How Does Heathcliff Change Throughout The Novel

She is the object of his obsession, the very soul of his life; when she dies after childbirth, his fixation only intensifies. Heathcliff exclaims, "Come in! come in!... Cathy, do come. Oh, do—oncemore! Oh! My heart's darling, hear me this time—Catherine, at last!" (Brontë 58). Heathcliff is so deeply torn by Catherine’s death that he begs her to haunt him. This ingrained obsession does indeed lead to Heathcliff’s demise. Not soon before he passes, Heathcliff states, “Nelly, there is a strange change approaching; I’m in its shadow at present. I take so little interest in my daily life that I hardly remember to eat and drink… About her I won’t speak; and I don’t desire to think; but I earnestly wish she were invisible: her presence invokes only maddening sensations” (Brontë 601). Heathcliff hardly eats or drinks because of the weight Catherine’s death holds over him, without her presence he falls into a state of turmoil and madness. If the roles were reversed, Catherine would have gone through the same withdrawal and consequent death. A healthy love is devotion to your lover, but their relationship instead is a deadly

Heathcliff was the primary character that drove the plot of Wuthering Heights. The novel began and ended with him and his vindictive actions are most important to the progression of the story. He was unique from the other characters in the way that he looked, with “black eyes [withdrawn] so suspiciously under their brows...[and] dirty, ragged, black hair” (Bronte 3, 37). Mr. Earnshaw had generously brought this gipsy boy when he returned from a trip, picking him up from the miserable factory towns occupied by the lower classes in 1840. Earnshaw’s family did not receive this boy well, so Heathcliff was often characterized as a demon, epitomizing the equivocal attitude of the upper class, who at times felt charitable to and at times afraid of the lower class.

With such an infamous knack for the art of the scorn and slander, it’s not much of a surprise that Catherine enjoys her gossip. While telling Nelly about Edgar’s Marriage proposal, with Heathcliff eavesdropping close by, Nelly asks Cathy why she would not marry heathcliff instead. Her response, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now” (Bronte 81), shows that she not only cares more about her social status and appearance, but that she disregards Heathcliff’s feelings almost entirely as she has, as if she were shopping, gone with the better deal. Once Heathcliff hears Cathy’s words, he becomes a changed man, and by no means for the

Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights, she is barely recognizable. Hindley, treating Heathcliff as a servant, allows Catherine's playmate to step forward to greet her when she arrives. Catherine kisses Heathcliff, but while doing so, she comments upon his dirty appearance and compares him unfavorably to Edgar. Heathcliff is hurt by the changes in his friend's appearance and attitude.

After Heathcliff’s heart had been broken by Catherine Earnshaw, he could not bear the pain that he was enduring. Heathcliff became vile and full of vengeance. Edgar Linton was the motive behind the vengeance that filled him. Catherine, Edgar’s new wife, loved both Edgar and Heathcliff. Unfortunately for her marrying both of the men was not an option; therefore, she chose Edgar. Catherine overlooked Heathcliff because she thought that marrying Heathcliff would degrade her image. When Heathcliff heard the heart wrenching news, he ran away and returned three years later.

Mr. Earnshaw found Heathcliff when he was young and living on his own in Liverpool. Heathcliff Is raised as a family member until Mr. Earnshaw’s death. Hindly makes Heathcliff live like a servant. As he matures he becomes infatuated and obsessed with Catharine. He and Catharine go on adventures and one-day end up watching the Linton’s at the grange. Attack dogs chase Cathy and Heathcliff until Cathy falls and is bitten by the dogs. While she is away Heathcliff tracks the days she is gone and puts a net over a nest of baby birds and starves them, this shows how obsessed and psychotic he is early in the movie.

WHAT MAKES A NORMAL PERSON CHANGE INTO A VENGEFUL ONE The novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte analyzes the struggle of physical and psychological forces as against Heathcliff, the main character of the story, who tries to refashion or otherwise escape what appears to be his fate in life. In order to prove himself to other people, innocent Heathcliff gradually turns into a vengeful and angry person due to the physical and psychological forces. Heathcliff is a poor and naïve boy when he is adopted.

To begin, Bronte introduces the physical and emotional situation behind each one of the main characters throughout the novel with a very particular selection to the details she reveals about them. Not surprisingly she uses these physical and emotional characteristics to then help her projected audience interpret the characters behind such figures as Heathcliffe, Catherine Earnshaw, Edgar Linton of the older generation and young Cathy and Linton of the younger generation. Her portrayal of the characters highlights them during their strongest and their weakest times. Yet the most interesting aspect of it is how she shows the reactions of the other characters to say the transformation of one character. For example, upon the arrival of young Heathcliffe,

Before Heathcliff gained his wealth, Catherine told Ellen that “it would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am” (Brontё 69). Catherine uses Edgar’s marriage proposal to stay comfortable in a lifestyle like the one she grew up in, never expecting Heathcliff to gain considerable wealth. When Heathcliff returned to Wuthering Heights, Catherine’s resentment towards her new marriage to Edgar and continuation of her romance with Heathcliff demonstrates the theme of love causing hate. Even though Catherine appears pernicious through her bullying of Edgar, Catherine’s missed opportunity to marry Heathcliff after he attained wealth rouses sympathy for the forbidden

Like Heathcliff, she was also a wild spirit, intrinsically inclined toward Wuthering Heights, yet capable of adapting to high-society living. However, she could not continue to ignore her inherent affinity for both Heathcliff and the natural world. Only as she approached death did she finally admit that she “[didn’t] want…Edgar” or Thrushcross Grange to be her home (Brontë 127). Catherine’s frantic love for Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights manifested as the “brain fever” that led to her death, symbolizing the conflict between her effort to fit into society and her longing for a life free of constraints with Heathcliff (Brontë 132). Despite his newfound suffering, Heathcliff continues to love Catherine, even after her

Fast-forward to a moment in the story where Catherine returns home from being schooled into becoming a young lady. Heathcliff wanted to impress and show his good qualities to the company so he dressed in his best attire and went to greet the visiting guest. In chapter seven Hindley curses him and tells him he is nothing more than a dirty servant. This shows that Heathcliff wants to be a gentleman but is constantly told that he can not be anything but a lowly gypsy boy.

This begins with his childhood. As the character Nellie details what life was like for the children of Wuthering Heights, we quickly understand that Heathcliff especially lived as a target for abuse. This abuse namely came from Hindley Earnshaw, who viewed Heathcliff as a usurper of his father’s affections, and grew jealous of the way Mr. Earnshaw doted on the boy. In return, Heathcliff was subjected to frequent beatings and harsh treatment, all of which he took without complaint. His only true friend at the house was wild child Catherine Earnshaw- later Catherine Linton- who granted him a reprieve from Hindley’s cruelty, and showed him love. By showing the reader this kind of brutality, we understand the potency of Heathcliff’s hatred toward Hindley, and subsequently his urge to seek retribution in adulthood. In addition, the author establishes this strong connection with Catherine early on so the reader understands Heathcliff’s

Only Heathcliff remains active all throughout the novel. Catherine and Heathcliff are in love with one another. This love, however, is set back by Catherine’s ambivalent feelings on whether or not Heathcliff is worthy of her hand in marriage. In fact, Catherine holds a discussion about this with Nelly. Catherine loves Heathcliff to the point where she says “[she] is Heathcliff (Bronte 129-130).”

This is the first time Catherine herself makes a statement in regards to Heathcliff’s true nature, and it is this final nail in the coffin that sets Heathcliff’s nature to the reader. If we were unconvinced before, we would certainly be convinced now, given Catherine’s astute analysis. Four months after Heathcliff’s return, he carries Isabella away from the Grange and marries her for the chance of attaining her brother’s land. His vengeance is taking

Catherine and HeathCliff’s intimacy provided the base for the main conflict. Her marriage with Edger was more of a contract that provided her with the facilitations rather than satisfactions of matrimonial life. Which ultimately secured her the position among great ladies. If she would have married HeathCliff than her material gains would have been less or nothing. Her marriage stamped the class difference and Catherine as Victorian.