Wuthering Heights is Going to the Dogs
A Canine Literary Analysis
Dedicated to my cat, Mr. Cliff.
The dogs of Wuthering Heights are named Gnasher, Wolf, and Juno. This trio of guardians serve as Cerberus to the House of Hades that is Wuthering Heights. Their names are symbolic to details in the novel, as well as representative of the love triangles that occur throughout the work. Gnasher speaks to the rough northern Yorkshire dialect, exemplified by characters like Joseph, and Hareton. Wolf hearkens to the romantic notions of wilderness, things lost, and the sublime, yet destructive power of nature in the novel’s protagonist, Heathcliff. While Juno is a direct reference to Roman mythology, the goddess of marriage, and wife of Jupiter. This mythic approach to marriage and domestic affairs informs the tragedy of the lives of the characters of the novel. The canine symbolism of the novel suggest a criticism of patriarchy that is inherently feminist. This theme runs throughout the novel in many capacities, the dogs are but one example of the manifestation of this theme.
This canine representation is introduced early in the novel as Mr. Lockwood sees a “liver-coloured bitch pointer, surrounded by a swarm of squealing puppies; and other dogs haunted other recesses,” (5) shortly after he arrives. The dogs haunting the recesses of the house foreshadow the ghostly happenings later that very evening. When Lockwood is left alone with the dogs for a minute, he proceeds to taunt them, and is pounced on, and surrounded by the pack. This is Lockwood’s introduction to the world of Wuthering Heights as it is the reader’s introduction.
The trio of dogs could also symbolize the trifecta of love triangles throughout the story. The first love triangle is between Hindley, Cathy, and Heathcliff competing for the elder Mr. Earnshaw’s love. The sibling rivalry shifts to Heathcliff, and Edgar Linton competing for Cathy. Then to Isabella Linton and Cathy over Heathcliff, and finally ends with Hareton and Cathy Junior uniting after Heathcliff’s slow, miserable, and bitter death. The names Gnasher, Wolf, and Juno are loose representations of each of these affairs throughout the novel in the way they personify the novels characters, their shifting passions, and bizarre behaviors. Gnasher in the wild and romantic erotic love of Heathcliff and Cathy’s passion. Wolf in the lost innocent yet wild sibling love that was made extinct by Edgar Linton’s intrusion. Juno in the doom of marriage fated for each character.
Skulker is the dog of Thrushcross Grange and is also a significant symbol for finding meaning. Skulker’s tendency is to sneak up and ambush. In this way the bulldog represents the impending maturity of Cathy who must stay at Thrushcross Grange after suffering an injury from Skulker’s bite. A contemporary example of this humiliating experience is a young girl menstruating for the first time without expecting it. Heathcliff tries to stop Skulker by, “thrust[ing] a stone between his jaws,” (48) but it proves a fruitless struggle. We find Man’s heroic struggle against a trained assassin unaware of its own primal nature, by trying to force one of the oldest building materials down its throat. The struggle between nature and the domestic, man and woman, lord and servant is framed in this scene. The conclusion is that no amount of work, with any amount of stone will ward off nature’s jaws, especially with the highly trained and developed will of the cultivated mind training and driving it.
As previously stated, Juno is named after the goddess of marriage of Roman mythology. That she is named for the Roman, and not Greek name suggests themes of empire at play. That Juno is a breeding dog suggests a larger statement about pater noster nuclear families. The dog on the floor nursing puppies is for all to see, while the mistress of the house walks alone, and invisible, outside on the grounds, howling for her lost love. A criticism of patriarchy, marriage, and female puberty as distinct from male through narrative representation of the metaphor of the dog’s names crafts an argument that many would call feminist. This is but one strain of feminist’ thought found in the novel. The novel offers a silver lining in the character of Nelly Dean. Nelly gets along with humility and grace, despite the fact she is surrounded by a pack of wild beasts, and is forced to feed and take care of them. This tendency towards human compassion embodies the loyalty that informs the phrase Man’s best friend.