Analysis Of Heathcliff's Peculiar Ending In Wuthering Heights

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.

Wuthering Heights is a novel whose main character is said to have a double significance. He is said to be both the dispossessed and the dispossessor, victim of class hatred and arch – exploiter, he simultaneously occupies the roles of working class outsider and brutal capitalist. Heathcliff has all these characteristics because of his experiences. He is a character moulded by his past.

The Development of Heathcliff’s Character in Wuthering Heights Heathcliff is a character who is ever present in “Wuthering Heights” and throughout the novel his character changes. At first he is a poor, homeless child, then he becomes a loved and neglected victim, then he is a degraded lover, and finally he transforms into a vicious, lonely master. Heathcliff is introduced into the novel as a homeless child. He is a ‘“dirty, ragged, black-haired child”’ who Mr. Earnshaw brings to Wuthering Heights from Liverpool. He is constantly referred to as ‘it’ and a ‘gypsy’.

Heathcliff has an obsession with Catherine, and undergoes emotional stress after her death (Bloomfield 291). His unsympathetic personality is also a trait of his mental disorder (Bloomfield 297). Heathcliff’s obsession can be classified as Monomania, he is fixed on one idea to the extent of physical and mental destruction (Bloomfield 295). Heathcliff lets hid ID take over instead of suppressing his instinctual feelings. Heathcliff becomes reckless and self-destructive and develops psychotic depression, he then retreats to Catherine’s room to die (Bloomfield 291). Throughout the novel it seems as though Heathcliff completely ignores his Ego and Super-Ego, and lives only by his ID. Emily Bronte uses mental illness in her characters and their death to alter the plot of Wuthering Heights. All of the characters fit into periodically correct illnesses, but the focus

Wuthering Heights is a novel which deviates from the standard of Victorian literature. The novels of the Victorian Era were often works of social criticism. They generally had a moral purpose and promoted ideals of love and brotherhood. Wuthering Heights is more of a Victorian Gothic novel; it contains passion, violence, and supernatural elements (Mitchell 119). The world of Wuthering Heights seems to be a world without morals. In Wuthering Heights, Brontë does not idealize love; she presents it realistically, with all its faults and merits. She shows that love is a powerful force which can be destructive or redemptive. Heathcliff has an all-consuming passion for Catherine. When she chooses to marry Edgar, his spurned love turns into a

Cruelty compels one to inflict cruelty upon others. In her novel, Wuthering Heights, Brontë illustrates the rough life of Heathcliff, conflicted with whether he should focus his life on loving Catherine Earnshaw or inflicting revenge on those who tortured him as a child. Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff into the Earnshaw family as an orphan gypsy, a social class that most of the Earnshaw did not care for. The eldest child of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley, abuses Heathcliff horribly, shaping the way Heathcliff perceives the world around him. Catherine Earnshaw, Hindley’s younger sister, motivates Heathcliff to endure this pain through their affectionate relationship. With his heart focused on revenge, Heathcliff devises a cruel plan to retaliate those who hurt him; he returns to Wuthering Heights as a refined, powerful man. He takes some of his anger out on Hareton Earnshaw, Hindley’s son; this parallels Hindley’s abuse towards Heathcliff. Through Hindley’s and Heathcliff’s abusiveness in Wuthering Heights, Brontë asserts that cruelty cycles from its perpetrators to its victims.

In Wuthering Heights, one of the main negative parenting examples is shown in Heathcliff. Although Heathcliff was treated well by Mr. Earnshaw, his siblings and adopted mother differed. In the beginning this was stated, “He has been blaming our father(how dared he?) for treating H. too liberally; and swears he will reduce him to his right place-(Bronte, 15).” This quote shows the anger Heathcliff had, especially for Hindley. At the end of this quote he hints at planning his revenge against Hindley, later executing it on Hareton(Hindley’s son). This Later, this greatly affected Heathcliff as he looked for revenge when he mistreated Hareton just as Hindley had treated him when they were younger. Heathcliff also became a very bad person in general, wishing that Cathy not rest in peace and haunt him, and his manner and mischief towards everyone around him. Heathcliff's abuse towards Isabella is also a result of his childhood as well as the heartbreak of Catherine. In the novel, the parenting of Hareton symbolize hardship and strength. It symbolizes this because Hareton although not smart, powers through his rough childhood and shows strength in overcoming those obstacles, later ending up marrying Cathy and now is

was to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day."

As Heathcliff seeks his revenge, he becomes fiendish and is constantly associated with diabolical feelings, images and actions. The use of the imagery reinforces the inhuman aspect of Heathcliff. He regrets saving the infant Hareton. Nelly recalled that his face bore the greatest pain at he being the instrument that thwarted his own revenge. He takes perverse pleasure in the fact that Hareton was born with a sensitive nature, which Heathcliff has corrupted and degraded. Heathcliff's pleasure at this corruption is increased by the fact that-: "Hareton is damnably fond of me". Heathcliff's cruelty is also evident when he hangs Isabella's dog despite her protestations. His attitude is devoid of fatherly feeling. He sees him only as a pawn in his revenge and his main

Heathcliff enters the scene as a boy who was picked from the street to start a new life at the Wuthering Heights; home of Mr Earnshaw. He was quite selfless and kept to himself as he matured, but was despised by Mr Earnshaw's son Hindley because he felt that Heathcliff was taking his place in his father's heart. Heathcliff was teased whipped and tormented by Hindley as he grew older, countless times he was referred to as the “devil”, “wicked boy”, and imp of satan”. Hindley then was sent to school by his father and Heathcliff was finally left alone and fell in-love with the young mistress Catherine, Mr. Earnshaw's only daughter. They were together every second of every day and Heathcliff began to open up.

The relationship between Heathcliff and Hindley revealed and developed the abusive nature of Heathcliff. Heathcliff was taken in as a young boy into a wealthy family that had two children. Ever since the day he was brought home the eldest son, Hindley, resented how the father favored him more. For example, Heathcliff threatened to tell their father if Hindley did not let him have his horse. This one childish threat had created the foundation of the resentment between the two men. Heathcliff threatened to tell their father that Hindley was making him feel unwelcome and abused emotionally, Hindley decided to not see if Heathcliff was going to follow through with the threat therefore gave him the horse. Later on through life, once the father dies, Hindley decides to take his absence as an excuse to start really physically abusing Heathcliff. He would beat him and punch him without thought of how this would transfer into the rest of his life. Heathcliff was also verbally assaulted by Hindley which is a twist on the traditional sense of cruelty. Hindley is demeaning towards Heathcliff and calls him a slave and make sure that he know that he is not equal with himself or his sister Catherine. This point planted the seed of doubt and not being good enough for the rest of his life. This continual mental assault forged the mindset of little Heathcliff to how he would exact revenge on Hindley for all of his wrongdoings. This cruelty from Hindley was due to the favoritism that Heathcliff received as a child, the death of his father, the death of his wife, and the constant reminder of his wife through his son. The constant cruelty is the motive for Heathcliff's actions once he returns to the Heights. Through baiting Hindley, in his own personal torment from his wife's passing, all the money and possessions are gambled away with Heathcliff as the new owner. Wuthering Heights itself

Wuthering heights Wuthering heights novel by Emily Bronte, published in 1847, it revolves around the passionate and destructive love between its two central characters, the headstrong and beautiful Catherine Earnshaw and her handsome, and brooding hero/devil Heathcliff (Shmoop editorial team, 2008). Wuthering heights as a gothic novel Wuthering heights has just about all the elements of a gothic novel, the characters are more complex than your average gothic protagonists/antagonists (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). Heathcliff’s motivations and responses go way beyond the flat character of the average gothic villain; Catherine is far from vulnerable, threatened maiden in need of rescuing (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). Instead of a ruined, crumbling

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.

Love is a strong attachment between two lovers and revenge is a strong conflict between two rivals. In the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte uses setting to establish contrast, to intensify conflict, and to develop character. The people and events of Wuthering Heights share a dramatic conflict. Thus, Bronte focuses on the evil eye of Heathcliff's obsessive and perpetual love with Catherine, and his enduring revenge to those who forced him and Catherine apart. The author expresses the conflict of Wuthering Heights with great intensity. Hence, she portrays a combination of crucial issues of romance and money, hate and power, and lastly

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).