Wuthering Heights - the Plot and Catherine's Love.

"He is more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire."

Wuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte and published in 1847. It is unlike any other novel in the genre of Victorian literature in that it stands outside the social conventions of its time.

It is a passionate story of a man named Heathcliff, an orphan who falls madly in love with the daughter of his benefactor named Catherine. This love resulted in much violence and misery for the pair. The view in general is that Heathcliff and Catherine are totally in love with each other; however the question of in what way they love each other has to be addressed. It is a novel of reckoning and romantic love. It tells the stories of two families: the Earnshaws who live at the Heights, at the edge of the moors, and the well-mannered and sophisticated Linton's who live at Thrushcross Grange.

Clifford Collins calls their love a life-force relationship, a principle that is not conditioned by anything but itself. It is a principle because the relationship is of an ideal nature; it does not exist in life, though as in many statements of an ideal this principle has implications of a profound living significance. Catherine's conventional feelings for Edgar Linton and his superficial appeal contrast with her profound love for Heathcliff, which is "an acceptance of identity below the level of consciousness." Their relationship expresses "the impersonal essence of personal existence," an essence which Collins calls the life-force. This fact explains why Catherine and Heathcliff several times describe their love in impersonal terms. Because such feelings cannot be fulfilled in an actual relationship, Brontë provides the relationship of Hareton and Cathy to integrate the principle into everyday life. (Brooklyn Academic, 2011)

One day, Mr. Earnshaw returns home from a business trip in Liverpool, and as an alternative of bringing the regular gifts for his children, he proceeds home with a young child which they name Heathcliff. Mr. Earnshaw said he found the child lying on the streets of Liverpool although there is some insight that Heathcliff could actually have been a love child of Earnshaws, this is very unclear. Hindley, Earnshaws son, finds himself robbed of his father's attention and becomes terribly jealous of Heathcliff. However, Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine grows very attached to him. The two children spend hours on the moors in each others company and despise every second that they are apart. As children, Catherine and Heathcliff represent Freedom as they are rebelling against the cruel influence which is represented by Hindley.

Because of the arguments which were caused by Hindley and Heathcliff's sibling rivalry, Hindley is eventually sent away to college. During that time when he is away, he meets and marries a woman named Frances. He then returns back to Thrushcross Grange three years later, after Mr. Earnshaw dies. He becomes the master of Wuthering Heights, and forces Heathcliff to become a servant instead of a being the member of the family which he was viewed as before. The reason he gave for this was "They promised to grow up as rude as savages." Catherine, in spite of her ...

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After a number of months following the return of Hindley, Heathcliff and Catherine travel to Thrushcross Grange to look in on the Linton family. Although, when the pair are spotted and try to escape Catherine was unsuccessful as he had been caught by a dog. She was then brought inside the Grange to have injuries taken care of while Heathcliff is sent back home. Catherine later returns back to Wuthering Heights as a different woman, looking and acting as a lady. She laughs at Heathcliff's untidy appearance. When the Lintons visit, Heathcliff dresses up in his best clothing for Catherine. The way which this is written shows that Heathcliff has strong feelings for Catherine as he makes an attempt to impress her. Although, this attempt fails when Edgar, one of the Linton children, argues with Heathcliff which resulted in Heathcliff getting locked in the attic. Catherine later comes and tries to comfort Heathcliff and when speaking with Catherine he swears vengeance on Hindley.

In the summer of the year that followed, Frances gave birth to a boy, which they named Hareton. Frances never recovers and she dies before the year is out. This leads Hindley to fall into a life of drunkenness.

Two years later have followed and Catherine has become close friends with Edgar, growing more distant from Heathcliff. This began to show that Catherine was not as obsessed with Heathcliff as he was with her. One day in August, while Hindley is away, Edgar comes to visit Catherine. Catherine had an argument with Ellen, which then move on to Edgar who tries to leave. Catherine stops him from leaving and very soon after the pair declares themselves as lovers.

With Catherine and Edgar now lovers this caused Heathcliff to be even more jealous. As Nelly rocked Hareton to sleep, Catherine enters to reveal to her that Edgar has asked her to marry him. Before she will make her decision, she wants Nelly’s opinion. Disgusted with Catherine’s earlier behaviour, Nelly says Edgar is a fool to have asked her. Impatiently, Catherine admits that she accepted his proposal. Aware that Catherine’s feelings for Edgar lack honesty, Nelly states her opinion: Catherine “loves” Edgar because he is handsome, rich, and adores her; what further problem can there be? Catherine admits that her heart and soul tell her she is doing wrong.

In truth, she reveals that she loves Heathcliff. However, since Hindley has a greater status, marrying him would degrade her as well. Therefore, she swears, “He will never know how I love him; not because he’s handsome, but because he’s more myself than I am.”

Unaware that Heathcliff has been listening in on their conversation, the two women are shocked when this last statement causes him to run outdoors, Catherine is certain that he did not overhear her. Nelly, however, warns Catherine that marrying Edgar means that she and Heathcliff will have lost their friendship forever. Catherine replies that Edgar must learn to put up with Heathcliff for her sake, and that by marrying him, she can even help Heathcliff by using Edgar’s money to remove him from Hindley’s power. Nelly does not agree with this idea. Catherine, however, clings to the belief that she can influence Edgar, since she and Heathcliff must remain inseparable: “Nelly, I am Heathcliff.”

Catherine notes the difference between the “ordinary” love a man and woman share, and the intense bond which unites her with Heathcliff. Her love for Edgar, she declares, is “like foilage in the woods: time will change it,” while her love for Heathcliff is an “eternal rock,” invisible, but essential to her existence. Her statement, “I am Heathcliff” clearly expresses her belief that they share a soul and that they are perfect for each other.

Catherine is willing, for the sake of respectability, to degrade her true feelings and marry Edgar. Catherine is a victim of her social class which made marriage to Heathcliff impossible, forcing her to choose the socially acceptable Edgar.

Six months after the marriage of Edgar and Catherine, Heathcliff returns back as a fine gentleman, during his time away he had grown stronger and also much richer. Catherine is very excited about seeing him again as it describes when, "Catherine flew upstairs breathless and wild, too excited to show gladness, Catherine kept her gaze fixed on him as if she feared he would vanish if she were to remove it.", Although, In spite of Edgar’s shock, Catherine and Heathcliff sit and stare at one another,

Both absorbed in their mutual joy to suffer embarrassment.

When Heathcliff returns, Edgar's sister Isabella, who is now eighteen falls in love with Heathcliff. He dislikes her but encourages the infatuation, seeing it as his best chance for getting revenge on Edgar. When Heathcliff embraces Isabella, this is much to the annoyance of Catherine. I feel this shows that Catherine feels the same way which Heathcliff felt when she started seeing Edgar. Heathcliff tells her ‘I’m not your husband, you needn’t be jealous of me.’

This shows the huge amount of jealousy which Heathcliff had towards Edgar for marring Catherine, as he viewed her almost as his. When he embraces Isabella one day at the Grange, there is an argument between Heathcliff and Edgar which causes Catherine to go and lock herself in her room and fall ill.

Heathcliff at this time was living at the Heights, gambling with Hindley and also introducing Hareton to bad habits. Hindley at this time was eventually losing his wealth, mortgaging the farmhouse to Heathcliff so he can repay his debts. Times have changed as he is turning into the man whom Catherine had desired him to be, and Hindley who once was his bitter rival now needed help with his money issues from him.

When Catherine fell ill, Heathcliff ran away with Isabella. This infuriated Edgar and results in him disowning his sister. Heathcliff and Isabella marry when they are away and return two months later to Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff hears that Catherine is ill and arranges with Ellen to visit her in secret. Heathcliff burst into Cathy’s room and in an instant she was in his arms. He begins to kiss her numerous times. Catherine confesses that she is accountable for everything because she had married Edgar when she has in reality been in love with Heathcliff. She then asks him to kiss her again. In this passage we can see that the adoration they have for each other, like no other. Their claims of loving each other after death and how Heathcliff was willing to stay with her even if Mr. Linton was to shoot at him showed that when it came down to the last straw, they loved each other beyond imagination.

In the early hours of the day after their meeting, Catherine gives birth to her daughter, Cathy, and then dies.

The day after Catherine's funeral, Isabella leaves Heathcliff and escapes to the south of England where she in time gives birth to Linton, Heathcliff's son. I thought that this showed that Isabella had seen that Heathcliff and Catherine were actually in love with each other and she could not live with him knowing this. Hindley died six months after Catherine. Heathcliff then finds himself the master of Wuthering Heights and the guardian of Hareton.

At the end of the book Heathcliff starts to act very strangely, seeing visions of Catherine. After not eating for four days, he is found dead in his room. He is then buried next to Catherine as he requested. When Lockwood is departing, he hears that Hareton and Cathy plan to marry on New Year's Day. They are carrying on the love their parents had for each other and doing the one thing their parents never did by getting married.

With reading the novel, I have come to the conclusion that Catherine’s heart does not remain divided between Heathcliff and Edgar. With reading I feel that Catherine’s heart has always been with Heathcliff, and remains with Heathcliff. In the novel all her feelings and love was described to have been described towards Heathcliff. She never really speaks in such a manner about Edgar. Both Edgar and Isabella both knew about the infatuation Heathcliff and Catherine had for each other, which is shown when Isabella finally runs away after Catherine passes away. I feel the best way to summarise the relationship with the pair is from this quote…

“Soul mates, their love exists on a higher or spiritual plane; they are soul mates, two people who have an affinity for each other which draws them together irresistibly. Heathcliff repeatedly calls Catherine his soul. Such a love is not necessarily fortunate or happy. Heathcliff and Catherine represent the essential isolation of the soul, the agony of two souls–or rather, shall we say? Two halves of a single soul, forever struggling to unite" C. Day Lewis (Brooklyn Academic)