As is usually the case with authors, Bronte chose her novel's title carefully. The title actually represents more than one important aspect of the novel.
The setting of Wuthering Heignts is the northern English moors, a rough, inhospitable climate prone to the harshest of winters. The house by the same name sits high on a hill near some rocky crags. The word "wuthering" means, as Lockwood tells us, being prone to "...atmospheric tumult...in stormy weather" (Bronte). The area is pummeled by high winds throughout most of the year.
As a result, the architecture of the house must be such that can deflect the wind's damage. Deeply inset windows and jutted corners are two examples; this particular architecture can make the house appear dark and cold, both outside and inside.
The windy, stormy weather and the necessary architecture reflect of the lives of the family who lives inside. Their relationships and situations are stormy and dark, just as their home and setting are stormy and dark, as contrasted with neighboring Thrushcross Grange, situated in a grassy, lower-lying area. Thus the reader is focused on the harsher setting and asked to consider its effect on the inhabitants of the home.
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