Warm-up (课前准备)：

Wuthering Heights is a chronicle of the interlocked destinies of the two families, the Earnshaws in their moorland home Wuthering Heights and the Lintons in Thrushcross Grange. Before you read the text, think about the following questions:

1) What are your feelings towards Heathcliff and Catherine?

2) Do you find Ellen’s values conventional as reflected from her narration?

3) Catherine loves Heathcliff in the depth of her heart. Why does she decide to marry Edgar Linton?

An Overview (本章概览)：

The excerpt is Chapter IX of the book. It describes how Catherine tells Mrs Ellen Dean, the housekeeper at Wuthering Heights, her decision to marry Edgar Linton, but in the depth of her heart she loves Heathcliff. On that stormy night Heathcliff, having eavesdropped on the conversation, leaves Wuthering Heights.

Emily Bronte is a Victorian writer and she is considered to be one of the greatest novelists in English literature although in her lifetime she published only one novel—Wuthering Heights.

Objectives (学习目标)：

Through textual analysis and learning, the students should

1) Get the theme of the text

2) Comprehend the social significance of the text

3) Acquire relevant rhetorical devices used in the text

Knowledge Structure (知识结构):

The text can be roughly divided into three parts.

Paragraph 1-49: Catherine tells Nelly her rational reason to marry Edgar.

Paragraph 50-76: Catherine explains her irrational love to Heathcliff.