Catherine’s attitude to love is a strong, almost domineering one. The love which exists between Cathy and Heathcliff is a love of unnatural passion, which not only leads the protagonists to believing they are identical, “I am Heathcliff…” but also turns their characters into becoming self obsessed and cruel. This negative aspect of their relationship makes it difficult to tell if Emily Bronte wished for their love to be idealised or frowned upon. Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is not a sexual relationship, their love is formed from childhood, yet their attraction to one another is never doubted, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” Catherine’s understanding of her feelings for Heathcliff are expressed very passionately yet her desire for a greater place in society overrides this, for instance in chapter nine when she states, "It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff.” David Daiche states, “Ultimate passion is for her (Catherine) rather a kind of recognition of oneself.” This perspective of her is evident throughout the novel her selfish, headstrong and passionate nature leads to her own death and Heathcliff’s madness.
Charlotte Bronte handles the love theme very delicately. She shows how love should be based on mutual respect, mutual need and mutual recognition of weaknesses. She does not idealize the heroine. On the contrary she looks upon Jane as a character who is fearless, unashamed, passionate, determined to have her rights acknowledged and sometimes not wholly sympathetic. Throughout Mr. Rochester's courtship, Jane retains her dignity and individuality. She is not prepared to please him if his demands offend her dignity as a woman or go against "the dictates of conscience." That is why Jane refuses to become Edward Rochester's mistress. This is in complete stark contrast to Catherine, Jane is not concerned about elevating herself n society, she thinks completely for herself, and will openly challenge Rochester when she feels she must.
Charlotte Bronte portrays Mr Rochester as an obvious romantic figure; his character combines masculine strength with tenderness and kindness, he epitomizes the ‘Byronic hero.’ To a certain extent, Mr. Rochester does epitomize the Byronic hero; however, Charlotte Bronte has made the character of Mr. Rochester quite conventional. It is other characters within the novel who mistakenly characterize him this way. Mrs Fairfax describes Mr Rochester as, "…rather peculiar, perhaps: he has travelled a great deal, and seen a great deal of the world, I should think. I dare say he is clever.” This account, by Mrs. Fairfax of her master establishes Rochester as a sort of wanderer. He appears quite worldly, especially to the inexperienced Jane. In addition, being the son of a wealthy landowner, and thus having a rich heritage, puts him in stark contrast with Heathcliff. Mr Rochester is a forceful, passionate and independent character; he is determined to have Jane, either as his wife or mistress, whatever the cost. However, he is not portrayed as selfish; a characteristic evident in both Catherine and Heathcliff. "The ease of his manner freed me from painful restraint; the friendly frankness, as correct as cordial, with which he treated me, drew me to him", Jane narrates in chapter fifteen.
Mr Rochester often refers to Jane as a bird, fairy or sprite, “When you came on me in Hay Lane last night, I thought unaccountably of fairytales.” The language used here is heightened and passionate and references to fairies and sprites may echo Shakespeare’s, ‘A Mid Summer Nights Dream’. The references to Jane and magical creatures may be symbolic of the great influence Jane has over him, "You master me," he tells Jane in Chapter 24. Throughout the novel Mr Rochester ‘toys’ with Jane in the hope of making her jealous, but he eventually learns that he must depend on respect and see her as an individual, “I am no bird; I am a free human being with an independent will.” Through these two characters the development of mutual respect is shown. Mr Rochester is simply fascinated by Jane’s courage, education, remarkable efficiency and sterling character. And she is not a romantic who is blind to the defects of her lover, as Jane states in chapter seventeen,
"Most true is it that 'beauty is in the eye of the gazer.' My master's colorless, olive face, square, massive brow, broad and jetty eyebrows, deep eyes, strong features, firm, grim mouth,--all energy, decision, will,--were not beautiful, according to rule; but they were more than beautiful to me…”
Their relationship is one that eventually ends in a marriage of equals, “To be together is for us to be at once as free as solitude, as gay as in company.”
‘Wuthering Heights’ is written from the perspectives of different characters and this allows us to know the protagonist’s inner thoughts and feelings whereas in ‘Jane Eyre’, we do not have access to Mr Rochester’s inner thoughts as Jane doesn’t know them, as the narrative is dominated by her character. However in reading the novel, the witty ‘banter’ that takes place in the conversations between Jane and Rochester is evidence of their love, strong bond and their similar personalities. Also, to strengthen this point their conversations are portrayed as very natural and relaxed, again emphasising their love. They express themselves very directly and everything from their ‘banter’ to their most impassioned exchanges is suggestive of deeply felt affection, as Jane states, “gratitude and many associates, all pleasurable and genial, made his face the object I best liked to see; his presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire"
The love which exists between Cathy and Heathcliff can be viewed as over dramatic and epic, evidence for this comes from Catherine and Heathcliff’s declaration that they are one another. However, Mr Rochester doesn’t try to ‘woo’ Jane on ‘bended knee’ and they do not idealise one another, they see each other as equals; each is free to make their own decisions and choices. Their love is powerful and yet simplistic.
Like Mr Rochester, Heathcliff is also portrayed as a romantic hero. The critic Moser believes he is "the embodiment of sexual energy.” He is a passionate man with an energy that only Catherine can understand, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." Others in the novel misinterpret him, Isabella sees him as a romantic hero whilst Mr Lockwood views him as a solitary recluse, “I no longer felt inclined to call Heathcliff a capital fellow.” Nelly sees him as a character of a folk tale. As Heathcliff resembles a romantic hero, we as readers would expect him to be more than what he seems. As traditionally the romantic hero would appear dangerous and brooding, only later to unveil as being fiercely devoted and loving, much like Rochester. However we are left to question if his cruelty is a mere expression of his suppressed love for Catherine, or that his malevolent actions in the novel serve to conceal the heart of a romantic hero. An example of his sinister behaviour is evident in his sadistic treatment of Isabella, which causes her to exclaim, “Is Mr Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he the devil?” To strengthen this, Emily Bronte often uses animal imagery to describe him, evident in the quote were he is described as a, “fierce, pitiless, wolfish man.” Although Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is idealised, the tyrannical nature of Heathcliff leaves a lot to be questioned.
In ‘Wuthering Heights’, Emily Bronte presents marriage as being a ‘tool’ one uses to pursue financial security and thus therefore corrupts the idealised perspective of the celebration. Heathcliff uses marriage as a weapon for his own personal revenge and his desire to acquire wealth and property. He achieved this through his own marriage to Isabella Linton and through the forced marriage of his son. Catherine also uses the vows of marriage to improve wealth and status. The marriage between young Catherine and Harleton however is based on love and it is the only one in the novel, it even causes Mr Lockwood to declare, “Together they would brave Satan and all his legions.” The union between the two young lovers at the end of the novel gives a sense of happiness and a fresh start, as it also does in ‘Jane Eyre’. This is in stark contrast to Heathcliff and Catherine as their union is not blissfully met and happens only in death. The use of marriage as a tool of repression instead of the romantic cliché helps Emily Bronte portray that marriage is not always a reflection of love. The passionate love between these two characters and the sense of betrayal in Catherine’s marriage to Linton completely diminishes the setting needed to portray ideal marriage. The compelling fierceness of their love and union in death reflects Emily Bronte’s own opinion of marriage and love, “a dwelling of unhappiness”. This opinion is starkly contrasted with that of her sister’s.
In complete contrast to Catherine, Jane is an independent woman and does not wish to marry for any other reason than the fact that she loves Mr Rochester wholly with all her soul, regardless of his status or hers, in society. Jane is fully aware that Mr. Rochester is wealthy and status- conscious however she is also conscious of his irritable nature, yet she loves him. Jane's love for Rochester is a fine example of true love, which is deep and enduring and does not vary with the changing circumstances of her life.
Charlotte Bronte’s exploration of the complicated social position of governesses, allows her to portray Jane as very critical of Victorian England's strict social hierarchy. Like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Jane is a figure of ambiguous class standing and, consequently, a source of extreme tension for the characters around her. Jane's manners and education are those of an aristocrat, because Victorian governesses, who also tutored children in etiquette, were expected to possess the culture of their class. However, although they were paid employees, they were more or less treated as servants; thus Jane was penniless and powerless while at Thornfield. Jane's understanding of the social barrier becomes evident when she becomes aware of her feelings for Rochester; she is his intellectual, but not his social equal. Even before the crisis surrounding Bertha Mason, Jane is hesitant to marry Rochester because she senses that she would feel indebted to him for “condescending” to marry her. Jane's distress, which appears most strongly in Chapter 17, seems to represent Charlotte Bronte’s view of Victorian class attitudes. The social etiquette in ‘Wuthering Heights’ is not as strictly apparent as it is in ‘Jane Eyre’, at the beginning of the novel but still maintains a very strong presence. However we do see that the Linton’s play the role of the upper class citizens and so Thrushcross Grange also seems to adapt the Linton family’s civility, culture and refinement. Its residents such as, Mr Lockwood, always seem to be the social superiors of those residing in Wuthering Heights.
Both authors invite the reader into an alluring world of intrigue, passion, conflict, frustration and love, in all forms. ‘Jane Eyre’ portrays an idealised picture of true, enduring romantic love, ending in a typical ‘fairytale’ fashion, however in ‘Wuthering Heights’, the reader is plunged into a dramatic, passionate love affair between Heathcliff and Catherine against a backdrop of seemingly impossible love. Emily Bronte’s use of symbolic representation of the elements of nature is similar to the love that Catherine and Heathcliff share. The reader is compelled to hope that against all odds, in both novels, that love conquers all.
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