【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 ilderness bines trial and danger with freedom redemption and purity。 and furthermore, is the place nearer to God. American environmentalist Nash Roderick argues that wilderness is not only the title for desert and droughty places, but also the symbol of moral evil。 as a result that God usually chastises disobeyed and evil people in wilderness. About the idea of wilderness, Greg Garrard, an ecocritic, in his book Ecocriticism, wrote: The idea of wilderness, signifying nature in a state uncontaminated by civilization, is the most potent construction of nature available to New World Environmentalism. It is a construction mobilized to protect particular habitats and species, and is seen as a place for the reinvigoration of those tired of the moral and material pollution of the city. The wilderness question is also central to ecocriticism’s challenge to the status quo of literary and cultural studies. In that it does not share the 5 predominantly social concerns of the traditional humanities. (Garrard: 59) The Green Studies Reader, Laurence Coupe pointed out: Wilderness doesn’t mean chaos。 it “alludes to a process of selfanization that generate systems and anisms, all of which are within the constraints of and constitute ponents of larger systems that again are wild, such as a major ecosystem”(Laurence Coupe 127). Ecocritics stand by the concern that wilderness is the essence of nature, and is very essential to man, especially to his spirit. Description of the Wilderness that Reflects the Confliction between Nature and Culture A symbolic image means concrete representation, as in art, literature, that is expressive or evocative of something else, a personification of something specified. In this novel Wuthering Heights, nature bees one of the indispensable elements in symbolismsymbolic image. With regard to the power of nature, it “plays a much larger part in Emily Bronte’s book than it does in most novelists.” “Emily often uses symbolism to express the enormous serene passion instead of the simple words and actions since they fail to powerfully convey it. One of Emily’s writing craft is that nature images function as symbols to show the characters’ psychological activities. Emily describes the natural images as if they can municate with people and as if they have feelings and sagacity like human beings. Nature has bee the symbol of characters. Especially in the confliction between nature and culture, it implies in this symbol: wilderness. Nature as Wuthering Heights In Emily Bronte novel Wuthering Heights, there are two places where 6 virtually the characters all the actions take place. From the symbolic description of the settings, the readers can learn clearly the characteristics of the owners of the two houses and foresee the hideous conflicts between the two families. These two places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange differ greatly in appearance and mood. These differences reflect the universal conflict between storms and calm that Emily Bronte develops it as the theme in her novel Wuthering Heights. Emily associates the symbolic settings with the novel’s characters. And the meaning and the suggestiveness of these symbolic settings increase the readers’ understanding of the theme. Wuthering Heights is always in a state of storminess while Thrushcross Grange always seems calm. David Cecil maintains that, “On the one hand what may be called the principle of storm—of the harsh, the ruthless, the wild, and the dynamic。 and on the other the principle of calm—of the gentle, the merciful, the passive and the tame.” Wuthering Heights has the same mood as Heathcliff and Catherine. The symbolic setting accords with their intrinsic natures. The title of the book Wuthering Heights involves the meaning, “Wuthering may be viewed as a premonitory indication of the mysterious happenings to be experiences by those inhabiting the edifice.” (). It’s main characteristic is to expose to the power of the wind, which makes it appear fortresslike. The name of the place itself is symbolic of his nature. Heathcliff is described as a storm, living as he does in the tumult of a tempest. The Heights and its surroundings depict the coldness, darkness, and evil associated with Hell. This parallels Heathcliff: In addition, the author depicts specific parts of the 7 house as analogues to Heathcliff’s face. Emily Bronte describes the windows of the Heights as “deeply set in the wall.” Similarly, Heathcliff has deepset dark eyes. This symbolizes that Heathcliff has the very spirit of Wuthering Heightsthe cold, dark, wild dismal dwelling. Culture as Thrshcross Grange “Wuthering Heights suggest a tumult of winds and warping of nature of Heathcliffhis vengeful, hellish policy of torturing and degrading others of his own end. Thrshcross Grange, the name of which suggests something cultivated and Christian is less bleak and elemental than Wuthering Heights.”(Pinion, 1975) The geographical feature of Thrushcross Grange is quite different from Wuthering Heights. Grange is a more cultivated and calm house and no harsh elements threaten the very existence of it. “The two houses show us two possible ways of living: the one rocklike, built on the Heights, a bastion against the weather yet perilously close to the wild elements, the other crouched in the cultivated valley and standing a sheltered park.”(Goodridge, 1968)” The alley and the sheltered park have formed natural barrier for Thrushcross Grange, which is thus protected against the harsh winds on the moors. As a result, the effects of weather are always gentler, filtered, and weaker. In a word, the setting of Grange shows that its dwellers have the upper class of Victorian lifestyle, which represents civilization in the society. Therefore, the Linton children are the str