How Does Brontë Use Religion In Wuthering Heights

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In the novel, Wuthering Heights, we see a young girl named Catherine growing up while struggling with herself as she tries to figure out who she is and how she feels. Brontë’s symbolic use of the religion motif appears throughout the plot and allows the reader to see through Catherine’s mistakes, that devotion requires balance. Starting when the Earnshaw’s die, Catherine fails to balance religion in her life to where, soon it becomes a thing of the past. Through this, Catherine shows only her kindness but rarely her forgiveness. Kindness and forgiveness are two basic traits a good Christian develops, in which she clearly fails to have obtained. Without religion’s guidance of balance, Catherine begins to display damaging imbalance …show more content…

As Catherine grows up humbly alongside Heathcliff, she knows what it is to be a second priority when held under by oppressively dogmatic authority. So spending time with the Linton’s is a drastic change for her as it shows her how it feels when being seen as top priority. She soon becomes immune to the treatment. Spoiled and poise, Catherine loses her balance between being in the position of settling for less and always being handed the most luxury. Pretentiously, she begins to dress up to status, we know this to be out of character as Nelly has to stop and ask her, “why have you that silk frock on?” Odd behavior such as that continues and causes Nelly to finally note the sinful changes and remarks, “(Catherine) is not fit to go (to heaven),” because, “all sinners would be miserable in heaven.” We can see Catherine now losing herself due to her lack of balance between what she has known and what she knows now. Without the balance between the two she is easily caught up in confusion of what she wants spiritually and what she wants in terms of being

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