Heathcliff Monster or Victim

Heathcliff is a character with a bad past, which shapes him to be the person he is; his history also affects his relationship with those around him. I felt that Heathcliff is a very important character who has a special antiquity, which points Withering Heights in the direction that Brontë intended it to be.

A morally ambiguous character is a character who is conflicted and uncertain in which course of action to ethically take during specific situations. In Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, the character Heathcliff is the most morally ambiguous character in the novel. Raised in in an environment where he was psychologically and physically deteriorated, his motives and actions appear justifiable. His environment, motives, and actions showcase Heathcliff’s moral ambiguity.

In Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Heathcliff’s strong love for Catherine guides his transformation as a character. While Heathcliff enters the story as an innocent child, the abuse he receives at a young age and his heartbreak at Catherine’s choice to marry Edgar Linton bring about a change within him. Heathcliff’s adulthood is consequently marked by jealousy and greed due to his separation from Catherine, along with manipulation and a deep desire to seek revenge on Edgar. Although Heathcliff uses deceit and manipulation to his advantage throughout the novel, he is never entirely content in his current situation. As Heathcliff attempts to revenge Edgar Linton, he does not gain true fulfillment. Throughout Wuthering Heights, Brontë uses Heathcliff’s vengeful actions to convey the message that manipulative and revenge-seeking behaviors will not bring a person satisfaction.

Heathcliff is a character defined by his sympathetic past. Growing up as an orphan from a tender age, deprived of a structured family and family support system, exposed to the negative influences life offered, it is almost a certainty that his behaviour will not be that of an ideal gentleman.

The Development of Heathcliff’s Character in Wuthering Heights Heathcliff is a character who is ever present in “Wuthering Heights” and throughout the novel his character changes. At first he is a poor, homeless child, then he becomes a loved and neglected victim, then he is a degraded lover, and finally he transforms into a vicious, lonely master. Heathcliff is introduced into the novel as a homeless child. He is a ‘“dirty, ragged, black-haired child”’ who Mr. Earnshaw brings to Wuthering Heights from Liverpool. He is constantly referred to as ‘it’ and a ‘gypsy’.

Wuthering Heights is a novel which deviates from the standard of Victorian literature. The novels of the Victorian Era were often works of social criticism. They generally had a moral purpose and promoted ideals of love and brotherhood. Wuthering Heights is more of a Victorian Gothic novel; it contains passion, violence, and supernatural elements (Mitchell 119). The world of Wuthering Heights seems to be a world without morals. In Wuthering Heights, Brontë does not idealize love; she presents it realistically, with all its faults and merits. She shows that love is a powerful force which can be destructive or redemptive. Heathcliff has an all-consuming passion for Catherine. When she chooses to marry Edgar, his spurned love turns into a

Brontë shows how cruelty passes through generations through Hindley’s mistreatment towards Heathcliff. From the moment Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff, Hindley enters a state of melancholy and loathes that his father clearly favors Heathcliff over him. Mr. Earnshaw’s adoption of Heathcliff upsets Hindley, his father clearly favors Heathcliff over him. Consequently, Hindley reciprocates this hatred when he meets Heathcliff, comparing him to satan and wishing for his death. Heathcliff, unable to act against these cruel words, silently absorbs them. This interaction reveals traits of each character: the maliciousness of Hindley’s character, who hates on the young Heathcliff without reason; and the timidity of Heathcliff, fostered by his inability to stand up for himself. Although timid at the moment, Heathcliff assimilates this cruelty so that he can inflict it upon others, just as Hindley does the same to him. This depicts how the victim of suffering develops into the bearer of cruelty. Soon after Mr. Earnshaw’s death, Hindley assumes control of his household and unleashes even more cruelty on Heathcliff. In a fit of

As a young orphan who is brought to Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is thrown into abuse as Hindley begins to treat Heathcliff as a servant in reaction to Mr. Earnshaw’s death. As a reaction to both this and Catherine discarding Heathcliff for Edgar, Heathcliff’s sense of misery and embarrassment causes him to change and spend the rest of his time seeking for justice. Throughout this time, Heathcliff leans on violence to express the revenge that he so seeks by threatening people and displaying villainous traits. However, Heathcliff’s first symptom of change in personality is when Heathcliff runs into Hareton after Cathy “tormented

was to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day."

Heathcliff is introduced in Nelly's narration as a seven-year-old Liverpool foundling (probably an Irish famine immigrant) brought back to Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw. His presence in Wuthering Heights overthrows the prevailing habits of the Earnshaw family, members of the family soon become involved in turmoil and fighting and family relationships become spiteful and hateful. Even on his first night, he is the reason Mr. Earnshaw breaks the toys he had bought for his children. "From the very beginning he bred bad feelings in the house". Heathcliff usurps the affections of Mr. Earnshaw to the exclusion of young Hindley-: "The young master had learnt to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a

The scholarly article “Sympathy For The Devil” by Lin Haire Sargeant was a very informative and persuasive article. This article focused on the evaluation of the movies of Wuthering Heights, and the differences between the characters, more specifically Heathcliff. It talked about how most of the movies made the viewer have “sympathy for the devil,” or sympathy for Heathcliff. In the first movie that was spoken about, the 1939 adaption, they portray Heathcliff not as the one who is sinning, but the one who has been sinned upon. She states that this movie almost makes it seem that Heathcliff is really a good guy, but he has just had a streak of bad luck. Her evaluation of Heathcliff in this matter is very persuasive, and since I have not seen any of the movies,

The social classes in Wuthering Heights are an insight to the society that  Emily Bronte experienced. The British society of 1770 wasn’t accepting of a person with darker features which is reflected in how Heathcliff is treated in the novel. Orphans were also never meant to rise from their station below the servants. This is an insight into why Hindley Earnshaw hated Heathcliff and referred to him as a usurper of his father’s affections. When Hidley became master of Wuthering Heights he returned Heathcliff to his “rightful” place.

Self-Centered. Heathcliff is self-centered, caring for himself and his interests and having little concern for others. This trait is greatly amplified by his love for Catherine and hatred for Mr. Linton. One example of this is when he trapped Cathy and her companion for no less than five days in his house at Wuthering Heights, forcing Cathy to marry Linton (255, 260). “And there I remained enclosed [in a chamber], … [for] Five nights and four days I remained, seeing nobody but Hareton [when he brought food],” shows how little Heathcliff is concerned for others, and how much he cares for his own interests (260). His own self-interest causes him to want control over Thrushcross Grange, as evidenced by the fact Linton will gain control of it after Mr. Linton, who is in poor health, dies if he (Linton) marries Cathy (263). However, Linton was also in poor health and was going to

The character the intrigues me the most is Mr. Heathcliff. The reason I have a major interest in him, is because he has came from a very disturbed setting. Mr. Heathcliff was abused by Mr. Earnshaw’s son, Hindley, who makes him feel like a servant and matures only being known as a servant. The setting of the story is located in rural England at the Wuthering Heights household. Catherine, the daughter of Mr. Earnshaw, is deep in love with Heathcliff. Hindley is the son of Mr. Earnshaw who is handed down the property after Mr. Earnshaw passed away. Mrs. Earnshaw is the wife of Mr. Earnshaw, who passed away shortly after Heathcliff arrives to the residence. However, Mrs. Earnshaw did

It is the opinion of this essay that the character of Heathcliff evolves a lot more than the character of Catherine. When we first meet Heathcliff, he was found on the streets of Liverpool by Catherine’s father who then adopts him into the family as one of his own. This would have been a dramatic change for Heathcliff. Then after experiencing this quality of life until the death of the father he is then cast into the role of a servant/labourer by Catherine’s brother who despises him. Finally, when Heathcliff hears part of the conversation between Catherine and Nelly, he hears Catherine plans to marry Edgar Linton as she could never marry Heathcliff. “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now”. (82) It is here Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights and returns three years later, a gentleman of means and of polite demeanour, not what you would expect from him. Here we can bring back the point that one’s environment dramatically affects one’s behaviour. Like Catherine, Heathcliff defies social norms expected of his gender. After he returns back from travelling having acquired great wealth and on the surface seems a changed man, he would be accepted into middle class society as he displays the characteristics expected of him. It is well described in the book to enforce the dramatic change in him for readers to understand how far he has come from