The Bond that Comes with Love

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.

Though Bronte’s star-cross lovers have seemly bend gender roles, with Catherine exhibiting more masculine traits and Heathcliff with feminine, their relationship still epitomize Beauvoir’s views on the gender dual standard in relationships. The mysterious and untamed disposition of Heathcliff drew Catherine to him, they were very much a like and had a strong connection from childhood. As this love grew it became a part very much of them. However, despite their similar personalities, they were not equals. She modifies herself for love. Catherine went against her independent character and rejected herself to be one with Heathcliff. While, he remains the same. Heathcliff never truly sees Catherine as his equal, he persists on being the superior. Though he has called her his existence on numerous occasions, Heathcliff never refers to himself as Catherine. His love stems from his obsession to possess her and her adoration. Like, the slave owner, he is the master who needs his slave to perpetuate his superiority, she is a conquest to be collected. Ergo, as Heathcliff was losing Catherine to the clutches of death, he exclaims that would never forget her because she is his existence (Bronte 124). A master

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).

   "My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff" (81)" These words, uttered by Catherine, in the novel Wuthering Heights are for me the starting point in my investigation into the themes of love and obsession in the novel. Catherine has just told her housekeeper that she has made up her mind to marry Edgar Linton, although she is well aware that her love for him is bound to change as time passes. That she is obsessed by her love for Heathcliff she confirms in the above quotation and by saying that she will never, ever be separated from him. Why does she not marry him then? Well, she has

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

Heathcliff cried vehemently, "I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!" Emily Brontë distorts many common elements in Wuthering Heights   to enhance the quality of her book. One of the distortions is Heathcliff's undying love for Catherine Earnshaw. Also, Brontë perverts the vindictive hatred that fills and runs Heathcliff's life after he loses Catherine. Finally, she prolongs death, making it even more distressing and insufferable.

Catherine’s crisis starts with her decision to marry Edgar Linton. “Yes, and it worries me, and I must let it out! I want to know what I should do. To-day, Edgar Linton has asked me to marry him, and I've given him an answer. Now, before I tell you whether it was a consent or denial, you tell me which it ought to have been.”(77) Catherine starts to worry about the decisions she made because she realized she loves Edgar but not nearly as much as she loves Heathcliff. Cathy went on to admit this saying “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.” (80) She knows she shouldn't marry Linton because she loves Heathcliff more than anyone else, but she does

Dreaded till the day she died, Catherine confessed to Nelly that “[she is] Heathcliff! He’s always, always in [her] mind: not as a please, any more than [she is] always a pleasure to [herself], but as [her] own being” (87). After marrying Edgar, she has been haunted by the thoughts of Heathcliff because of his presence and torturous schemes to Edgar’s sister, Isabella. Through fear of Heathcliff’s sharp words and actions, Catherine is “cannot live apart” from Heathcliff

Once in the kitchen catherine was telling nelly that she loved Heathcliff and wanted to him but it would degrade her to do so according to her family, but in the same sentence she said that she loved him.” ...it would degrade me to marry heathcliff now; so he shall never know how i love him…”.(bronte.81) Not hearing the last part he left. He still loved her because when he found out she was sick he traveled on foot. When he got there she was happy “oh edgar darling!

Have you ever gotten to the end of a book and been clueless about how all of the problems that are out in the open will get resolved in the next few pages? Or worse, gotten to the end of a book, without any of the problems getting resolved at all? Are you unaware of how the characters ended up? Do all of the unanswered questions gnaw at you? Do you instantly begin to make up your own scenarios of how the story should have ended, just to tighten all of the loose knots? Similarly, the relationship of Catherine and Heathcliff from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, ends this way, abruptly and without resolutions to many of their problems. While they seem to share an idealistic relationship, it is not a sufficient one, as Catherine and Heathcliff

In Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Catherine Earnshaw is in love with Heathcliff, a poor orphan who has become her foster brother. Their inseparable bond helps them survive the harshness and cruelty of their lives. However, wealthy Edgar Linton is in love with her as well, and Catherine must choose between them. Cathy sacrifices her future with Heathcliff so that she can marry Edgar Linton. This reveals that she is selfish enough to want a comfortable life at the expense of her "true love", but that she is also pragmatic and knows that having more money will help Heathcliff into a better social situation.

Catherine also talks at length about how marrying Edgar would be the best thing for her, and even though this action is presumably for wealth and power should love not transcend wealth and power? Tytler also conveys how Catherine and Heathcliff “regard each other as alter ego’s” (173). If they see each other as alter ego’s they can’t love each other. They use each other more as something to lean on to balance themselves. They see themselves as friends working together not as passionate lovers live some scholars believe.

In her statement, Catherine, is describing how strong her love is for Heathcliff. She states that her love will never end. Catherine states that she is one with Heathcliff, for they share the same thoughts and the same mind. This quote shows that the bond of love cannot be broken and will stand the test of time.

Catherine gives Edgar rather cold half comforting, half mocking words, after Heathcliff was sent to the attic. Nelly initially calls her unfeeling and selfish, for not jumping to Heathcliff's aid. She retracts this almost a second later when Catherine starts crying and dives under the table to hide it. Later, Heathcliff overhears Catherine talking about not wanting to marry him, and runs away. While Heathcliff is away, Edgar and Catherine start up a more romantic relationship and eventually marry. Nelly says that the biggest difference with Catherine after this is that she is better

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)