The Everlasting Child : Wuthering Heights

Since the beginning of civilization, one’s wealth, and status were determining factors that influenced their place in a stratified society. In Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights, the author embodied the realities of England's class system during the Victorian Era. During this Era, people were born into a class and stayed there. This was essentially captured by the idea that social mobility was rare and limited. Bronte uses characters such as Catherine, Heathcliff and Edgar as well as the second generation as a tool to emphasize the differences in class, and how it ultimately impacted the fate of the characters.Through the use of symbolism and juxtaposition, Bronte exemplifies that the potency of love and relationships cannot outweigh the necessity social status. While many will argue the impracticality of social status being the determining factor of one’s way of life, this is most notably seen through Catherine Earnshaw.

The disorderly atmosphere of Wuthering Heights, generated by Heathcliff’s raucous behavior causes Catherine to gravitate towards a more uncivilized and mannerless version of herself. Several times, Catherine snaps at others and throws furious tantrums, as she scolds and even slaps Nelly for cleaning in Edgar’s prescence. The rambunctious setting of Wuthering Heights conjures a different Catherine, where, “to pracise politeness...would only be laughed at,” influencing her to act on rebellious

Nelly knew that Catherine was subject to big emotional fits to get her way she was very used to it. Although Edgar being completely oblivious thought Catherine was just used her mind to trick people into getting her way. Catherine is only viewed as a spoiled little girl who thinks it's her way or the highway to Nelly. On the other hand Edger is blinded by his love for Catherine only thinking that she is using her smarts tricking people to get what she wants. With that in mind Nelly has a negative beliefs towards Cathrine, while Edger having a positive belief towards

As we know Nelly is not fond of Catherine at all. She knew how emotional she was and Nelly felt as if Catherine would use her emotional fits to get her own way. Nelly felt as if Catherine was arrogant as she said "I own I did not like her, after her fancy was past; and I vexed her frequently by trying to bring down her arrogance;

Wuthering Heights’s Catherine Earnshaw is infamous for her complex character, some arguing that she is egocentric and manipulative, others sympathizing with the difficult choices she is faced with. However, there is no doubt that she is innately childish. As Catherine grows older, her character is not changed; she remains juvenile and selfish, making everything a game that revolves around her and not empathizing with other characters and their needs - subconsciously or not. In a sense, her mindset never progresses past one of a child. As Sigmund Freud wrote in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, “What makes an infant characteristically different from every other stage of human life is that the child is polymorphously perverse” - an attribute which Catherine exemplifies throughout her lifetime. Her selfishness goes beyond the "ordinary self-centeredness" (Thormahlen 5) one might encounter in a regular adult - rather, Catherine directly affects her relationships with people through her "perverse" actions, and still does not recognize the harm in doing so. She exists in an irresponsible state, not perceiving that "she cannot have, and be, everything she wants whenever she wants it” (5) - and this is reflected in every single relationship she experiences. It is Catherine’s intrinsic immaturity and inability to progress from her childhood mindset that is the main catalyst not only in her in the other character’s

Through her family’s wealth, she has a very high social status. She is childhood friends with Heathcliff as they both enjoy being with each other. Her relationship with Heathcliff comes to an abruptly halt when she stays with the Linton’s for her heel to heal. While she is there, she underwent training to be lady like for the era she is in. Her love grows for Edgar while she is at the Earnshaw’s. Catherine comes to grasp she couldn’t marry Heathcliff as it would be degrading herself. “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” (81). Even though she feels like Heathcliff is her star crossed lover, her pride stops her from loving Heathcliff so she has to marry

Nelly belief about Catherine is that shes a spoiled little girl who always gets her way. she also hates her. She thinks she arrogant, even when Catherine becomes very sick, Nelly does not tell Edgar how bad her illness is. also she thinks Catherine is going to use his money and get Heathcliff to rise in the class system. However Edgar's belief about Catherine is so good mostly because he's in love with her and love is blinding. He gives her everything, money ,security and even a position.

Nelly worked as a servant at Wuthering Heights since she was a girl and grew up with Catherine so she knows her better than anybody. Mostly she likes Catherine but sometimes she does not because Catherine can be mean and she has a bad temper. Nell thinks Catherine acts like a fake. She says “Catherine was full of ambition - and this led her to adopt a double character without exactly intending to deceive any one” When Edgar said bad things about Heathcliff Catherine did not defend him. And when Heathcliff talked about Edgar she did not defend him either.

In Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Catherine’s actions as a child and her temper portray her as immoral, but a further examination of Catherine’s life paints her in a sympathetic light. Catherine’s childhood full of abuse, inability to marry for love, and early death creates a feeling of sadness for how her life never improved. Filled with abuse and hatred, Catherine’s childhood helped worsen her already fiery temper.

A reactionist reading of the passage highlights Catherine’s feeling of helplessness and confusion, from which we create our overall meaning for the chapter: Catherine sits moping and dwells in self-pity rather than stepping up, and “reacting” to take responsibility for her life and actions. Catherine is irrational and passive because her actions cause her to be alone, yet she wonders why she is alone; leading her to blame Edgar for her troubles. Using reactionism to interpret Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights emphasizes the importance of entering an active role in life and reminds us to take responsibility in our lives. Catherine needs to focus on situations of the present and not blame the world and others around her for her life. Her reaction to when Edgar does not respond to her needs demonstrates that she is desperate for

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a novel that features vibrant character development but the biggest development is that which occurs in Catherine Morland. Catherine’s character nearly develops in all components of her being and she is able to evolve from the unorthodox “heroine” that she is initially described as. In the novel, Catherine starts out as an incredibly naïve and inexperienced girl who confuses all facets of the real world as the plot in a Gothic novel. Catherine develops as a character through her social interactions with those around her as it helps her gain experience with how to correctly perceive the world. With her newly gained experience of her surroundings, Catherine develops and is able to see the real world through a social lens rather than her own subjective lens or that of a Gothic lens.

In Wuthering Heights Nelly and Edgar each have differing opinions on Catherine. Nelly knew Catherine was prone to big emotional fits but she was used to it. However Edgar thinks she uses her mind to trick people and get her way. Nelly sees Catherine as a spoiled little girl who always gets her way, but Edgar thinks she is a princess who uses her smarts to get things she wants.

Heathcliff is a ruthless character. No obstacle ever gets in his way when it comes to exacting revenge on several other characters in the novel, be it Hindley or Edgar Linton. He will kill or torture young and old to pay back those who have hurt him and deprived him of his love for Catherine. However, among all these atrocities, we still feel great sympathy for him. This is mainly due to the many techniques employed by Brontë and the effect of these in creating understanding and pity for Heathcliff.

In her novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë uses a formal style of writing to portray the language of those used during the early 1800s. Throughout the majority of the novel, Nelly Dean is telling the story of how Wuthering Heights came to be the place that it currently is. Throughout Dean’s narration, characters are voiced differently due to their role in society. An example of this is shown when Brontë would use fragments of words to represent the speech of Hareton, one of the servants of Wuthering Heights. In contrast, Catherine, being well educated, would use sophisticated grammar and an extensive vocabulary whenever she spoke. Heathcliff was revealed as a two-sided character in this reading. On one hand, the author would use negative

Considering that Nelly is conveying majority of the events to Mr. Lockwood, her opinion of Catherine as an overly dramatic, childish, and arrogant girl has likely morphed in some way her version of the events. Nelly says she was being hurt by Catherine before the child shaking incident, and afterwards thinks that this is Edgar getting a glimpse of Catherine’s true nature.