Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte. The story is centered on hatred, jealousy, and revenge that spans two generations. Social class plays a significant role in the story, as it the factor that ultimately divides two loves from being together. The futures of Cathy, Hareton, and Linton are shaped by the vengeful decisions made by Heathcliff. Each character chooses to use Heathcliff’s manipulation in a different way.
Cathy is the daughter of Edgar Linton and Catherine Earnshaw. Shorty upon her birth, her mother Catherine passed away. Like her mother was, Cathy is very beautiful with curly blonde hair and a very strong personality. She was raised at Thrushcross Grange. Catherine is very sheltered as a child. Nelly regarded her as:
The most winning thing that ever brought sunshine into a desolate house: a real beauty in face, with the Earnshaws' handsome dark eyes, but the Lintons' fair skin and small features, and yellow curling hair. Her spirit was high, though not rough, and qualified by a heart sensitive and lively to excess in its affections. That capacity for intense attachments reminded me of her mother: still she did not resemble her: for she could be soft and mild as a dove, and she had a gentle voice and pensive expression: her anger was never furious; her love never fierce: it was deep and tender. However, it must be acknowledged, she had faults to foil her gifts. A propensity to be saucy was one; and a perverse will, that indulged children invariably acquire, whether they be good tempered or cross … Fortunately, curiosity and a quick intellect made her an apt scholar: she learned rapidly and eagerly, and did honour to his teaching.
One day while out exploring against her father’s wishes, Catherine comes across ...
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...areton had been born into. Linton spent much of his time trying his best to please his father so that he might not be angry at him. Linton expressed his fears to his father. Ultimately, his character was much like Heathcliff’s. Hareton was born to a good family; however he became introverted after becoming orphaned and going to live with Heathcliff.
In conclusion, Heathcliff is ultimately to blame for the unhappiness and distress of Cathy, Hareton, and Linton. The children grew up in different homes, with different family structures, social statuses and personalities. Linton chooses to take on a stronger personality, influenced by his father. Hareton chooses to develop a relationship with Cathy, whom had previously been unkind and mocking and together they grow.
Works Cited
Bronte, E. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/768/768-h/768-h.htm
The initial downward spiral of Heathcliff’s life was predominantly caused by harsh influences in the environment in which he was raised. Heathcliff, an adopted child, grew up in Wuthering Heights, a desolate and dystopian estate when compared to the beauty of the neighboring Thrushcross Grange. In childhood, Heathcliff displayed evidence of a sympathetic personality through his emotional attachment to Catherine and kind attitude towards Nelly. At the time of Mr. Earnshaw’s death, Nelly describes a scene where, “Miss Cathy had been sick, and that made her still; she
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is a novel about lives that cross paths and are intertwined with one another. Healthcliff, an orphan, is taken in by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights. Mr. Earnshaw has two children named Catherine and Hindley. Jealousy between Hindley and Healthcliff was always a problem. Catherine loves Healthcliff, but Hindley hates the stranger for stealing his fathers affection away. Catherine meets Edgar Linton, a young gentleman who lives at Thrushcross Grange. Despite being in love with Healthcliff she marries Edgar elevating her social standing. The characters in this novel are commingled in their relationships with Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.
Although Heathcliff creates a divide within the family due to his arrival, Cathy is seen to gain a friend with whom she feels she has an affinity both physically, spiritually and mentally, which will become increasingly evident as the novel progresses. However, this alliance throughout the novel is frequently thrown into turmoil by outside influences or factors. As we are informed from the onset, the "greatest punishment" that could be bestowed upon Cathy was separation from Heathcliff. & nbsp; Cathy and Heathcliff's separation only therefore ensues as a result of their initial outing to Thrushcross Grange. Their promise to grow up together as 'rude as savages,' is destroyed when Cathy and Heathcliff are separated physically by many factors resulting from this visitation. Just as the Linton's dog 'holds' Cathy, so too is the Linton's house symbolically presented as separating her from Heathcliff, when Heathcliff resorts to peering in through their 'great glass panes' to see Cathy, after being physically 'dragged' out of Thrushcross Grange. & nbsp;
Catherine Earnshaw appears to be a woman who is free spirited. However, Catherine is also quite self-centered. She clearly states that her love for Edgar Linton does not match how much she loves Heathcliff. She is saying that she does love both, and she is unwilling to give one up for the other; she wants “Heathcliff for her friend”. Catherine admits that her love for Linton is “like the foliage in the woods”; however, her love for Heathcliff “resembles the eternal rocks beneath”. She loves Heathcliff and yet she gives him up and marries Linton instead, Catherine believes that if she marries Heathcliff it would degrade and humiliate her socially.
We see his pride, his passion and sensitivity; we see that he is very close to nature: all of these things are genetic character traits, visible in Hareton's father and aunt, Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw. With Heathcliff, his nurture enhances parts of his personality, whereas in Hareton's nurture, his nature is dulled and moulded so it is less extreme. This is done by denying Hareton of experience. At the end of the novel, Hareton is very much a product of his nature; Cathy's nurturing allows this to change.
Cathy Linton, daughter of Edgar Linton and Catherine Earnshaw, demonstrates traits from her parents. In fact, these very traits can explain a lot about her and her actions. Her mother, Catherine Earnshaw, was born to a more “hot” and strong family, the Earnshaw family. As a child, Catherine was a more masculine girl, asking a whip from her father going into town, and she was always strong and powerful, having strong actions and opinions. Cathy’s father, Edgar Linton, grew up in a fancier house with manners. His family, the Linton family, could be described as “cool” and generally weaker than the Earnshaw family. Together, he and Catherine married to create a marriage of opposite personalities. One side, Catherine, was much stronger and more dominant in the relationship. The other side, Edgar, was much weaker in the relationship, and he ge...
From being isolated in the moors of England, with only the two houses-Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. And those are placed 4 miles apart from each other. Having grown up at Wuthering Heights, Catherine, Hindley, and Heathcliff all suffer from a lack of love and structure. Wuthering Heights is a very bleak and dark place, that isn’t too happy. None of them found happiness until they fled from that dreary place that they call home. Heathcliff is grumpy and mean, and wants to inflict that on everyone else around him. Hurt people, hurt people. As opposed to Thrushcross Grange, which is more structured. Edgar and Isabella are more compassionate people, because of the love that they received from their parents. It also leaves them vulnerable to Catherine and Heathcliff’s aggressive nature, as well as a ploy in Heathcliff’s plan. Knowing this, Catherine is only stuck with two options-marry Heathcliff or Edgar. Based on the decision she made (good or bad, depending on the person) it started a spiral of events that currently effects Linton, Hareton, and Cathy. The same thing is to be said about Cathy. Cathy is still in the same environment. Though she is growing up at Thrushcross Grange, and be raised by her father and Nelly. Hareton is growing up at Wuthering Heights, under the wrath of Heathcliff, which is not pleasant. He is becoming mean and malicious, something Heathcliff wants. Then you have Linton who grew up
Heathcliff allowed himself to be engulfed in all of the rejection and hatred he was surrounded by and gave into the way he was nurtured as a boy instead of what he could have become if he had listened to himself and not all the other aspects of his outside life. Hareton, on the other hand, listened to himself and did not get consumed by all the hatred and darkness he was raised in; he learned to be kind and loving towards Cathy without hurting everyone around her. Heathcliff also hated Hindley, the man who brought all of the emotional and physical abuse in his life, while Hareton loved Heathcliff, even though Heathcliff was Hareton’s “Hindley”. Hareton also felt sorrow for Heathcliff when he died, “weeping in bitter earnest,” while Heathcliff felt no remorse or sadness whatsoever, even for the people he had wronged (Bronte 324). Hareton and Heathcliff were majorly different as Hareton embraced his good side and Heathcliff got wrapped up in his damaged
Young Cathy’s love for Hareton is a redemptive force. It is her love that brings an end to the reign of Heathcliff. Heathcliff and Catherine have loved each other since their childhood. Initially, Catherine scorned the little gypsy boy; she showed her distaste by “spitting” at him (Brontë 27). However, it was not long before Heathcliff and Catherine became “very think” (Brontë 27).
Cathy was a good child, but she was very spoiled and overprotected, since Edgar didn’t trust anyone with her. She wasn’t allowed to wander outside the house, unless she was going to the park nearby and was accompanied by either Nelly or Edgar himself. Before Isabella’s death, she wanted Edgar to visit her so that she could give Linton over to him. He goes on a trip to claim Linton for himself, so Nelly is instructed to take care of Cathy. While Edgar is away, Nelly takes Cathy to Wuthering Heights to meet her cousin, Hareton, which was strictly forbidden to her, especially because there was to be no communication between the houses. Edgar returns to the Grange with Linton; Catherine and Linton get along easily and become good friends almost immediately. That same night, Joseph comes to the Grange, demanding that Linton go to Wuthering Heights to be with his dad, Heathcliff. When they arrive at the Heights, Linton is appalled by the ugly outside appearance of his new home and becomes frightened of his father, screaming that he refuses to stay there. Cathy turns sixteen years old, sharing her birthday with the anniversary of her mother’s death. Edgar goes to visit Catherine’s grave, so Nelly takes Cathy out to play. They run into Heathcliff, and he tells Nelly that he wishes Cathy and Linton to marry each other. When Cathy learns that Linton is actually Heathcliff’s son, she returns home and blames Edgar for keeping her and Linton away from each other for so long. Catherine and Linton begin to write love letters to each other behind their parent’s backs. Nelly finds out about this, and threatens to tell Edgar about the letters unless Catherine lets her burn them all.
During the first half of the book, Catherine showed different types of love for two different people. Her love for Heathcliff was her everything, it was her identity to love and live for Heathcliff but as soon as she found out how society views Heathcliff, she sacrificed their love and married Edgar Linton in the hopes of saving Heathcliff from Hindley and protecting him from the eyes of society. In her conversation with Nelly, Cathy who professed her love for Heathcliff quoted “My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself.” Catherine proved Nelly Dean that the only person who can make her feel pain and sorrow is Heathcliff. The extent of her love was uncovered when she sang her praise of “I am Heathcliff” because this was the turning point in the book that allowed the readers to truly understand and see the depth of Cathy's love for Heathcliff. On the other hand, Catherine's love for Edgar wasn't natural because it was a love that she taught herself to feel. It might have come unknowingly to Cathy but she did love Edgar as she said “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees.” Cathy knew that it was not impossible to love Edgar for he was a sweet and kind gentleman who showed her the world but unlike ...
Catherine should not of a had a reason to physically injure Nelly and upset the baby. She still has a long way to go before she grows up. Later in the day, Catherine accepts Edgar’s marriage proposal. As Heathcliff walks by, he eavesdrops on their conversation and runs out of the house. Catherine chases after him and loses sight of him. She searched around in the cold rain for Heathcliff. She caught a cold and the Lintons transported her to the Thrushcross Grange. As Catherine started feeling better, the Mr. and Mrs. Linton were infected and passed away.
The sympathetic part of Heathcliff shows through when he sees Catherine in the beginning stages of her sickness after childbirth. “He neither spoke, nor loosed his hold, for some five minutes, during which period he bestowed more kisses than ever he gave in his life before, I dare say…” (159). The sympathetic part of Heathcliff kicks in when he sees the woman he loves dying right before him. Heathcliff began to ask Catherine the questions he had not been able to ask her before, whether it had been due to his pride or to his absence - was insignificant., “‘...You loved me - then what right had you to leave me? What right - answer me - for the poor fancy you felt for Linton?” (162). When the novel begins, it is mentioned that Heathcliff is shouting, “‘Come in! Come in!’ he sobbed. ‘Cathy, do come. Oh do - once more! Oh! My heart’s darling, hear me this time - Catherine, at last!’” (28). Heathcliff attempts to get Catherine’s ghost to speak to him, because his main goal is to be united with her in death. Heathcliff’s character changes relatively fast when he sees Catherine dying in her bed. There is a sympathetic side shown that has not been quite expressed before, and also the feelings that Heathcliff kept bottled
Mr. Earnshaw believes that “the young man, [Hindley], should be sent to college”(45) as Hindley is not treating Heathcliff properly. This shows how Mr. Earnshaw is favoring Heathcliff to Hindley and is forcing Hindley to leave. Catherine becomes good friends with Heathcliff. One night, they spy on the Lintons, their neighbors, and are caught. Mrs. Linton is disgusted that “Miss Earnshaw [was] scouring the country with a gypsy”(53). Catherine is expected to behave like a proper lady, implying that she should not associate with those inferior in status to her because she is part of the middle class. Even though Catherine and Heathcliff have a strong friendship, he ruins her reputation in the eyes of the Mrs. Linton. While having connections proves to benefit Heathcliff status, they appear to be detrimental to his connection’s
Admittedly, Catherine, Heathcliff, and Hindley, aren't the soccer moms of today. Heathcliff does not even meet his son Linton until grown, only then because his mother Isabella dies. Because of paternal rights, Heathcliff gains custody of Linton. When Linton prepares to meet his father for the first time, he questions Nelly: "'And what is my father like? Is he as young and handsome as uncle?' 'He's as young,' she replies, 'but he has black hair and eyes, and looks sterner, and he is taller and bigger altogether.'…'Black hair and eyes!' mused Linton. 'I can't fancy him. Then I am not much like him, am I?'"(Bronte 152). Upon meeting his son, Heathcliff observes him as weak, sickly, and high strung, which strongly contrasts with ursine Heathcliff. Their contradictory personalities ultimate...