Mr. Lockwood establishes the mood of mystery and Gothic
tone as the narrator of Chapter 1 of Emily Bronte's Wuthering
Heights. For, he takes delight in the misanthrope, Heathcliff, as they are
both solitary and desolate men. In fact, Lockwood feels that they are a suitable pair
because they can "divide the desolation between us."
Yet,
part of the reader's impression of Lockwood is that he may be rather like his
nomenclature, somewhat "locked" into his own perspective. He possesses "a sympathetic
chord" for Heathcliff without really knowing him, declaring that he knows "by instinct"
that the man has an aversion to effusive displays of feelings. In addition, Lockwood
believes that Heathcliff loves and hates "under cover." Apparently, Lockwood projects
his own ability to express love to a woman which has caused his loss of her, to one of
Heathcliff's idiosyncrasies as well.
Certainly, the reader
is somewhat perplexed by the narrator, Mr. Lockwood, who ends the first chapter with the
remark that he feels so much more sociable than Heathcliff--and he has declared himself
a misanthrope!
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