Black Cat and Lavender Podcast

Is Heathcliff Frankenstein’s monster? Intertextuality between Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 07:43:20 GMT

In this episode, Michelle Barber discusses whether Emily Bronte may have been inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Initially, she considers the similarities between the two authors. After that, she discusses the turning point, the moment of rejection when monster personalities are created. This is followed by an exploration of how both writers demonstrate marital love deprivation for those in the margins. Finally, she compares the revenge on the father figure in both novels.

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Is The Laboratory by Robert Browning a macabre tale of revenge?

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 00:00:08 GMT

In this episode, Michelle Barber asks the question ‘Is the Laboratory by Robert Browning a macabre tale of revenge. She talks about the poem being inspired by a serial killer from the eighteenth century. There is a dramatic reading of the poem and then each stanza is deconstructed focussing on character analysis and plot to give you all the dirt. Yes, indeed, this is a macabre tale of revenge. Make yourselves comfortable and enjoy your trip to The Laboratory.

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Is Wuthering Heights a love story?

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 16:53:21 GMT

In this episode, Michelle Barber discusses whether Wuthering Heights is a love story by decoding and deconstructing three scenes from the text. She talks with passion about the scene where Lockwood encounters the ghostly waif of Catherine Earnshaw and how this points to love. Secondly, she deeply explores the scene where Catherine Earnshaw confesses to Nellie Dean that she is going to marry Edgar Linton. Finally, Michelle offers her thoughts on the tragic death scene between Catherine and Heathcliff. This episode is a rollercoaster of thoughts taken from the classic novel which has had us talking about it for 178 years and because of its enigmatic quality, we will continue for the next 178 years at least.

You can buy a copy of the Kindle e book version of Wuthering Heights here

A copy of the paperback version here

And a copy of hardback version here

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