Love, Revenge, and Passion

Emily Bronte will forever be known for the infamous romance of Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights. Not many couples can boast such a tumultuous and violent relationship, or of such passion and devotion. Catherine and Heathcliff share a bond that reaches deeper than a physical attraction. From their childhood until their deaths, their lives revolve around the other. Their preoccupation with each other does not represent the loving nature of most relationships; in fact, it often exhibits animosity and resentment. Their equally passionate and emotional personalities often clash, and lead to an obsession with getting revenge for each other’s many acts of rejection and heartlessness. One begins to wonder while reading how their relationship could be that of true love; after all, they seem entirely unfeeling towards the other’s pain, especially when they are the cause of it. They never strive to be considerate of each other’s happiness, and when the other one is upset, they never attempt to fix things for them. Overall, their relationship is not that of romantic love so much as one of extreme passion, flashing from ardor to abhorrence.

Catherine and Heathcliff formed their bond during childhood, the time of life when their love for each other was expressed in the truest sense of the word. While the majority of the Earnshaw family despised Heathcliff, “Miss Cathy and he were…very thick” soon upon his introduction into the household at Wuthering Heights (Bronte 47). They shared a love of exploration and mischief, and were rebellious cohorts in a rigid and controlling home. They were constantly in trouble, yet because they had each other, they didn’t seem to suffer affliction. Their relationship was simple and genuine. In fac...

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...them were equally emotional, stubborn, and passionate, destroying their own lives and the lives of those around them. Their sick need to punish each other, instead of forgive and forget their mistakes, leaves them seemingly unaware of the never ending cycle of defeat they cause for themselves. The tragedy in Emily Bronte’s romance is not that of cruelty or untimely death, it is the unfortunate realization that with or without each other, they are doomed.

Works Cited

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York, Bantam Dell, 2003. Print.

Levy, Eric P. "The Psychology of Loneliness in Wuthering Heights." Literature Resource Center.

Gale, Cengage Learning, May 1997. Web. May 2014.

Thormahlen, Marianne. "Title:The Lunatic and the Devil's Disciple: The 'lovers' in 'Wuthering

Heights.'" The Review of English Studies. Oxford University Press, May 1997. Web. May 2014.