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Emily Bronts famous, yet only novel, Wuthering Heights breeds a story of the deepest passion, obsession and despair between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Heathcliff one of the tortured protagonists, is introduced to the Heights as a child, where he then suffers the illtreatment of Hindley, Catherines older brother. As he and Cathy grow closer, Edgar Linton, the resident of Thrushcross Grange, and Catherine marry, after spending some time together themselves. Heathcliff feeling betrayed by their nearness, runs away after misunderstanding something Catherine said. When he comes back three years later, he is a changed man, and someone who is intent on bringing revenge and destruction on those who destroyed his life. Heathcliffs characterization has been made because of his ill-treatment when he was younger and also the background in which he came from, but Bront also questions the sympathy evoked by the story of their [Heathcliff and Catherine] doomed love by revealing the character traits that make them active agents in their own destruction1. Moreover Heathcliffs freedom from oppression is achieved when he becomes the oppressor himself, as he carries out his well-planned tyrannical revenge. Heathcliffs ill-treatment as a child is one of the most logical reasons for his cruel and vengeful attitude in his adult life, which prevents the love between him and Catherine. The majority of his ill-treatment is brought on by Hindley Earnshaw, his adoptive brother. Hindleys attitude to Heathcliff is brought on by anger because he feels his position as the son of Mr Earnshaw has been seized by Heathcliffs arrival at the Heights, consequently he learnt to regard his father as an oppressor and Heathcliff as a usurper of his parents affections (page 46). Heathcliffs thirst for revenge over Hindley is seen in the seventh chapter when Hindley banishes Heathcliff to the attic and whips him after his rudeness to

Fegan, Melissa. Wuthering Heights: Character Studies. London and New York: Continuum, 2008. PDF EBook (page 70)

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Edgar Linton when he came over for dinner. As Nelly Dean tries to persuade him to leave vengeance in Gods hands, he responds that God wont have the satisfaction that he will have, and furthermore claims that while Im thinking of that, I dont feel pain (page 64). Heathcliff succeeds greatly in carrying out revenge on Hindley. A couple of years before Heathcliff comes back to the heights, Hindleys wife dies due to pregnancy complications, and leaves him with his son Hareton. Hindley thus becomes a drunkard out of grief, and Heathcliff takes opportunity in this and convinces Hindley, in a drunken state, to sell him the deeds to Wuthering Heights. Hence in Hindleys death he furthers his journey of revenge by taking over the heights. Heathcliffs unknown background also serves as a logical reason for the ill-fated love between him and Catherine. The novel is full of speculation about his origins, motivations, actions and ultimate destination2. When Heathcliff first arrives at the Heights he is met with curiosity by Nelly Dean who describes him as a dirty, ragged, black-haired child (45). Throughout this introduction it can be noted that Nelly refers to him as an object, by constantly referring to Heathcliff as an it, and not as a human. This is further confirmed when Nelly questions Is he a ghoul or vampire? (273) which is something immortal and thus inhumane, and refers to the gothic aspects of Wuthering Heights. The historical surroundings mentioned when Mr Earnshaw talks of seeing Heathcliff and picking him up on the streets of Liverpool could also relate to the societal and economic pressures of the 1840s, which was around the time that Bront wrote the novel. The conditions of the factory workers in the industrial areas, much like Liverpool, were so bad that orphans were left to become street urchins. Furthermore Lintons description of Heathcliff as a strange acquisition (55),

Fegan. Wuthering Heights: Character Studies. (70)

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suggest a strong association with the slave trade, which would also fit in with the economic recession, as Liverpool was very much involved in the slave trade. Finally Liverpool was also a port city, so Lintons further contemplations of Heathcliffs origins of being a Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway (55) would also provide a valid answer to Heathcliffs origin. However, regardless of Heathcliffs ethnic origins, what matters is that he is the eternal Other, alien and outcast3. Heathcliff is awkwardly and uncomfortably put into the Earnshaw family, hence he will always stand alone, with no sense of identity, in a time and place where family and genealogy was of most importance. Apart from this, Bront suggests that Heathcliff and Catherine contributed to their own tragic love story because of their own flaws in character. Firstly, Heathcliff has become hardened, because of his life on the streets of Liverpool, where he was forced to pursue his livelihood when he was just a child. Nellys description of Heathcliff being rough as a saw-edge, and hard as a whinstone (page 43) fits him perfectly; he feels no emotion and subdues whatever emotions he does have. This is seen when, after being ruthlessly beaten by Hindley, he gets up and walks away without winking or shedding a tear (46). His past has been traumatic and painful and thus he doesnt show emotion when in pain or discomfort because in the past there has been no one to console him. Heathcliff is also seen as ungrateful to Mr Earnshaw, because he doesnt seem to show any love to him, even though Mr Earnshaw is his benefactor. When Mr Earnshaw dies however Heathcliff, along with Catherine set[s] up a heart-breaking cry (50). This shows that although he seems incapable of expressing emotion, he still feels it. Heathcliff is very good at pushing down his feelings and hardening himself against emotion, which has serious repercussions. When he sets himself on revenge, all the

Ibid. (74)

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years of torment suffered, is inflicted on a much larger level, as it rises up uncontained, since it has never been dealt with. Secondly Catherine also contributes to the doomed romance between her and Heathcliff, through her own character flaw. Catherines struggle to remain loyal to both Edgar Linton and Heathcliff and hence her inability to control the situation is what becomes the worst of her. It should be noted that Catherines connection with Heathcliff was not immediate, and she resented his presence even more than Hindley did, but eventually they share a connection that is very hard to break. Nelly explains that the greatest punishment we could invent for her was to keep her separate from him (49). However when Catherine is stuck at the Lintons for five weeks, as she heals from her bitten ankle, she develops a gratefulness to the Lintons, in particular Edgar for taking care of her. In the climactic scene in chapter 9, she explains to Nelly her decision for agreeing to marry Edgar. At first Catherine seems selfish as she states that she will be the greatest woman of the neighbourhood (81), and entirely selfish reason for marrying him. But then she states that she will do it for Edgars sake to satisfy him (81), suggesting that she really does love Edgar and wishes to see him happy. But the most important reason for marrying Edgar is so that she can help Heathcliff, and place him out of [her] brothers care (81). Although Catherine thinks that all the problems between and concerning her and Heathcliff will be solved by marrying Edgar, she knows deep down that it wont help at all. Both Heathcliffs and Catherine love for each other is intense, seen when Catherine claims to embody Heathcliff; I am Heathcliff (81), but even this seems too much for either of them to handle. Finally it can be said that Heathcliffs freedom from oppression is to become the oppressor himself. From a very young age Heathcliff has a warped sense of the way the world works;

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that in order to achieve what he wants, he will have to suffer and manipulate others4. This is seen in chapter 4 when Heathcliff demands Hindleys horse, because his has fallen ill. Heathcliff threatens Hindley with his fathers anger, if he doesnt do so. Furthermore when speaking of paying back Hindley for another beating he says Im trying to settle how to pay Hindley back (64). The language used by Heathcliff is subtly linked to money the capital fellow... must accumulate capital in order to revenge on his oppressors5. Thus Heathcliff seeks revenge on the Earnshaws and Lintons, who were his oppressors, as Hindley made his childhood miserable, and Edgar Linton prevented him from being with the love of his life. The main way in which he does this is by keeping Hareton, Linton and Young Cathy effectively prisoner at the Heights. Although Heathcliff is now sufficiently wealthy and has accumulated the properties of both the Heights and the Grange, he is still unsatisfied, and thus inflicts terror on the children of the third generation. He becomes an abusive father to not only, Linton, his own son, but Hareton and Young Cathy as well, with whom he administered a shower of terrific slaps (227). Furthermore his tenants dont particularly like him, and consider him as cruel and hard (172). In rebelling the forces oppressing him when he was younger, he has become the epitome of what he was striving freedom from, an authoritarian, patriarchal, capitalist society6. His experience, before and during his stay at Wuthering Heights, have taught him to treat any sign of weakness, in himself and others with contempt and disregard. He unashamedly makes his plans for revenge known to the characters, and never feels the need to apologise for them. Heathcliff dies knowing without a doubt that he has wronged many people, and has no regrets in hurting them, especially for the cruelty he inflicts on Linton, Hareton and Young Cathy. At Nellys urging to Heathcliff to realize how far he has erred from [the Bibles] precepts and how unfit [he] will be for
4 5

Ibid. (78-79) Ibid. (79) 6 Ibid. (81)

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heaven, Heathcliff exclaims that he hasnt done anything unjustly and doesnt need atonement for anything, because of the suffering in his past experiences it can be said that Heathcliff cannot be judged according to conventional moral considerations7. Emily Bront betrays the conventional norms in telling the story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. From when Heathcliff arrives at the Heights he is treated with disregard for being different and is labelled an outcast. But we see this is not the only reason of the doomed romance between the two, as Bront also highlights the character flaws in both Catherine and Heathcliff that contributed to the destruction of their relationship. Furthermore Heathcliffs oppression suffered as he was growing up has bred and deformed his freedom, and he ultimately dispenses the oppression that is the logical consequence of the exploiters freedom. Although both Catherine and Heathcliff have had the worst possible journey of love, and although they both have their own separate flaws, we are left with a sense of hope as we realise that as Heathcliff dies, he is joined with his love, Catherine, after death.

Bibliography:

Ibid. (82)

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1. Bront, Emily. Wuthering Heights. London: Penguin Popular Classics, 1994. 2. Fegan, Melissa. Wuthering Heights: Character Studies. London and New York: Continuum, 2008. PDF E-Book 3. Elfenbein. Andrew. Byron and the Victorians. Cambridge, London: Cambridge University Press: 1995. 4. Eagleton, Terry. Myths of Power: A Marxist Study of the Bronts. London Macmillan Press Ltd, 1975. Critical Essay from other source. N.B. Quotes from the book are referenced brackets around a page number; all other references are footnoted, which will be at the bottom of the page.