached,

And soon.

My confessions have not relieved me,

But they may account for some otherwise unaccountable phases of humour which I show.

Oh God,

It's a long fight.

I wish it were over.

Heathcliff began to pace the room,

Muttering terrible things to himself.

Then I was inclined to believe,

As he said Joseph did,

His conscience had turned his heart to an earthly hell.

I wondered greatly how it would end.

Though he seldom before revealed this state of mind,

Even by looks,

It was his habitual mood I had no doubt.

For some days after that evening,

Mr Heathcliff shunned meeting us at meals,

Yet he would not consent formally to exclude Hairton and Cathy.

He had an aversion to yielding so completely to his feelings,

Choosing rather to absent himself,

And eating once in twenty-four hours seemed sufficient sustenance for him.

One night after the family were in bed I heard him go downstairs and out at the front door.

I did not hear him re-enter,

And in the morning I found he was still away.

We were in April then.

The weather was sweet and warm,

The grass as green as showers and sun could make it,

And the two dwarf apple trees near the southern wall were in full bloom.

After breakfast,

Catherine insisted on my bringing a chair and sitting with my work under the fir trees at the end of the house.

She beguiled Hairton,

Who had perfectly recovered from his accident,

To dig and arrange her little garden.

I was comfortably revelling in the spring fragrance around and the beautiful soft blue overhead,

When my young lady,

Who had run down near the gate to procure some primrose roots,

Returned only half-laden and informed us Mr Heathcliff was coming in.

And he spoke to me,

She added,

With a perplexed countenance.

What did he say?

Asked Hairton.

He told me to be gone as fast as I could,

She answered,

But he looked so different from his usual look I stopped a moment to stare at him.

He was almost bright and cheerful,

Very much excited,

Wild,

Glad.

Night walking amuses him then,

I remarked,

Affecting a careless manner.

In reality,

As surprised as she was and anxious to ascertain the truth of her statement,

For to see the mask looking glad would not be an everyday spectacle.

I framed an excuse to go in.

Heathcliff stood at the open door.

He was pale and he trembled,

Yet certainly he had a strange joyful glitter in his eyes that altered the aspect of his whole face.

Will you have some breakfast?

I said.

You must be hungry,

Rambling about all night.

I wanted to discover where he'd been,

But I did not like to ask directly.

No,

I'm not hungry,

He answered,

Averting his head and speaking rather contemptuously as if he guessed I was trying to divine the occasion of his good humour.

I don't think it right to wander out of doors,

I observed,

Instead of being in bed.

It's not wise at any rate,

This moist season.

I dare say you'll catch a bad cold or a fever.

You've something the matter with you now.

Nothing but what I can bear,

He replied,

And with the greatest pleasure,

Provided you'll leave me alone.

Get in and don't annoy me.

I obeyed,

And in passing I noticed he breathed as fast as a cat.

Yes,

I reflected to myself,

We shall have a fit of illness.

I cannot conceive what he has been doing.

That noon he sat down to dinner with us and received a heaped-up plate from my hands,

As if he intended to make amends for previous fasting.

I've neither cold nor fever,

Nelly,

He remarked,

In allusion to my morning speech,

And I'm ready to do justice to the food you give me.

He took his knife and fork and was going to commence eating,

When the inclination appeared to become suddenly extinct.

He laid them on the table,

Looked eagerly towards the window,

And rose and went out.

We saw him walking to and fro in the garden,

While we concluded our meal.

Earnshaw said he'd go and ask why he would not dine.

Well,

Is he coming?

Cried Catherine,

When her cousin returned.

Nay,

He answered,

But he's not angry,

He seemed really pleased,

Indeed,

Only I made him impatient by speaking to him twice,

Then he bid me be off to you.

He wondered how I could want the company of anybody else.

I set his plate to keep warm on the fender,

And after an hour or two he re-entered,

When the room was clear,

No degree calmer.

The same unnatural appearance of joy under his black brows,

The same bloodless hue,

And his teeth visible now and then in a kind of smile.

His frame shivering,

Not as one shivers with chill or weakness,

But as a tight-stretched cord vibrates,

A strong thrilling rather than trembling.

I will ask what is the matter,

I thought,

Or who should?

And I exclaimed,

Have you heard any good news,

Mr Heathcliff,

You look uncommonly animated.

Where should good news come from to me?

He said,

I'm animated with hunger,

And seemingly I must not eat.

Your dinner is here,

I returned,

Why don't you get it?

I don't want it now,

He muttered hastily,

I'll wait till supper.

And Nellie wants for all,

Let me beg you to warn Hairton and the other away from me,

I wish to be troubled by nobody,

I wish to have this place to myself.

Is there some new reason for this banishment,

I enquired.

Tell me why you're so queer,

Mr Heathcliff,

Where were you last night?

You are putting the question through very idle curiosity,

He interrupted with a laugh.

I'll answer it,

Last night I was on the threshold of hell,

Today I am within sight of my heaven,

I have my eyes on it,

Hardly three feet as ever me,

And now you'd better go,

You'd neither see nor hear anything to frighten you if you refrain from prying.

Having swept the hearth and wiped the table,

I departed more perplexed than ever.

Heathcliff did not quit the house again that afternoon,

And no one intruded on his solitude,

Until at eight o'clock I deemed it proper,

Though unsummoned,

To carry a candle and supper to him.

He was leaning against the ledge of an open lattice,

But not looking out,

His face was turned to the interior glow.

The fire had smouldered to ashes,

The room was filled with the damp mild air of the cold evening,

And so still,

That not only the murmur of the beck-down gimmerton was distinguishable,

But its ripples and gurgling over the pebbles,

Or through the large stones which it could not cover.

I uttered an ejaculation of discontent at seeing the dismal grate,

And commenced shutting the casements,

One after the other,

Until I came to his.

Must I close this?

I asked,

In order to rouse him,

For he would not stir.

The light flashed on his features as I spoke.

I cannot express what a terrible start I got by the momentary view,

Those deep black eyes,

That smile and ghastly paleness.

It appeared to me,

Not Mr Heathcliff,

But a goblin,

And in my terror,

I let the candle bend towards the wall and left me in darkness.

Close it,

He replied in his familiar voice.

Why did you hold the candle horizontally?

Be quick and bring another.

The master wishes you to take him alight and rekindle the fire,

I said to Joseph,

And he rattled some fire into the shovel and went.

But he brought it back immediately,

With a supper tray in his other hand,

Explaining that Mr Heathcliff was going to bed,

And he wanted nothing till the morning.

And he added,

When day breaks,

I'll send for Green.

I wish to make some legal inquiries of him,

While I can bestow a thought on those matters,

And while I can act calmly.

I have not yet written my will,

And how to leave my property,

I cannot determine.

I only wish I could annihilate it from the face of the earth.

Reviews

Only now does Heathcliff realize he can't take his material assets with him to the other side? An understanding of sorts at least.
Emily really loaded this tale with so much darkness of life. I'll hold out for a ray of light until the ending of this story. Thanks thanks for reading so well. 🌹🎈🙏

Well well, what now with heathcliff… thank you so much!❤️🙏🏼