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Wuthering Heights
Perhaps one of the greatest love stories of all time, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering
Heights is the tale of a love that is stronger than death. Through the theme of unbegotten
love and unwavering remorse, Bronte creates a brooding atmosphere that cannot be
lifted. With Cathy’s underlying passion for Heathcliff and his undying love for her, the
passion and suspense are represented magnificently.
Bronte provides the use of an outside character, Mr. Lockwood, to portray this
passionate story. Mr. Lockwood is troubled by the strange atmosphere which surrounds
the estate of Wuthering Heights. Through his curiosity and determination, the story is
slowly unfolded. Mr. Lockwood’s feelings and interpretations during the telling of the
story emphasis the themes and atmosphere provided by Bronte. This man’s feelings and
desires for the young Cathy only adds to the twists and turns of this wonderful tale.
The theme of revenge is very prominent in this tale as well. Heathcliff’s plot to
unite the two families through the marriage of his son Linton and Cathy’s daughter
Catherine is a major part of the story. Heathcliff is a dangerous and cruel man, made that
way by his unrequited love for Cathy. He hopes to get his revenge on Edgar by receiving
his estate when he dies. His revenge plot was heightened when he would not allow
Catherine to see her father before his death. She then lived with the belief that her father
died without the knowledge that she loved him. His revenge was somewhat spoiled by the
Catherine first becomes exposed to the opposing forces as she experiments with her desires for love and a better quality of life. *6* Because she constantly shifts priorities from one man to the other, her love for Heathcliff and Edgar results in a destructive disequilibrium. *1*In the novel, Cathy is portrayed as a lady with untamable emotions. *7* In her childhood she learns to l...
Heathcliff's love for Catherine transcends the normal physical "true love" into spiritual love. He can withstand anything against him to be with her. After Hindley became the master of Wuthering Heights, he flogged Heathcliff like a slave. Although Heathcliff could have simply run away, his decision to endure the physical pains shows his unrelenting devotion to Catherine. Fortunately, Catherine feels as deeply for Heathcliff as he does for her, explaining to Nelly that "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…" Their love for each other is so passionate that they can not possibly live apart. At Catherine's death, Heathcliff hopes that she will not rest, but will haunt him until he dies. This absurdity contradicts the traditional norm that one should pray that the dead rest in peace. Near the end of the novel, we learn that Catherine has haunted Heathcliff, allowing him only fleeting glances of her. This shows that despite their physical separation, nothing can part them spiritually. When Heathcliff dies and unites with Catherine once again, the neighbors see them haunt the moors. We finally see the power of their love; Not only does this love transcend physical barriers, it transcends time as well...
The complicated nature surrounding Heathcliff’s motives again adds an additional degree of ambiguity to his character. This motivation is primarily driven by Catherine’s marriage to Edgar and past rejection of Heathcliff, since he was a servant whom Hindley disapproved of. Prior to storming out of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff overhears Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (Brontë 87). The obstacles that ultimately prevent Heathcliff from marrying Catherine provide insight into Heathcliff’s desire to bring harm to Edgar and Hindley. The two men play prominent roles in the debacle, Edgar as the new husband and Hindley as the head figure who refused Heathcliff access to Catherine. Following this incident, Catherine says, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…” (Brontë 87). Catherine’s sentiment indicates she truly would rather be with Heathcliff, but the actions of others have influenced her monumental decision to marry Edgar. Furthermore, Heathcliff is motivated to not only ruin Edgar’s livelihood, but also gain ownership of his estate, Thrushcross Grange. This becomes clear when Heathcliff attempts to use Isabella
Furthermore, the love that Heathcliff’s young niece and nephew share is one that echoes that of what his and Catherine’s love could have been, which provides even more ground for the fiend to tyrannize the two. The semblence in their relationships can be seen in comparable scenes, the first of which recounts Catherine uttering, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (74) Later, Heathcliff pronounces apropos of Cathy caring for Hareton, “Your love will make him an outcast, and a beggar.” (299) The similarities between their two relationships is therefore outlined in their alluded elements of shame and social degradation that can be found in both occasions , and this likeness further agitates the aching heart of Wuthering Height’s antagonist.
Heathcliff is a character who was abused in his childhood by Catherine’s brother, Hindley, because of his heritage as a “gypsy”, and Hindley was jealous of the love that Heathcliff got from Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley’s father. This is also selfishness upon Hindley’s part since he only wanted his father’s love for his sister and himself. So to reprimand Heathcl...
Since that moment he has been feeling a strange kind of tranquility. Since that time he has been feeling the presence of Cathy close to him. He tells Nelly that he felt Cathy standing by his side, he could almost see her, and yet he could not and since her death, he had been victim of an intolerable torture. He describes this torture as “infernal.” It was a strange way of killing, not by inches but by fractions and hair-breadths, to delude him with the spectre of a hope through eighteen years. There is something supernatural also in his telling Nelly that he is now surrounded with Cathy’s images. He sees her in the clouds, the trees and in every object. The whole world is a collection of dreadful memoranda reminding him of her existence and that he had lost her. He also tells Nelly that Hareton’s aspect seemed to him to be “the ghost of immortal
On the face of it, it would seem that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is self-destructive to an extreme. Due to the lovers’ precarious circumstances, passionate personalities and class divisions, it seems that fate transpires to keep them apart and therefore the hopelessness of their situation drives them to self destruction. However, although the relationship is undeniably self-destructive, there are elements within it that suggest the pain Heathcliff and Catherine put each other through is atoned for to an extent when they share their brief moments of harmony.
Wuthering Heights is a novel which deviates from the standard of Victorian literature. The novels of the Victorian Era were often works of social criticism. They generally had a moral purpose and promoted ideals of love and brotherhood. Wuthering Heights is more of a Victorian Gothic novel; it contains passion, violence, and supernatural elements (Mitchell 119). The world of Wuthering Heights seems to be a world without morals.
...r Catherine. Heathcliff love for Catherine was not that strong as the way he felt for revenge for the reason that he spends most of the time and years getting back at the people who never care of his feelings. Emily Bronte tells us that revenge does not make things better, only worse and how negative it can be. As well as Heathcliff’s whole life on seeking revenge during the whole story shows his pride and joy to get back at everyone that mistreated him and does not care who he hurts along the way. He seeks revenge on Catherine so that she can feel how miserable he is without her. Even though he loves her, his love for revenge is more determine. Spending all the time for revenge proves that love is only a temporary thing. Vengeance only shows us that getting back at everyone at any cost is well-being than in being in love, and love is for the weak and not revenge.
Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, has 323 pages. The genre of Wuthering Heights is realistic fiction, and it is a romantic novel. The book is available in the school library, but it was bought at Barnes and Nobles. The author’s purpose of writing Wuthering Heights is to describe a twisted and dark romance story. Thus, the author conveys the theme of one of life’s absolute truths: love is pain. In addition, the mood of the book is melancholy and tumultuous. Lastly, the single most important incident of the book is when Heathcliff arrives to Edgar Linton’s residence in the Granges unannounced to see Catherine’s state of health. Heathcliff’s single visit overwhelmed Catherine to the point of death.
Heathcliff never finds peace through his revenge. In fact, the only time he truly finds happiness is when he gives up his plan for retaliation. Austin O’Malley states “Revenge is like biting a dog that bit you” (O’malley 1). O’Malley’s quote reflects Heathcliff’s immature need to propagate agony in those who have offended him. Heathcliff’s plan for revenge on Edgar and Catherine is to marry Isabella, who is ignorant of love and of men because she has never experienced either. He wants to hurt Edgar because of his marriage to Catherine, and he wants to get revenge on Catherine by making her jealous. Catherine’s death proves that this flawed plan of repayment helps nothing. Heathcliff, haunted by the ghost of Catherine because he is her “murderer,” still is motivated by the need for revenge and tries to get young Cathy away from Edgar by having her marry his son, Linton. Heathcliff never finds peace until he gives up his plan for revenge just before he dies. When Heathcliff gives up his plan for revenge, he meets Catherine in death and truly becomes happy once more.
Pamela Gonzalez April 10, 2014 Dr. Yoder English 210A: The Novel. Wuthering Heights Symbols are in which someone chooses to be visualized and the setting within which someone’s portrait is placed can communicate to us about that person’s personality and objectives, how they like to be seen and/or the period in which they lived. Wuthering Heights is a quarantined building on the hills in the West Riding of Yorkshire. “Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff’s dwelling ‘Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather" (Emily Bronte pg.2).
In Emily Bronte’s book, Wuthering Heights, childhood and adolescence are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. The main character of this novel, Heathcliff, didn’t have the best period of adolescence and these events throughout his childhood shape the sense of “revenge” within this novel.
There is satisfaction in that he never receives a redemption arc, nor does any character forgive him during his lifetime. By emphasizing his true nature, a statement is made that fate will occur if unimpeded, and a lack of effort lets destiny continue its path. These examples of unforgiveness establish the idea that Heathcliff is an evil human from the beginning who will never be supported.
Often in literature, the fictional written word mimics or mirrors the non-fictional actions of the time. These reflections may be social, historical, biographical, or a combination of these. Through setting, characters, and story line, an author can recreate in linear form on paper some of the abstract concepts and ideas from the world s/he is living in. In the case of Emily Bronte, her novel Wuthering Heights very closely mirrors her own life and the lives of her family members. Bronte's own life emerges on the pages of this novel through the setting, characters, and story line of Wuthering Heights.