Hi, can i ask you why in your opinion some people consider the moors a proper character in wuthering heights? Do you think the story would have been so different if it had been set in a different location?
I've wanted to sit on this for a bit to see if I changed my opinion/reaction, because I thought of an answer instantly. I'm going to be sincere, what I thought was "because people have not read enough (good) books".
I'm not entirely sure why people consider the moors a proper character because I don't think it works as one at all. I imagine a big part of the reason why is the appeal of the aesthetic and how powerful an impact it has had culturally and even in general in the collective imaginary, but I don't think that's exclusively due to Wuthering Heights. Trying to dig more, I'd say it's because of the importance it has for the characters, emotionally, narratively and symbolically. And, digging even more, I imagine it's due to the metaphysical bond and even ontological identification between moors and characters some people read into it.
Most if not all of these characteristics are typical of significant settings in books, though. They don't necessarily confer the settings the title of "character". And, as much abstract personality as they may have, in my opinion the moors are lacking something to be comfortable calling them so. In Wuthering Heights I'd say the house itself, Wuthering Heights, feels more like a character to me than the moors. Still, I'd say even then there's a certain something missing.
As much character or importance in ambience setting Bly Manor has in The turn of the screw, I don't think one could freely say it's a character on itself; that's sort of the situation with the moors in Wuthering Heights, I think. In comparison, Comala in Pedro Páramo, Hill House in The haunting of Hill House, Macondo in One hundred years of solitude or Vetusta in La Regenta, to name a few, feel a lot more like characters. They are books in which the settings themselves feel fleshed out with care, thoroughly developed like a character, and they even read as having a certain will of their own, as actively participating in the narrative at times. The moors in Wuthering Heights don't work that way. And it's not a bad thing. They don't have to, that's not their role.
Now, on the question about whether I think the story would be so different if set in some other location... I think the answer is both yes and no? Of course the book would never have been exactly the same had it taken place somewhere else, and the heather and in general the description of wildlife and vegetation are symbolically meaningful. But also, I didn't have a clear image of what the moors were when I first read the book. I imagined something infertile, isolated and cold, but that's it, and it worked. I didn't know how the English moors were at all.
I do think the isolation aspect is necessary to make Wuthering Heights, and I'd say perhaps even the cold and generally bad weather, but it's also true in a similarish way Pedro Páramo works with a place that is very hot. Ultimately it's up to the writer, and it will work if it's well written and well waved alongside the other parts forming the book. Wuthering Heights was waved with the moors in mind specifically, and it works. Would the story in abstract be much different if set somewhere else? Not necessarily, probably not, but it wouldn't be exactly Wuthering Heights, just as it wouldn't be if one were to change any other of its characteristics.
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So. B and A getting super high together. B has an insanely high tolerance and A only smokes maybe once or twice a semester, if studying allows. A has a Horrible high and is super on edge and anxious, but B makes them feel really safe so they're not completely bugging out. B is just vibin' and having fun, but also being a bit of a Shit Disturber. Keeps bringing up creepypastas and A ends up sitting snuggled up super close to B on the couch with their arm around B's. A being all "heyy this is getting really scary :(" and B being like "haha, oh I'm so sorry~. We can talk about something else..." and A getting relaxed and :). But then B interjects: " So yeah... you know The Bathroom Head?" and A shoves him and is all ">:((!!!! LISTEN!!! ITS SO SCARY, OKAY!! I HATE YOU!!!" They're both laughing and it's very soft and intimate, but in a very queer found family kinda way.
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i think makinng fictionalised versions of idols (like hyyh or loonaverse or onlyoneof where characters explicitly share the names of the idols portraying them but exist in a different universe) is kind of rlly interesting. on an ethical level theres probably pretty reasonable concerns about further fragmenting n marketing people but its also very fascinating to me how people perceive these fictional versions
ofc theyre associated w the idols who portray them but at the same time i dont think theres anyone who genuinely thinks hyyh jin is like real life bts multimillionaire kim seokjin… admittedly its been years since hyyh’s peak n initial production so ofc in 2023 no one thinks of them as anything alike anymore but i think even then i feel like you came to understand pretty quickly hyyh was a totally different world it was a story. idk like theyre separate beings to me?
anyways idk what to say outside of these counterparts / characters are kind of like in between…
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at some point i need to draw a better boundary between feeling like everything is my fault socially and i am irrevocably broken vs feeling like its all someone elses fault. what ends up happening is i can see the ways in which other peoples’ behavior affects things that doesnt get acknowledged but i still feel 100% of the guilt and blame for anything being less than perfect which is basically just both negative extremes at the same time
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