Here’s where it gets fun: You might think the book feels ageless because of the Gothic language. But the date matters because of social rules. In the 1770s, a man like Heathcliff (dark-skinned, of unknown origin) would have faced even more racism and class snobbery than in 1847. Emily was being historically honest—and using the past to criticize her own present.
Also, fun fact: Nelly Dean tells the whole story to Lockwood in 1801. So, technically, the entire book is a flashback within a flashback within a diary. It’s like a Russian nesting doll of gossip.
