Disturbia & Despairia

I don't know what exactly Rihanna meant by Disturbia in her hit song, but disturbed was what I felt when I read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. And in my illness-affected state of mind, I followed one classic with another by Thomas Hardy: Tess of the D'Urbervilles. A novel that unfortunately filled me with despair. From Disturbia to Despairia!

Why do I want to start my blog on such a depressing note, you might ask. I suppose I need to exorcise this feeling of overwhelming darkness before I can get back on track with my life that's thankfully filled with hope and light.

I picked up Wuthering Heights from The Big Bookshop for RM4.95. It's a Collins Classics edition published in 2010 with a nice cover. Having heard much about it, I decided to give it a go. The write-up at the back was intriguing, describing it as Emily Bronte's masterpiece...considered one of the most unique gothic novels of its time. Ms Bronte only ever published one, by the way. I should have paid more attention to the word 'gothic', I now realise too late!

Nevertheless, let's get into the spirit of this blog. The story revolves around Heathcliff, a dirty, ragged homeless child brought home by a wealthy landowner, Earnshaw. To cut a long story short, Heathcliff was brought up as one of the family which had two other children (a boy and a girl) of about the same age. He falls in love with the girl and she with him. But she ends up marrying a another boy from a neighbouring property. The Earnshaw son hates Heathcliff who hates him back.

Right, that's established then. The book tells how Heathcliff returns after a prolonged absence and sets about destroying the lives of the Earnshaw family and the neighbouring Linton family. His aim is to take over the lands and properties of both families and cause as much misery as possible to the family members. He is a bully that  no one can oppose or stop. The book details how he controls the lives of his 'adopted' siblings, his wife (a Linton girl) and their resultant offsprings. He does horrible things and basks in their terrible consequences. The horror lasts till his death at the end of the book.

I was shocked and kept on reading hoping that he would receive his comeuppance. When I finished the book, I said to my husband it was the most disturbing novel I have ever read. Is this how a gothic novel is supposed to be? I concede that I may have to read another gothic novel to just confirm this. Any suggestions?

Unwisely as it turned out, I decided to tackle another classic: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I remember Nastasia Kinski as Tess in the movie 'Tess' which was based on the novel. Yup, a lifetime ago. When I saw the Penguin Classics book going for RM3 at the Times' book sale at Citta Mall last month, I just had to pick it up.       

What's it about then? The book tells the story of a beautiful impoverished peasant girl who is coerced by her useless parents to establish kinship with wealthy (supposed) relatives so they can escape from their current poverty-stricken existence. Tess is the epitome of the dutiful daughter, putting the welfare of her parents and large brood of younger siblings above herself. What she gets in return is rape (by her 'cousin'), an unwanted pregnancy and the death of her infant.

She manages to recover and leaves home to find work. At a dairy farm she finds happiness and gets married. Just when you think that Tess' life has changed for the better; more despair! Her new husband abandons her and she's left to fend for herself. She returns to her family for a while but leaves soon after to conceal her estrangement from her husband. Tess does short stints of  work to provide for herself and her family before landing (very hard) work at a swede farm. Her rapist 'cousin' returns to harrass her there.

Next, her father suddenly dies and Tess' family is forced to leave their family home. For the sake of setting up a new home her mother and siblings, Tess gives in to the advances of the rapist 'cousin'. Her husband returns from Brazil full of regret but it is too late. His Tess has become another man's mistress.

So now what? Tess kills the rapist 'cousin' and  runs off with her husband. They spend a few blissful days together before Tess is captured by the police at the Stonehenge. The book concludes with Tess' husband marrying her younger sister, as per Tess' wishes. End of a sad, sad story of poor, poor Tess. What did she do to deserve her life?

Did I not say: Disturbia followed by Despairia? I would not read the novels again as they are so, so depressing. And I don't think my illness amplified the feelings of darkness and hopelessness. Should you read them? Try one, but certainly not one after another.