The character of Hareton is used by Brontë as a tool to show not only how willing Heathcliff is to take revenge, but also to show how Heathcliff ended up how he did by choice, whereas Heathcliff, thrown into the same if not worse situation by Heathcliff, decided to educate himself and become the best person he could, eventually leading him to win Cathy’s heart.
The character of Hareton is first introduced to the reader when he is born. Through a servant retelling what his mother said about him to Nelly, who then tells the overall narrator, we learn that his mother called him ‘such a beauty’ and the speculation is made that, although his mothers chance of survival is slim, she still wanted to ‘see it grow a man’. Immediately, as soon as the child is born, the reader sees how loved it is; not only a ‘beauty’, suggesting not only good looks but also innocents, purity; the mother desperately want to see him grow up. Knowledge that she can’t do this, because, as predicted, the mother dies soon after giving birth, evokes sorrow in the reader; while Nelly looks after the child, she isn’t the mother, and soon he goes under the care of Heathcliff. The comment ‘see it grow a man’ in particular links to this eventual
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This is seen as odd; one would usually assume that, in this situation, he would do his best to make their relationship flourish, to make up for his failed one, but instead, Heathcliff is too obsessed with revenge, making Catherine’s child suffer as much as possible, just as he had
Catherine tries to better her station both by wedding Edgar Linton and by her steady perusing. She snickers at Hareton on account of his absence of training. Heathcliff concedes that Hareton is
Hareton is introduced at an early age to domestic abuse, both physical and mental, that leads him to distort his mind on how he views life and who he has to respect. From his birth, Hindley’s father detests him and wishes to avoid all contact with his son. The death of Hareton’s mother upon his birth greatly troubles his father Hindley who
Heathcliff’s anger intensified and he was bent on destroying not only his enemies but also their families. He then married his son to Catherine and Edgar’s daughter in an attempt to gain control over Thrushcross Grange. After
In the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there are many characters which affect the outcome of the entirety of the novel. If one character was to be removed from any book, there would be major changes in the events of said book. In this essay, the one character removed from Wuthering Heights is Hareton Earnshaw. The son of Hareton Earnshaw, this character is revealed to be the silver lining of hope to the never ending tragedies of this novel. By eliminating this Hareton, Wuthering Heights as a whole will darken and fall into an endless cycle of despair. Hareton plays a minimal role in Heathcliff’s revenge and is rather used as a pawn the entire time, however, his existence was crucial to how events played out.
Hareton diction develops and becomes a Standard English speaker. In one of the passages we can notice all the benefits of Cathy’s teaching when Cathy asks him if Heathcliff is going to join them for a meal, Hareton replies:
When Hareton falls out of Hindley's grasp, Heathcliff is lucky enough to be walking right under them and catches baby Hareton. However, rather than be happy about saving Hareton, Heathcliff's face shows "the intensest anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge" (75). Nelly adds that she feels "had it been dark.. he would have tried to remedy the mistake by smashing Hareton's skull on the steps" (75). Heathcliff being willing to kill an innocent child just to get revenge on Hindley shows just how consumed he is by the idea of revenge and how evil he truly is.
As Heathcliff seeks his revenge, he becomes fiendish and is constantly associated with diabolical feelings, images and actions. The use of the imagery reinforces the inhuman aspect of Heathcliff. He regrets saving the infant Hareton. Nelly recalled that his face bore the greatest pain at he being the instrument that thwarted his own revenge. He takes perverse pleasure in the fact that Hareton was born with a sensitive nature, which Heathcliff has corrupted and degraded. Heathcliff's pleasure at this corruption is increased by the fact that-: "Hareton is damnably fond of me". Heathcliff's cruelty is also evident when he hangs Isabella's dog despite her protestations. His attitude is devoid of fatherly feeling. He sees him only as a pawn in his revenge and his main
This explains why Hareton had a changed personality for a short period of time because his kind heart was taken advantage of and fell victim to Heathcliff's disguised revenge. Therefore, Brontë illustrates Hareton's changed childhood to focus on his true goodness over troubled
Hareton, being illiterate due to Heathcliff neglecting his education, has been trying to teach himself how to read. Cathy, mocking him for his illiteracy, says, “Yes I hear him trying to spell and read to himself, and pretty blunders he makes! I wish you would repeat Chevy Chase, as you did yesterday - It was extremely funny! … Those books, both prose and verse, were consecrated to me by other associations, and I hate to have them debased and profaned in his mouth!” (301-302)
Even though Heathcliff was unbearably mean to Cathy, she refused to be squashed. She made her own happiness by planting plants from Thrushcross Grange at Wuthering Heights and reading whenever she could. She also chose to rebel against Heathcliff’s tyrannical rules, even going as far as to fight him about them. Another key example of Cathy adapting is in her romantic relationships. When she was forced to marry Linton, she made the best of it, insisting to Heathcliff that, “you have nobody to love you; and, however miserable you make us, we shall still have the revenge of thinking that your cruelty arises from your greater misery,” (page 240) because although she was not happy with Linton, she knew he loved her. And although Heathcliff wouldn’t allow Hareton to be with Cathy, she fought past that and they fell for each other.
Heathcliff dedicates his entire life to make sure he ruins Linton and Earnshaw families. The causenof his rage is because Cathy married Edgar, and Heathcliff was in love with her. Since Heathcliff was so deeply in love eith Cathy he started to unleash his anger with absolutely everyone, he became a really mean and angry person. Even though he did all he could to make their lives miserable it didn't bring Cathy to him. Even when she was dying Heathcliff couldn't make Cathy want to be with him. After she died only visions and dreams of
Mr. Heathcliff progresses through his own type of personal revolution which he supports the culture of his enemies, to use them primarily against the future. Noticing the contradictions Catherine states, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff, now; so he shall never know I love him; and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am”(Bronte 70). Since Catherine’s brother, Hindley, has given Heathcliff the status of a servant, she cannot marry him. Here contradictions between both social classes, upper class has to be with the rich and lower class with the poor. Even though Catherine admits that she loves Heathcliff and finds him very handsome she still marries Edgar Linton, who has social position and money.
This idea is exemplified farther with the characters Hareton and Heathcliff.These characters don't have the repetition of the same name, but they do have the repetition of the unfair environment in which they were raised on, which lead to the brewing of resentful feelings.Both characters were viewed as dunces,and they both were stripen of what they trulyl loved.Heathcliff was mistreated by Catherine's brother Hindley ,as Hareton was mistreated by Heathcliff.Heathcliff and Hareton share the same characteristics such as: short temper,anger,and bitterness.Heathcliff was first introduced into the story as “a sullen,patient child”(27) .Overtime Heathcliff with took mistreatment ,and violence for the only thing he loved:Catherine. When Catherine stated it would “degrade her”(59)to marry him,Heathcliff took the turn for revenge and resentment,since the women he loved wouldn't marry him for what her brother made him to be.Hareton had a similar raising.Heathcliff was filled with resentment from his early childhood so,he took Hareton and “reduced[him] to a state of complete dependence on his father’s interverate enemy”(139)meaning that Heathcliff would do everything he experienced as a child to Hareton as a form of revenge.Even though Hareton was raised in the same state as Heathcliff Hareton’s did not seek revenge on Heathcliff ,Hareton’s “honest,warm, and intelligent nature shook off the clouds of ignorance and degradation in which[he was] bred”(236).Hareton
In the Gothic novel “Wuthering Heights” shades of redemption rather than just simple “love story” elements can be foreseen. The reader could find almost impossible to see a sort of salvation in the book and mostly because it is what he is waiting for since the first chapters and that he does not see it, yet it is still present. At the end of the second volume, when all the characters from the previous chapters, who represent the “roots” of the two families, die, redemption emerges the most. With his strong education and kindness, Hareton cleanses off all the sins committed by all the people before him in his family tree and mainly Heathcliff’s sins. As Hareton, Young Cathy, eradicates all her mother Catherine’s sins. The two last
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.