Foil Characters In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

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Edgar and Heathcliff-both well-known characters throughout Emily Bronte’s novel, Wuthering Heights, who happen to be perfect examples of foil characters. Without their distinct differences, there would not be a story line. Edgar being the owner of Thrushcross Grange and Heathcliff having Wuthering Heights which that in itself symbolizes that they are two polar opposite people. Their different personalities, ways of thinking, and personal life are all examples of things that make them different. However, without these differences, the main conflict of forbidden love would not have been exemplified.
To begin with, Edgar seems to be the good guy of the story. He does not really do anything bad throughout the novel, with the exception of really …show more content…

Their looks, Edgar being whiter and Heathcliff being darker symbolizes evil and good. Heathcliff is often compared to being the devil and with the whiteness of Edgar that could represent heaven for goodness. Since Heathcliff is a person full of rage, it makes me him think differently than Edgar. Like the examples used before like him marrying Isabella and pushing the marriage, it shows that Heathcliff is actually a smart and manipulative man. He know what makes peoples skin crawl, in this case Edgar’s, so he used his mind set to get exactly what he wanted. Edgar, on the other hand, is more of a softy. He knew that Catherine still had remaining feelings for Heathcliff, but instead of ending it, he just stayed with her. It was when Heathcliff came back when Edgar got angry about the situation because he was worried Catherine would leave him. Another thing that showed their difference is their love for their children. Edgar made sure Cathy being happy was his priority before anything else. When it came to Heathcliff and his son, Linton, there was just despise in that relation. Heathcliff used Linton to hopefully get Wuthering Heights, but since Linton was so pale and sickly looking, he reminded Heathcliff of Edgar which made him dislike him more.
There are a lot of differences between Heathcliff and Edgar throughout the novel. Their differences between feelings, looks, and personal life make them foil characters. Without these distinct differences their conflict would not exist, and without the conflict of love, there would not be a story

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