The setting of each novel has an important effect on the character and their relationship. The Victorian setting of ‘Wuthering Heights’ makes the atmosphere cold and strict. The imagery used to describe Wuthering Heights, ‘defended with large jutting stones’ ’windows are deeply set in the walls’ mirrors with the characteristics of a castle while the ghost of the dead Catherine Linton still haunts the building. The moors are isolating making the characters secluded in themselves therefore less friendly, compared to the Greek setting in ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.’ The climate in Greece is always pleasant with clear skies and beautiful stretches of coast, which gives the island a warm friendly atmosphere. The Greek are seen as more sociable and relaxed with one another, for much more time is spent socialising and celebrating outside. I believe Pelagia and the captain have a much more intimate relationship because of the freedom of the island. One effect of this is the exchange of love tokens. Before the captain leaves the island for good he gives Pelagia his mandolin as a “hostage” so that he will have to come back. He also gives her a ring as a promise that he will marry her. Both objects are seen as tokens of his love, which we do not see in ‘Wuthering Heights’ making their love much more visual compared to Heathcliff and Catherine.
The main obstacle to progress in their relationship is Catherine’s denial of Heathcliff and eventual marriage to Edgar Linton, ‘ It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now.’ She was his ideal companion; shared his wild life, passion and toughness, until the five week stay with the ‘conventional Lintons’. She returns as a ‘dignified person with brown ringlets,’ unlike the ‘wild hatless little savage’ that she was before. These tight ringlets symbolise the superficial class trappings Catherine has now taken on. She can no longer look at Heathcliff in the same way with the direct simplicity of her childhood. This is clear as soon as she returns from the Heights for never before has she commented on how he looks., ‘ Why how very black and cross you look…I’m used to Edgar..’ The division of Catherine trying to keep her image as a respectable lady for Edgar’s sake and wanting to run free with Heathcliff has given Catherine a ‘double character’ proving great difficulty and Heathcliff great pain ‘”Well I cried last night..”
Catherine and Heathcliff are so alike and spiritually bonded she sees herself as Heathcliff and all that he is, ’I am Heathcliff…’. So when she denies the possibility of marriage to Heathcliff she is denying her soul, her whole life resulting in Heathcliff’s disappearance for three years. His emotions are so immense at that moment Bronte uses a storm to reflect his power and desire for revenge. The effect on Catherine is a nervous collapse, ‘..she burst into uncontrollable grief….going mad..’ proving the nature of her passion for him.
The obstacle that Nelly Dean describes is Catherine being a ‘thorny rose’ being embraced by a ‘honeysuckle’. This imagery of nature is again used. The rose being a traditional symbol of love, a pretty flower yet deadly to those who touch it. Nelly sees Catherine as being suffocated just by the presence of Edgar. Edgar proves a ‘deep-rooted fear of ruffling Catherine’s humour,’ which will remain forever, acting as an obstacle in itself for the marriage between the two to survive. It is unsurprising then that when Heathcliff returns their marriage slowly deteriorate, ‘ It ended.’ A dispassionate ending to their relationship proving just how untrue their relationship was.
Today it would not be unusual for couples who are not right for one another to separate – divorce. Yet in the time of when ‘Wuthering Heights’ was written it was disloyal for a woman to commit adultery against her husband, which is why Charlotte Bronte expresses her shock in the preface. The very thought of leaving a husband for another man would be a sin and be seen as an act of disloyalty against your family. Charlotte describes ‘Wuthering Heights’ as ‘rude’ and a ‘strange production’ proving how the novel is out of character socially and culturally for a nineteenth century writer. I believe she is even more appalled that the author is her own sister.
Although Catherine does not leave Edgar for Heathcliff, her utter delight when he returns implies a longing for her being back with him, ‘”Oh Edgar, Edgar….Heathcliff’s come back - he is !..’ Heathcliff’s image has changed dramatically to ‘a tall, athletic, well formed man..’ but the reference to his eyes , ‘..depressed brows and eyes full of black fire..’ suggest that internally he is unchanged; still seeking revenge. His love for Catherine has survived despite rejection, ‘..I struggled only for you!’ proving just how deep his roots of love have grown.
Heathcliff’s love for Catherine grows to be obsessive, ‘..monomania..’ and aggressive towards those around him. Heathcliff is so determined to win Catherine back that he has become insensitive towards Isabella and ruined Edgar’s Life, ‘He’s not a human being,’ ‘Is he a ghoul or a vampire?’ The repetition of devil imagery emphasizes Heathcliff’s cruelty and inhumanity. A cycle can be seen with the treatment of Heathcliff’s child and Hareton. Just as Hindley ruined Heathcliff’s childhood so is the childhood of these children are ruined by Heathcliff. Hareton, at the age of nineteen, cannot even read or write.
The effect of Catherine’s ‘double character’ is a self-inflicted illness, which drives her to insanity making herself a difficult patient, ‘wearisome and headstrong’ and eventually her death, ‘she was fated, sure to die.’. Her illness is predictable, ‘A thousand …beating in my head.’ ‘..I’m in danger of being seriously ill- I wish it may prove true.’ This suggests that it would be better for her to die than to live and be torn between the two men. Her only way to resolve the unresolved – to have the best of both worlds, would be to die and be reunited in heaven with Heathcliff’s soul. It is ironic how although death separates Catherine and Heathcliff and yet death is the only way they can be together and does. In Catherine’s last dying days there is a passionate scene between Heathcliff and herself where they confess their love to each other for the first time, ‘he bestowed more kisses than he ever gave her …’ Catherine wishes how she could hold Heathcliff, ‘till we both were dead! I shouldn’t care what you suffered!’ showing how much she wants to be with him alone and forever. Heathcliff’s pain is conveyed through his eyes, how they ‘burned with anguish’, even Nelly does not acknowledge him as a ‘creature of my own species’ as they embrace together. When eventually Heathcliff has to leave, Catherine’s love for him is so strong that she threatens ‘I shall die! I shall die!’ making her determined that the only way to be reunited is in death. In dying Catherine has separated body and soul, giving her body to Edgar and her soul to Heathcliff.
In ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ it is the relationship between Pelagia and Corelli, which struggles to develop. The main reason for this is the Second World War that brings social conflict and destruction. It is the war that brings Captain Antonio Corelli to the island of Cephallonia and takes away Mandras, Pelagia’s fiancee. Before Mandras left to join he and Pelagia were young and in love, ‘..i love you with all my heart, but we can’t get married until I come back from the army,’ but the pressure of time acts against them. Pelagia tries to overcome this physically by writing to Mandras frequently, also a token of her love to him, however after months of unreplied letters Pelagia loses hope and is left presuming he is dead, ‘This is my hundredth letter to you…’ Their relationship could be paralleled to Dr. Yannis’ quote, the eruption of a volcano, firstly burning with life and passion of a youthful relationship but ending in a lifeless ash which is easily brushed away and forgotten.
In similar aspects to ‘Wuthering Heights’ the captain is an outsider bought into a community so close they could be a family. His position as an officer on their home island labels him as ‘technically the enemy’ and any form of social relationship would be disloyal to your family and country.
The ice is broken when the Corelli needs a place to stay and ends up living with Doctor Yannis and his daughter Pelagia. Although she is betrothed to Mandras, she finds herself falling in love with him showing how easily it is for her to fall in and out of love. It could be that Mandras helped the captain and Pelagia’s relationship to survive by leaving such a great hole in her heart when he left that the captain filled her life and made her feel complete. Therefore she could not lose another love for it would be too painful.
The fact that the captain did not act on his feelings makes the audience wonder whether his love for Pelagia was just a ‘temporary madness’. It is unbelievable that all he did for 40 years was to just visit Pelagia, leaving a rose at the door of her house, just to see how she was. If he was Heathcliff there would be no chance that he would just sit back and watch the love of his life grow up without him. Heathcliff would seize the moment and made sure that Catherine did not slip through his fingers. It is ironic that the foreground theme to the novel is love while the backdrop is the horrific acts and plotting of war. This proves how De Bernier believes that even the greatest effect on a relationship should not get in the way of love. The ending of this novel is frustrating and disappointing yet has a moral, ‘carpe diem,’ seize the moment. These two novels show perfect examples of the two most powerful emotions, love and jealousy, both natural emotions, overcoming the greatest events on lives, death and war, despite their different era and location.
