WUTHERING HEIGHTS - Shared Review Notes
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Costume
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Strong sense of period style. Costumes looked historically accurate. The costumes changed throughout the play for the characters and were able to visualize the emotions of the characters and how they were feeling. For instance we see Heathcliff’s costume go from bright white to a muted black, brown and grey. In the former, Catherine is still alive and there is hope for him to win her back. In the latter Catherine is dead and their is no hope to be with her other than through death.
Little Linton and Isabella wore bright, unique and over-the-top clothes and colours contrasting the rest of the plain looking characters. All the woman wore dresses that fitted the period, but at the end, Cathy wore less dresses and more 'boy-ish' clothes
The Moors costume was vibrant and visually enthralling as it was dripping in visceral tones and bold colours. Her costume flowed with her physicality adding a playful softness to her performance.
The costumes made it easy to tell the class and status of the different characters, and it’s effect on their personalities. For example, at the beginning of the piece, Cathy’s costume was plain and slightly scruffy. It was off white and green and almost resembled a nightgown. When Cathy was taken in by the Lintons, she came back to Wuthering Heights in a pretty, long dress. This shows how the ideology and appearance of the Lintons, status wise, affected Cathy’s ideologies and appearance, status wise.
The Linton’s costume were very extravagant and formal, consisting of Edgar wearing a suit with a pink handkerchief type tie. Edgar’s sister also had an extravagant head piece to show their high status.
One significant costume would be that of the Moor. The vibrant green and earthy tones, matching that of nature, segregated her from the rest of the other costumes. Her nature crown laced with brown twigs gave her an imporant status, one which cannot compare to the materialistic standards of the other characters. She wore a skirt which represented the femininity and nurturing side of nature. However, for one scene, her skirt changed to white trousers, showing the excertion of power nature has over the world.
Isabella's costume was extremely flamboyant, showing her wealthy status. Puffed sleeves and over-the-top skirts, stereotypically very feminine colurs such as pink. Red shoes (heels) with a prominant, massive bow. This bow is also seen with little Linton, but his was around his neck which he would occasionally flaunter and play with.
Cathy's clothes progressively change. When introduced to the edgar family, she is dressed up in this puffy, dark black dress. When she dies, she is seen to be wearing a pure white dress with tears at the seams, adding onto this more ghostly feel.
Heathcliff goes from "beggar" clothes to a more sophisticated look, wearing pure white with richer materials. This elevates his power and, through this, captivates Isabella, who is much more materialistic and focused on the exterior.
Contrast between the rich and the poor, and shows how well-respected they are within society.
The colour palette of the ghost of Cathys costume denoted shades of white and grey pearlescent colours, connoting a sense of death, likening her to a corpse. Her ruffles and lace still giving her an enchanting and bewitching feel, therefore maintaining Cathy’s importance as a point of interest to the audience/ Heathcliff.
The puffy pink coloured dress adorned with tulle and lace worn by Isabella connotes a materialistic and aristocratic feel, highlighting her youthful and naive mannerisms and childlike innocence.
The character's costume and their changes throughout the piece seemed to indicate their mental state and how it altered as the piece went on. For instance, when Heathcliffe returned after 3 years, he wore a bold white suit portraying power, his clean mind and confidence presented by the white; it possibly also portrayed that Heathcliffe had created a 'clean slate. This is contrasted which Catherine, whose white clothes became torn and dirty, presenting how she had become tainted and had stained her soul with her choices.
They all wore very similar clothes. Men would wear high quality suits if they were rich characters and rags if they were poor. Women would always wear dresses.
Women all wore dresses. Was very clear difference between the higher and lower classes, this was shown through Heathcliff's costume change as he became higher class and went from wearing rag like clothing to a suit connoting his change.
interesting contrast in costumes. Some were more toned down, and fit the characters well such as Cathy's white dress and cardi, whereas some were very extravigant and made as if they were decorations or statues, such as Isabella's
Ensemble wore simple matching outfits which could be easily adapted from scene to scene. For example, they wore dungarees whilst working at docks, added scarfs to match The Moor in the scene after this.
The costumes were specific to each character. For Catherine her costume tended to change as her insanity increased (her costume got more and more white). For Little Linton his costume reflected his annoying, "bratty" persona.
Catherine’s clothing becoming less and less put together portrays the physical affects or her heartache from losing Hinchcliffe and how severely it was affecting her mindset and behaviour
Costume was very symbolic of class and wealth, and also told stories about the characters and/or gave information on them.