‘It is well that he does remain there’: The Importance of Joseph in Wuthering Heights

Abstract

Joseph, almost without exception, is read as an object of satire and ridicule. The fact that our perception of him is filtered through the unreliable narration of Lockwood and Nelly Dean has not been taken into account. We accept that Nelly does not have the whole story about the Earnshaw and Linton families, yet, curiously when one stops to reflect, we accept uncritically her words about Joseph. This article, through tracing Nelly’s words about Joseph, reconceives him. In particular, Joseph’s reading and speaking, often used as reasons to ridicule him, are discussed as being more to his credit. Joseph is also compared with Caleb Balderstone, the servant in Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor (a novel that has been compared to Wuthering Heights), to highlight more positive qualities. The article concludes that Joseph’s loyalty is the quality that matters.