Violence And Cruelty In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

716 Words2 Pages

Emily Brontë only had one book published in her lifetime, and it has become a staple in classic literature. Wuthering Heights is classified as a destructive romance between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff who are in love, but cannot be with one another because of the many obstacles set by other characters and, more importantly, themselves. But there is also a very dark element to this tale of romance. Many characters face abandonment, neglect, and physical and emotional abuse. Violence and cruelty is a reoccurring theme throughout Wuthering Heights that is developed through the actions of characters.
In the beginning of Nelly Dean’s story about the generations of characters living in the mansion of Wuthering Heights, she talks about Mr. Earnshaw. This man starts the story with taking in an orphan that he names Heathcliff (Brontë 24). Earnshaw only gives Heathcliff a first name and no last name to show that he will never …show more content…

Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw eventually grew very ill and passed away. Hindley is now in charge of Wuthering Heights, much to the chagrin of Heathcliff. Heathcliff becomes even more of an outcast through Hindley’s actions, constantly not referred to as a member of the family and treated poorly (“Wuthering”). At one point, Hindley locks Heathcliff out of the house and tries to shoot him with a pistol. As a result, Heathcliff beats up Hindley (Brontë 113-115). Hindley eventually drinks himself to death over his wife’s death due to childbirth, leaving Heathcliff with his son, Hareton. Heathcliff already has his son, Linton, who he refers to as his property, not his son. History repeats itself when Heathcliff brutalizes Hareton, denying him an education and isolating him from the rest of the world. There is a sense of irony as Heathcliff treats his own son like Mr. Earnshaw treated him and how he also treats Hareton as Hindley treated him

Open Document