Dreams

It is when I am in a deep, well-needed sleep that my mind plays host to dreams. At times, the dreams are familiar, giving the feeling of a déjà vu. Never, however, have I experienced a recurring dream. Occasionally, if a dream touches me in a certain way or includes memorable happenings, I will awake the following morning and recall what occurred. Sometimes the memories are strong and vivid, while other times they are vague and confusing. Often the people in my life will appear in my dreams. At times their roles are switched, such as film or novel characters replacing my parents and friends. When feeling emotional, whether ecstatic or morose, I can sometimes find the reason for these feelings in my dreams. When unsure of why or what I am afraid of, dreams will give me the answer. They may also bring different thoughts into my mind, like ideas or answers that have never occurred to me. I believe that the source of dreams is not what mainly occupies one throughout the day, but the deep thoughts and ideas that linger quietly in the back of one’s mind.

Before drifting to sleep, Mr. Lockwood reads journal entries and names that give him insight into the lives of those inhabiting Wuthering Heights. He falls asleep tracing the names Catherine Linton, Catherine Earnshaw, and Catherine Heathcliff. His nightmare is a direct inspiration from what he has read. Mr. Lockwood’s dreams reveal a curiosity that is lurking in the back of his mind about Catherine. They also show a bit of fear and suspicion about Wuthering Heights and its previous inhabitants because of the eerie manner in which they come to him. Since Mr. Lockwood’s dream about Catherine knocking on the window implies that she was “lost” (either by death or literally lost), it foreshadows Mr. Heathcliff’s devastated behavior when he hears her name mentioned. The source of Mr. Lockwod’s dreaming can be found in his own realization that he has entered a world with a complicated and deep history. His act of cruelty towards Catherine’s ghost in the dream shows the harsh impact that Wuthering Heights has already had on his once kind demeanor. Perhaps he has realized that the same fear and coldness that inhibits the people of Wuthering Heights has already instilled itself in him.