The Power of Love in Wuthering Heights Essay

Although characterized as a violent individual, Heathcliff’s love for Catherine exemplifies a lot of aspects of sympathy. The sorrow he was faced with when he overheard Catherine said that marrying him would degrade her, ultimately resulting in his

"What is it to you?" he growled. "I have a right to kiss her, if she chooses, and you have no right to object. I am not your husband: you needn't be jealous of me!"( Bronte’s Chapter 11). In this quote, Heathcliff has sought his revenge on Catherine, for snubbing him, and Edgar, for always dismissing him, by marrying Isabella. This act of revenge paves the way for future divisions between Heathcliff and the Lintons. It also further damages Catherine and Heathcliff as they adjust to life without each other. The deepening pain they experience adds intensity to their passionate fall out later in the

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.

The gothic and often disturbing Wuthering Heights is Emily Bronte’s classic novel that contains undeniably powerful writing that created her timeless love story. Andrea Arnold transformed her masterpiece into a cinematic rendition to recreate the wild and passionate story of the deep and destructive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff.

Also adding to the fact that the two manors are better understood as two different worlds. Even though Catherine grew up in Heathcliff’s world, her move has caused her to change making their love impossible to pursue. Since then, she comes to spend more time with Edgar while cutting time to be with Heathcliff. She explains to Nelly her reasons for taking Edgars hand in marriage “the ground under his feet, and the air over his head, and every- thing he touches, and every word he says—I love all his looks, and all his actions, and him entirely, and altogether” (Bronte) It is undeniable that her love for Edgar is based off his prestige and not entirely for who he is.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was published in 1847 and received many contradictory judgements. One main judgement that criticized the novel was how multiple characters can have a change in characterization depending on the reader. Many of the novel's characters, such as Heathcliff, possess positive values, but readers tend to focus on their negative qualities which allows these characters to change. Growing up poor and homeless, Heathcliff’s character changes many times throughout the novel as he grows older and possess negative qualities towards other characters. Later residing as an old, lonely master, Heathcliff’s change in character at the end of Wuthering Heights signifies that he has gone mad and leads to intentions that Heathcliff has not committed suicide, but lost all will after all he has been through.

To start with, Catherine and Heathcliff now have a different point of view in respect to the way they treat each other. For example, Catherine “burst into laugh” and started joking around with him, she showed enthusiasm and joy seeing him after being apart. Furthermore, in consequence to Catherine’s way of joking, he got upset at the way in which Catherine joked with him. As an effect, the way he got upset gave an impression of the relationship they had developed. Their relationship resulted in a bitter, petulant, and conserved relation. Because of Heathcliff’s different point of view than that of Catherine’s, their relationship resulted to be bitter and as if Heathcliff was resentful

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

In this passage from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Catherine reveals her love for Heathcliff to her maid, Nelly. Unbeknownst to Catherine, Heathcliff was audience to the most detrimental part of her speech, in which she proclaims it would “degrade” her to marry him. Love is not the same for everyone, and Catherine, an unconventional character, realizes sometimes soulmates comes from non-traditional places. Catherine couldn’t be with her soulmate, Heathcliff, because of his lesser social position. Her pleading, desperate tone in this passage is a testament to the deep level of her love for Heathcliff and how badly she wants to be with him, but can’t because their marriage wouldn’t be commonplace. Catherine compares her two lovers, Edgar

Someone having their true lover marry another person whom they do not truly love would be a difficult and undesirable situation. How a person in a similar situation reacts to it, especially in the long term, can reveal a lot about their character. Such is the case with Heathcliff, the main character of Wuthering Heights, a novel written by Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights takes place from the late eighteenth century through the early 1800s (decade) within the two houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange and on the land surrounding them (1, 58). The two houses are located in England and are near the village of Gimmerton (1, 102).

Bronte, The author of the Wuthering Heights, expresses many themes and morals in her book. The one most important in the Wuthering Heights is the theme of love and cruelty. The main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff, show these actions time and time again. They occur because of the other, much like the yin and the yang. Love leads to cruelty and cruelty leads to love. In Wuthering Heights, there are two different types of love shown: platonic and passionate. Both of these types of love lead to cruelty to other characters. As Heathcliff states boldly within the first few chapters of the novel, love’s cruelty survives even beyond death. “Cathy, do come. Oh do – once more! Oh! My heart’s darling; hear me this time, Catherine, at last!”

Catherine tries to make Heathcliff jealous by going with Edgar a few years after he fleed the country. When Catherine and Heathcliff were little she would try to have some power over him. When Catherine sees him after being away for five weeks she starts laughing and making fun of him “ Why , how very black and cross you look! And how-how funny and grim! But that’s because i’m used to Edgar and Isabella.

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).”

Catherine’s love for Heathcliff is deeply passionate, but ultimately all-consuming and destructive. Even as a child, Catherine is “much too fond of Heathcliff” (42). As she grows older, her affections for Heathcliff deepen and she eventually comes to believe her “great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff’s miseries” and that “he is more [her]self than” she is (80-81). Catherine’s ability to empathize with Heathcliff’s “miseries” reveals her deep emotional connection to him, as the events of the rest of the novel do not portray her as an especially empathetic character. Additionally, rather than saying Heathcliff is her “other half,” a more traditional statement, Catherine claims Heathcliff is more herself than she is, introducing the all-consuming nature of their love. After Catherine and Heathcliff are reunited following Heathcliff’s three year absence, Edgar and Heathcliff passionately argue; Catherine subsequently becomes violently ill. Her condition rapidly deteriorates and during her final moments with Heathcliff, Catherine proclaims he “[has] killed” her (157). Catherine herself acknowledges that her illness and impending death result from her love for

Catherine Earnshaw, a very complex character, happens to be fond of Heathcliff, whom was brought home by Mr. Earnshaw. Catherine’s love for Heathcliff was described by Nelly Dean as, “She was much too fond of Heathcliff. The greatest punishment we could invent for her was to keep her separate from him” (Brontë 37). Later on in her life she was proposed to by Edgar Linton, the rich young gentleman of Thrushcross Grange. She had decided to accept him despite her emotions towards Heathcliff. Catherine then chose to tell Nelly that she had accepted the proposal and that she cannot decide if she had made the right decision. At her age, Catherine should have felt the happiest she has even been after Edgar’s proposal, but her emotions toward Heathcliff change all that. And in