"What is it to you?" he growled. "I have a right to kiss her, if she chooses, and you have no right to object. I am not your husband: you needn't be jealous of me!"( Bronte’s Chapter 11). In this quote, Heathcliff has sought his revenge on Catherine, for snubbing him, and Edgar, for always dismissing him, by marrying Isabella. This act of revenge paves the way for future divisions between Heathcliff and the Lintons. It also further damages Catherine and Heathcliff as they adjust to life without each other. The deepening pain they experience adds intensity to their passionate fall out later in the
Out of all the themes in the novel The Scarlet Letter, revenge is quite prominent. Throughout the book, the characters all seem to be afflicted with revenge in some sort. The theme revenge, refined by Hawthorne, exposes the flaws of the novel’s ‘perfect being’, how this virtue can take over one’s life, and how this affects them in the later future.
Douglas Horton once said, "While seeking revenge, dig two graves - one for yourself". The Count of Monte Cristo, a truly captivating novel written by Alexandre Dumas, lives to tell the tale of a young French Sailor, Edmond Dantés, who is forced to spend fourteen years in prison due to the actions of his jealous enemies or so-called "friends". When he eventually escapes, he is left with the feelings of a strong hatred and a thirst for revenge which sets him up to be the man he develops into throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, the Count of Monte Cristo seeks relentless revenge on all of the people who had wronged him many years ago. Dantés, completely unrecognizable after being freed, became only a prisoner of himself due to his need
As a consequence of Heathcliff's visit to the Grange, Edgar's sister Isabella falls in love with him, and her feelings seem to be sincere. In this one-sided love affair Heathcliff takes advantage of the innocent girl's infatuation to foster his obsession for revenge. (Isabella is her brother's heir). Catherine's reaction is very hard to interpret. It is natural that she is jealous, if she still feels the same for him as before, and that may be the reason why she dissuades Isabella from marrying Heathcliff. But the words she uses, telling her what an abominable creature Heathcliff is, are not the sort you expect to hear from someone talking of a sweetheart. Later on when her husband and Heathcliff are having a quarrel, she stops Edgar from hurting her friend . There is an excess of emotion, and her explanation to this behaviour is that she wants them both, Edgar and Heathcliff: "Well, if I cannot keep Heathcliff for my friend - if Edgar will be mean and jealous, I'll try to break their hearts by breaking my own" (109).Her love for Heathcliff has not cooled down, instead it seems to be a stronger obsession than ever considering the torments she goes through, when she becomes seriously ill.The last time Catherine and Heathcliff see each other is a very heart-rending meeting. Their love for each other is as strong as ever, and Heathcliff
Heathcliff is abused; his only source of love is his dearest Catherine, yet even that love cannot thrive in Heathcliff’s environment. The problem is not that his love is unrequited, but rather that Catherine believes she would fall to ruin if she were to be with Heathcliff “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him---because he's more
To begin, Heathcliff uses Isabella as a means of exacting revenge on Edgar Linton, whom he despises. When Heathcliff finds out Isabella is in love with him, he is delighted. His pleasure comes not from a mutual like for Isabella, but rather a vision for revenging Edgar. After Catherine lets slip that Isabella is in love with him, Heathcliff says to her, “...and if you fancy I’ll suffer unrevenged, I’ll convince you of the contrary, in a very little while! Meantime, thank you for telling me your sister-in-law’s secret: I swear I’ll make the most of it. And stand you aside!”(112). Heathcliff’s comment
At one point in Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff locks Catherine and Nelly into a room for several days and even “seized her [Catherine] with the liberated hand, and, pulling her, on his knee, administered, with the other, a shower of terrific slaps on both sides of the head” (271). Heathcliff slaps Cathy after she refuses to say in the room with Nelly for the sole reason that Cathy is Catherine’s daughter, and Heathcliff takes out his anger at Catherine on her daughter, which shows how much fury he still has after all of these years. Heathcliff also tries to marry Cathy to Linton in order to take control of Wuthering Heights when Edgar dies. He says that Wuthering Heights would “go to me; but, to prevent disputes, I desire their union, and am resolved to bring it about” (215). The hope of preserving the memory of Catherine is what drives Heathcliff to force his son to marry Catherine. If Linton were to become heir of the property, it would ensure Heathcliff's ownership of Wuthering Heights, fulfilling his
Another one of the many things Heathcliff wanted was power. He seduced and married Isabella Linton, not out of love, but out of selfish thoughts of abusing her to get revenge against her brother, Edgar because he married Heathcliff’s lover. When Isabella died, Heathcliff’s son Linton was handed over to him; Heathcliff forced Linton to marry Edgar and Catherine’s daughter, Catherine – or Cathy – Linton. When Ellen found letters written between the two, Linton’s letters “rendered natural,
Furthermore, when Heathcliff returns, Catherine should take no interest in trying to rekindle her feelings for him as Edgar had been putting in effort to make their marriage work 'Mr. Edgar had a deep-rooted fear of ruffling her humour' Up until this scene the couples were getting along and if Catherine had concealed her zealous behaviour towards Heathcliff then the calm atmosphere would have remained. Catherine rudely ignores her husband's presence to the extent that he demands the disrespectful behaviour to be stopped and a decision made 'Will you give up Heathcliff hereafter, or will you giver up me? It is impossible for you to be my friend and his at the same time…' Indeed, Edgar is right to put Catherine's in this difficult situation because any other typical husband at the time would have been less patient with Catherine or banned Heathcliff from the house at an earlier stage. Catherine struggles because the two men in her life represent two types if world and she cannot have both at the same time.
Heathcliff resents her scorn. He desires to regain her approval. He attempts to be “decent” and “good” for her sake (Brontë 40). However, his attempt to be decent fails miserably. He resents the attentions that Catherine gives to Edgar. Catherine would rather wear a “silly frock” and have dinner with “silly friends” than ramble about the moors with him (Brontë 50). Heathcliff keeps track of the evenings Catherine spends with Edgar and those that she spends with him. He desperately wants to be with Catherine. When Catherine announces to Nelly her engagement to Edgar, Heathcliff eavesdrops, but leaves the room when he “heard Catherine say it would degrade her to marry him” (Brontë 59). Catherine has spurned his love, choosing Edgar over him. Heathcliff cannot bear this rejection. The love he possesses for her transcends romantic and filial love (Mitchell 124). He feels that he is one with her (Mitchell 123).
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The old law of ‘an eye for an eye’ leaves everybody blind.” By this, King is implying that revenge does not solve any issues, but instead affects multiple people who are involved in a conflict. Revenge is defined as the act of harming someone for any aggression towards another. “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” written by William Shakespeare, gives an excellent example that the thirst for vengeance can ruin everyone who is connected. Some examples of the play are Romeo and Tybalt, whose actions caused them to meet an unfaithful end. Their actions, which were guided by hatred, not only affected them, but both of their families. Romeo and Tybalt’s actions show that revenge itself can lead to great losses,
Revenge is a common concept, and has been incarnated in many different ways throughout history; there’s the concept of an eye for an eye, which implies that the person taking revenge does it by themself, and, on the other end, there’s the concept of karma, which implies that another force will exact revenge for the person who wants it. No matter the idea, however, the concept is always the same: a person who has wronged another gets wronged to the same extent. Revenge can become excessive, though, and can lead to the corruption of a person’s morals and ideals. In his novel The Lord of the Flies, William Golding demonstrates how a person's wish for revenge can easily corrupt them. Golding demonstrates this using the character Jack, who, throughout the book, is motivated by spite and a wish for revenge.
Heathcliff's role as an avenger is helped by his intelligence and understanding, not just of his own motivations, but of the motivations of others. He recognizes the source of Isabella's infatuation that-: "she abandoned this under a delusion" - "picturing in me a hero of romance". He also capitalizes on Linton's poor health by inviting the pity of Cathy so that her affection and sympathy would facilitate a marriage that would leave he, Heathcliff, as master of the Grange.
Heathcliff is so desperate for acceptance that he is willing to cheat people to gain the property he craves. By doing so he hopes to show Catherine that he is worthy of her, a landowner in his own right. After Catherine accepts Edgar's proposal, she seeks out Nelly and tells here that "[I]t would degrade [her] to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how [she] love[s] him; and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more [herself] than [she] [is]. Whatever [their] souls are made of, his and [hers] are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire." (Page 74, lines 29 - 33).
While at Thrushcross Grange, she grows infatuated with Edgar, despite her love for Heathcliff. Edgar came from an upper class family as well and took care of her when she was in a dog accident. This leads to her acceptance of Edgar Linton’s marriage proposal despite her statements regarding her love for Heathcliff. Heathcliff overhears unfortunate passages of Catherine's discourse and disappears for a period during which he mysteriously makes his fortune and changes irrevocably from the person he was. Vengeance consumes him, and Heathcliff attempts to destroy the lives of those who wronged him, (as well as their children). Ultimately, Heathcliff’s bitterly executed vengeance is effaced by a love between Hareton and Cathy that mirrors Heathcliff’s own love for Catherine. Hareton is Catherine’s nephew and Cathy is Catherine’s daughter, which makes the two first cousins.
This leads to him running away from the heights entirely, leaving Catherine to marry Edgar. “He had listened till he heard Catherine say it would degrade her to marry him.” (81). Upon his return (two years later), Heathcliff marries Isabella to get back at Catherine, and her speech about how marrying him would degrade her. Isabella is also taken against her and her family’s will. Heathcliff kidnaps her and locks her away at the heights. In a letter written to Nelly, Isabella confirms that it was truly against her will for her leaving, and that she cannot return in the time of crisis in her brother’s life. “… an entreaty for kind remembrance and reconciliation, if her proceeding offended him: asserting that she could not help it then, and being done, no power to repeal it.” (140). In the act of kidnapping Isabella, Heathcliff’s intent is to hurt Catherine. Catherine would develop almost a jealous-like temper towards the whole situation, as Heathcliff knew it would. Even on Catherine’s deathbed, there is a constant push and pull (in almost a literal sense) of the cruelty that goes on between the two of them. Between the crying, the vexing, and the constant apologies, comes the brutal cruelty of the words Catherine speaks to Heathcliff. “I shall not pity you, not I. You have killed me – and thriven on it, I think.” (164)