Dream Symbolism Essay

270 Words2 Pages
Emily Bronte uses the symbolism of dreams in Wuthering Heights to foreshadow future events. She also reveals important information about the characters' current situations. For example, “Nelly, do you ever dream queer dreams?” she said, suddenly, after some minutes reflection. ‘Yes, now and then,’ I answered ‘And so do I. I’ve dreamt in my life dreams in my life dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they’ve gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the colour of my mind.” Pg. 58. This quote reveals information about Nelly. This in turn gives the reader a view on who she is and what she feels. Lockwood's nightmare about Cathy Linton trying to get into Wuthering Heights foreshadows the young girl's eventual understanding with the place, through her relationship with Hareton (although this understanding comes only after many months of misery, which may be represented by the wounds she gets from the broken glass). A quote that supports this is “I began to dream, almost before I ceased to be sensible of my locality. I thought it was morning; and I had set out on my way home, with Joseph for a guide. The snow lay yards deep in our road; and as we floundered on, my companion wearied me with constant reproaches…” Pg. 16. However, her fearsome apparition in the dream also reflects her current psychic desperation. Similarly, Catherine's early dream of choosing the moors over heaven foreshadows her eventual burial (and the importance her buried corpse will have for Heathcliff) but also her current preference for worldly pleasure over future
Open Document