Nature Vs Nurture Wuthering Heights

     It could be supposed that Heathcliff dies a wretched soul, convicted of his crimes and having carried out his sentences. There is a glimmer of hope in his character, however, in light of his final temperament. In the end, the love of Catherine and Hareton – the reconciliation of the families – serves as this flicker

First published in 1847, Wuthering Heights was not met with immediate praise. Its depictions of violent characters and harsh realities were uncomfortable to a Victorian audience obsessed with outward appearances and societal orderliness. With time, though, more people were able to appreciate the novel’s beauty and scrutiny of the human psyche, and Wuthering Heights earned its place in the literary canon of classic works. Modern audiences continue to laud the book as the quintessence of good literature because of its complexity and comments on the human condition. Emily Bronte’s use of symmetry and juxtaposition between families, characters, and locations in Wuthering Heights functions not only to create an engaging and beautiful story about love and understanding, but also to explore the elaborate interactions between human suffering and cataclysmic downfall, thus affirming the inherent value of even debased and degraded individuals.

In Emily Brontë’s novel Wuthering Heights, Isabella along with several other characters wonder, “Is Mr. Heathcliff a man. If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil?” (Brontë 136). Brontë portrays Heathcliff as the ultimate villain through his immoral actions, blatant disregard for family, deception of others for personal gain, and misanthropic loathing of society. Yet, in many ways, Heathcliff embodies the romantic hero through his relentless and fervent love for Catherine. This internal struggle between the impulses of love and hate ironically make Heathcliff’s inhumanity more understandable. Ultimately, Heathcliff’s hatred is an expression of his intense love for Catherine, and the reader gains sympathy for Heathcliff given that he is a tortured man instinctively acting on his own clouded emotions.

It is worth, therefore, noticing the significant difference in the two major properties in the novel. Working class people inhabited Wuthering Heights, while Thrushcross Grange was inhabited by those higher on the social ladder. When Heathcliff and Catherine “peek” through their window, it shows that they aspire to be on the same level, socially. Heathcliff aquires both and this symbolises his character. He has the façade of a “gentleman” of high social rank, but has the “gypsy” like demeanour. Heathcliff resides at Wuthering Heights, a place that is constantly bombarded by the “north wind”. This stormy surround can often emulate Heathcliff’s emotional anger at the betrayal of his beloved Cathy. Heathcliff represents a typical protagonist of the Romance genre at the time; internalised in his emotions and lonely but there is hope that he will ultimately becomes much more of a typical hero with the experience of love. Heathcliff, however, as much as the reader wants him to, never becomes this typical hero and has much the adverse effect from love.

In this excerpt from Emily Brönte’s poem “How Clear She Shines” the elements of Gothicism are displayed clearly. The overall cynical mood sets the scene for a gothic style of writing; the contrasts between truth and treachery, joy and pain, peace and grief, bring out a feeling of unease that is Gothicism. Emily Bronte expounded on these themes in her novel Wuthering Heights, a classic work of gothic fiction. This novel portrays two lovers with a very unhealthy relationship in which they are very passionate but take their passion to the extreme. The lengths they go for their love can initially be classified as traditional romanticism, but love turns into obsession and quickly grows grotesque. This transformation marks the transition from Romanticism into Gothicism. Gothicism is a style of writing that is characterized by fear, horror, and death, but can also include Romantic qualities like nature, individualism, and emotion. Romanticism is known for its emphasis on emotion and imagination; Gothicism takes these themes and twists them into something dark and disturbing. In Gothicism, elements of Romanticism are taken too far to the absolute extreme, resulting in grotesque outcomes instead of the predictable plot generated by most romantic novels. Emily Brönte uses the Gothic themes of doppelgänger, sublimity, and revenge to stress the surreal and outrageous actions and thought of the main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights.

Surprisingly, Heathcliff is absent for three years from Wuthering Heights. During that time he mysteriously obtains wealth and returns triumphantly. However, at the time of his return Catherine is already married to Edgar Linton. Heathcliff would spend the rest of his life tortured by his separation from Catherine. He becomes so obsessed that he would roam around Thrushcross Grange for days hoping to take her back or take revenge for what she has done to him. Even the day she dies, he is already so mentally deranged that he tries to unearth her body. At that moment, he feels for the first time a "sigh" that he believes to be Catherine's spirit, a presence that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Years later, he reveals to Nelly the terrible situation in which he has been living ever since. He says "she has disturbed me, night and day, through eighteen years - incessantly -remorselessly" (Bronte 211).  It seems that the spell is set on her deathbed when she tells him that she would haunt him for the rest of his life. At that moment Heathcliff forecasts his fate when he says:

Throughout the compelling conspiracy of Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, creates an inhospitable and ominous estate, known as the Heights, that mirrors the savage inhabitants’ demeanor, such as the characters, Joseph or Hindley, but it is for most part apparent with Mr. Heathcliff. In the exposition, the reader gets a clear idea that the Heights is a dim, depressing, miserable residence when Mr. Lockwood first arrives there, and he begins to describes the Heights by observing the terrain; and he thinks to himself, “[O]ne may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs… [and] by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of sun” (4 Emily Brontë d).

Gothic literature includes elements of style that is usually portrayed in tales and deals with horror, despair, the grotesque, and mysteries. In the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, there are many elements of gothic literature that is found throughout the book. The term gothic is very broad in literature, and gothic can mean many different things from characteristics of people, feelings and reactions of a specific setting, mood, actions that happen being people, and so much more. All of this thrived in the 19th century. Gothic is categorized by an emphasis on the dark, gloomy, and mysterious. Ideas such as magic, hidden passages, wind, ghosts, and other supernatural elements, love, etc were all elements in the Gothic movement during the 19th century. Specifically, the descriptions of the settings, both outside and inside, in the novel, the actions of the main protagonists in the novel, and the love between Catherine and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights all add on to this idea of a gothic literature or tradition.

In gothic literature, the architecture that inhabits a story can go a long way not only in establishing the mood, but also in establishing the story’s characters. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1839, readers are introduced to a dreary house that is falling apart, while in another story by Poe published in this same year, “William Wilson,” readers are introduced to a school that, although not in disrepair, is labyrinthian and similarly dreary. Moreover, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, published in 1847, showcases a house, the size of which would normally reflect the wealth and high class of it’s owner, and yet the grounds are overgrown, indicating a lack of attention to maintenance while the house itself only features sparse furnishing. In all of these stories, the buildings that inhabit their pages are more than merely settings. Instead they are fragments of specific characters, representations of some form of wellness, while almost being characters in their own right. In “The Fall of the House of Usher” the house represents the physical wellness of both Roderick and Madeline Usher; whereas in “William Wilson” the school reflects the mental wellness of the lead character; and in Wuthering Heights, the titled building represents the emotional wellness of its owner.

Wuthering Heights is depicted as a cold, threatening, and dark manor, situated on a "bleak hilltop." In the novel, "wuthering" is the local adjective to describe the "atmospheric tumult" present in the region. The rugged manor, Wuthering Heights, represents a "storm", characterized by the wild emotions and harsh behaviors of the inhabitants. The depressing atmosphere causes people to "shiver through every limb" at the "sorrowful sight" of the Heights. In deep contrast, Thrushcross Grange is described as a "splendid place" of elegance and comfort. The peaceful dwelling of the Grange represents higher values and morals, and is considered the "calm" residence of the novel. The author creatively reveals the theme of good versus evil, or the calm versus the storm, through the pronounced symbolic differences in the houses.

"Wuthering Heights" is the novel not only about love and revenge. It shows how strong passionate feelings govern the actions of individuals and even encourage the horrific crimes (Shakespearean theme in Bronte). For this novel inherent moral ambiguity. The author gives the reader the opportunity to shape attitudes and make their own assessment of the actions of the characters of the novel, it is the perception of "Wuthering Heights" is constantly changing from one reading to the next.

Although Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights are very different, the two households share similarities as well. Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights are isolated from other people. The two houses are miles apart, and the only common visitor is the doctor. As a result from the isolation, the two households relied on each other for company. As each visit brought a part of the visitor’s household’s atmosphere, the transformation of Catherine and Heathcliff deepened. The presence of Edgar Linton caused Catherine to act more refines and mature, and Heathcliff became more controlled with his anger. However, because of their settings each character fell into their pervious attitude. Heathcliff began to argue with Catherine because she spends more time with Edgar instead of him, and Catherine aborted her pretense of being a refined individual when Nelly refused to obey her orders. This recognize the fact that although that a person can change, they cannot change completely.

Bronte might have had many characters die to get messages about death across to her readers. Heathcliff believed that death was the only way to be happy. He wished for Catherine to be by his side, but she is not longer alive. His loss of purpose for living motivated him to reunite with Catherine as a ghost. Though not specifically stated, Heathcliff died because he wanted to be reunited with Catherine. The open windows in the scene of Heathcliff’s death suggests that Heathcliff is reunited with Catherine because Catherine was present outside of the house and the windows is their mode of interaction. By opening the windows before dying, Heathcliff can be reunited with his lover. To the reader, death can be scary and mysterious. The fear the unknown can inspire fear within people. Death can also relieve pain. Heathcliff’s pain is not being with Catherine, so death is his method of alleviating his

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is an English classic filled with love, heartache, and death. Many mysterious literary conventions are used in the novel, including ghostly spirits, weather, and the infamous love triangle. The person who holds this remarkable story is Nelly, who in present day would be the old lady at church who knows everybody’s secrets.  With the drama and detail each of the characters hold, everything is not what it seems.

Wuthering Heights is a great literary work which keeps the audience exited while going through the novel. Some novels are monotonous in the way they are written and lack ideas to keep the novel move forward but this novel is an exception. Author keeps the audience guessing throughout this novel and that is one of the fundamental reasons for acceptance of this book even by the audience of this generation. Wuthering Heights basically revolves around its two main characters Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff .The novel portrays the emotional and destructive love between its two central characters mentioned above. Catherine and Heathcliff's love heads to a totally different direction as we move forward the novel. Even though beginning of the novel shows the love to be true and unconditional it changes rapidly to infatuation from Catherine the female lead character in the novel. This change of attitude actually makes the novel exiting and it ultimately leads the way to one of the main themes of the novel –revenge. I would be focusing on the significance of the theme ‘revenge’ in this work by Emily Bronte.