Lockwood, unreliable narrator in Wuthering Heights

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Lockwood - unreliable narrator in Wuthering Height















Lockwood functions in the novel as the intermediary through whom the eyewitness account of the events and the circumstances given by Nelly are communicated to the readers. The author’s intention in introducing Lockwood was to give us the point of view of a detached and impartial and objective observer.

Lockwood can be considered an unreliable narrator due to his characterisation as a complete outsider to the state of affairs at the Height and the Grange. He mistakes Miss Catherine to be the widow of Heathcliff’s son and Hareton to be Heathcliff’s servant. When Nelly later clarifies this, the text actually confuses the readers, taking quite a bit of time to adjust and digest these character reversals and to get back on track with the novel smoothly. By doing so he brings confusion to the reader's minds. He also introduces the main characters in the novel by the brief impression he gets on his first two visits to Wuthering Heights.

Lockwood is a complete outsider and he is a figure of scornful fun for the reader. His narrations are light and amusing in style. Contrary to our expectations, Lockwood provides no gloss and no objective perspective on the world he observes. He uses artificial language to describe the Heights and its inmates. Lockwood describes himself to be misanthropic and is most certainly one. His emotional sterility makes this view of the story narrated by Nelly kind of like a romantic tale. He takes no imaginative part in the emotions Nelly shares, he cannot involve in the love of Heathcliff and Catherine until he has reduced it to some library romance. He never has to be drawn into emotional development; he is external and detached, though he is not necessary to the story.

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