A complete structural study of a novel requires attention to structure both as organization and as time; especially in the case of Wuthering Heights, the two are inextricably linked. The novel relies heavily on organization and temporality and, therefore, neglecting to adequately address both aspects of structure simultaneously would produce an incomplete analysis. Lockwood serves as the scribe and primary first-person narrator, but is often invisible as most of the novel is told in Ellen (Nelly) Dean's terms. Through both narrators, the reader is presented with empirical evidence from various sources and times, including oral memory of speeches and events – both first and second hand, diary excerpts and daytime entries, letters – both corporeal and collected, etc. organizational and temporal structure influences how the novel is read; places emphasis on the reader's perception of character and reality, the eternal and the supernatural, and the relationship between narrator and reader. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Bronte has chosen to assemble Wuthering Heights in a peculiar way. Lockwood's diary – from 1801 to 1802 – is, in essence, Wuthering Heights: it is the text that frames and encapsulates the amalgam of narrative, external sources and secondary memory that constitutes the novel. Wuthering Heights can be divided into two large structural frames. The first frame begins with the beginning of the novel and ends with Lockwood's departure for London (Lockwood's entry dated 1801); the second frame begins with his return to Thrushcross Grange and ends with the conclusion of the novel (Lockwood's entry dated 1802). These two broad frames encapsulate other narratives and sources. Structural eclecticism is not limited to the interweaving of narrators and written sources: temporality, and specifically, the peculiar temporality of Wuthering Heights, is crucial. The novel begins with Lockwood's first diary entry after arriving in Yorkshire. His journal entries represent the "present" state of Wuthering Heights; its entries are composed immediately after the events that compose them have occurred. However, Lockwood outlines time only twice, and then very generally (1801 and 1802). Catherine Earnshaw's diary is the first corporeal and external text incorporated into Lockwood's diary. He discovers a collection of dilapidated volumes, which collectively were the diary of young Catherine Earnshaw. Lockwood records the scribbles of these “wounded tomes” in his diary (p. 20), his diary “of the present” therefore frames entries from the past. The incorporation of this text is a great example of the link between organizational structure and temporal structure. The inclusion of these entries simultaneously marks the first case of temporal dislocation and structural fracturing; the voices "interrupt" Lockwood's narrative and temporarily shut it down. Once Nelly's oral narrative begins, Lockwood is no longer perpetually, perceptibly present, as before; although his diary frames Nelly's story, he becomes invisible. Nelly's story is syntactically assimilated into his diary, and it therefore becomes easy to forget his pervasive presence as a scribe. It resurfaces intermittently, fracturing Nelly's narrative (see 62, 89, 157). The first of the novel's two broad structural frames ends with the "[completion of] Mrs. Dean's story" (p. 298) and the return of Lockwood as the sole first-person narrator for chapter XVII of Volume II; consequently, the structural symmetry is satisfied. Lockwood's second (and final) diary entry explicitlydated (1802) begins the second of two large structural structures, the second functioning much like the first, only on a smaller scale. The second part of Nelly's story is framed in this second section of Lockwood's diary, Lockwood emerges only in the last paragraphs of the book, therefore a more satisfying structural voltasymmetry. Nelly Dean's account is rendered orally to Lockwood and assimilated completely into her diary: her account is not quoted even though she is speaking, but is rendered syntactically as if she were writing herself. In effect, she becomes a second first-person narrator. Of central importance to Nelly's narrative is its temporal relationship to Lockwood's diary; his story is presented to Lockwood entirely in flashback. Again, a shift in structural organization is also a temporal shift. Isabella's letter is an external material source preserved in Lockwood's diary (p. 136) through Nelly's narrative flashback. (Thus, Lockwood's present-day diary frames Nelly's flashback narrative framing Isabella's letter.) The letter occupies the temporal space of about a "fortnight" (p. 136); the events of the letter happened before Nelly received it (obviously) meaning that the letter is, theoretically, a framed flashback within a framed flashback. Nelly's narrative can also be evaluated as a significant structural framework in and of itself. Nelly's flashback narration consists primarily of his first-hand accounts of the interactions of the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; but within his narrative there are external sources and recorded discourses distinctly non-native enough to occupy a space separate from his observation reports. Isabella's letter, for example, exists within Nelly's narrative structure, but remains the only part of Nelly's tale to have been composed by someone else and purposely set aside. Other sources of information are not particularly distinct, but exist on a theoretically different narrative level. His inclusion of Zillah's account of the rumors circulating in Gimmerton (p. 278), for example, is an example of this separate narrative type: it is rendered typically – as a conversation between the two women – but is distinct from the observations earlier Nelly's hand. It is comparable to Catherine's diary entries framed by Lockwood's diary; not syntactically assimilated, but nevertheless separated. Furthermore, Nelly's narrative is often populated by long speeches from the central characters. Edgar, "half-soliloquizing" Nelly says, reflects on his impending death (p. 257) and Catherine discusses with Nelly her relationship with Heathcliff after accepting Edgar's proposal (p. 81-82): such things are similarly separate. They are framed in Nelly's narrative. The formal organization of Wuthering Heights influences how one reads the novel. It is incongruous with typical modes of storytelling, the narrative moves back and forth in time and uses different narrative sources. The explanation of the characters is particularly surprising. It is inseparably married to organizational and temporal structure: the structure of the novel controls the dissemination of information and, consequently, the reader's perception of the character. Lockwood's first daytime characters introduce us to the characters of Wuthering Heights of 1801: characters inscrutable to the uninitiated reader. What is significant is that Bronte chose to introduce his characters into the present first (1801) instead of a gradual depiction of the characters' causal evolution. Initial impressions of Heathcliff, Catherine and Hareton are called into question as Nelly's account and the sources within it revealtheir respective and collective past experiences, the people who previously inhabited their lives, and what brought them to their current position. The typical temporal logic is rejected by Bronte's thought. provocative structure, so temporal disorientation is another effect of the structure of Wuthering Heights. The novel is organized so that the narrative moves back and forth through time-space, and Lockwood's living room effectively represents stasis. His own voices echo the unimportance of temporality in their lack of temporal specificity; "Weeks" and "days" are mentioned, but dates are never given. Throughout Nelly's more comprehensive narrative sections, years pass over the course of simple chapters. The chronology is not important; it becomes a fruitless endeavor to try to reconcile the event with time. Wuthering Heights is structured so that Lockwood can see it as the reader sees it. If Lockwood had compiled his diary – which is in fact the novel, Wuthering Heights – in chronological order, relocating his experiences to fit into the holistic scheme of the Wuthering Heights story, the readers' experience would not be unified with his. The reality of the organization is that Lockwood's journal presents the information as he received it; therefore, readers' understanding is always in step with Lockwood's. A good understanding of structural purpose is helpful when searching for meaning within a literary work. Some themes of Wuthering Heights are based on the structure of the novel while others are enriched by the holistic structural peculiarity: reality is questioned by the illogical structure; the character's perceptions are altered as the novel moves back and forth in time; the dark temporal structure reduces the importance of the ephemeral and shifts the focus to the eternal. The novel's timeless structure reverses conventional perceptions of time and place and instead focuses on what is eternal, timeless, and supernatural. The central relationship of the novel, that between Heathcliff and Catherine, transcends time, and so it is appropriate that the novel strives to destroy the reader's preconceptions about the importance of chronology. Chronology is irrelevant in a relationship where the ultimate goal is union in death. Their love is significant in cosmic and soul terms, not in ephemeral institutions like marriage. Their bond is completely "other" and "beyond"; time is meaningless as their focus is only on the ultimate and eternal union. The structure of Wuthering Heights not only challenges how readers typically understand fictional characters, but uses this convention to ask something of human interpersonal dynamics. As readers, we form conceptions of the characters in Wuthering Heights after being introduced to them. Our understanding of these characters is entirely superficial before Nelly's narrative begins. The plethora of sources, essentially an amalgam of anecdotes, helps paint a fuller picture of who the characters are. Thus, the novel is structured so that our understanding of the characters in Wuthering Heights more closely resembles the reality of human interaction: an introduction followed by a gradual revelation; causal understanding comes only after initial conceptions have been formed. It is therefore provocative that readers never have a complete conception of the character, even at the end of the novel. The question becomes, even with a true excess of observational knowledge, is it possible to actually know another human being? The structure of Wuthering Heights is inherently illogical. It is a vast collection of sources amalgamated to create a complex narrative. Reading the novel, it is.