Wuthering Heights is a story about two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons. Heathcliff is the adopted son of Mr. Earnshaw, while Catherine is his legitimate daughter and the two are raised together as siblings. Ironically at a young age the two develop a loving relationship. The fact that Heathcliff is merely a servant is the issue that keeps the two from being together, and Catherine decides later to marry Edgar Linton. The jealousy Heathcliff feels from his loss creates a need for revenge, and this contributes too many conflicts within the plot. The stress caused by their situation only gets worse, and after giving childbirth, this stress contributes to the cause of her death. Her daughter, also named Cathy, along with Heathcliff’s son, Linton, grow up together having a similar relation ship to the one Catherine and Heathcliff shared at one point. During the final years of Heathcliff’s life he is haunted by the thoughts of Catherine inside her grave, and later, only after his death is he able to be at peace.
Many Victorian themes are reflected within Bronte’s novel, three of which are prevalent, including religion, questions and doubts, and love and loss. II Body The theme of religion, which is evident throughout the novel, plays an important part in the story’s plot. Just as today, many people look at religion as a way of life and use it as a measure to judge the qualities of others. Throughout the beginning of the novel, readers can detect the development of a relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. Since Catherine and Heathcliff had been reared together as brother and sister, this raises serious questions about the validity of incest between them. In today’s society more and more bizarre occurrences are becoming socially accepted, but during the Romantic Period there was little room for controversy in behaviour. Another thought evident in the story which can be considered to have religious bearing is the relationship Heathcliff has with his brother Hindley. The popular Biblical saying, “Love thy neighbour as thy self,” is not one by which the two characters abide. From the day Mr. Earnshaw first brings Heathcliff home from Liverpool, Hindley harbours a deep animosity toward Heathcliff, not to mention the fact that many critics believe Heathcliff to be the illegitimate son of Mr. Earnshaw. During the time when this book was written, the act of being unfaithful to one’s spouse was not acceptable, and this idea only adds to Hindley’s resentment against Heathcliff.
Many times throughout the novel, Bronte continues to provide references regarding religious connections, oftentimes alluding to supernatural existence. The issue goes way beyond the question of enjoying a summer day to become a definition of heaven. The two have different visions of life at its most intense or perfect. Linton, the boy, identifies with traditionally female qualities of passivity and quiescence, where as Cathy identifies with traditionally male qualities of activity and exertion (“Wuthering Heights”). This exemplifies the fact that allusions to religion not only characterize the qualities of the people within the novel, but they also gave Bronte an ingenious method to address indirectly the issues of morality and character traits. Not only is Wuthering Heights a powerful love story and a compelling tale of the supernatural, it also offers the reader insightful commentary on issues relating to class and morality.
The Victorian theme of questions and doubts can be traditionally thought of as pertaining to social status. During this time when social and political issues were changing dramatically, the status of people is what created a hierarchy between citizens. Although downplayed, the social structuring issue still arises as a significant part of Wuthering Heights. For instance, when examining the relationships of Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar, critics draw more than one conclusion. Many assume that Catherine marries Edgar because of love, but this seems quite impossible, given the fact that she herself asserts Heathcliff to be her “soul mate.” “Why then does Catherine marry Edgar Linton when she is eternally one with Heathcliff and when Heathcliff ‘comprehends in his person’ her feelings to Edgar and herself”? When cumulatively examining the novel, the most prevalent thought is that Catherine selfishly marries Edgar because she wants to enjoy the benefits that coincide with Edgar’s social status.
Much like today, social status was a prominent part of why people made the decisions they did, and sometimes the deepest of love is not enough to hold two people together. If a reader asks anyone who has ever read the novel Wuthering Heights, he will probably assert that it’s a love story. The novel focuses on two main characters, Catherine and Heathcliff. Throughout the beginning of the story one can see the connection between the two and as the plot thickens, the reader cannot help but find himself wondering why Heathcliff and Catherine never are together. Catherine speaks of her love for Heathcliff as the eternal foundation underneath her life with her husband Edgar. Time will never change her love for Heathcliff; whereas, her love for Edgar is like “the foliage in the woods,” and will change as the trees change in winter. Catherine’s attachment to Heathcliff is so intense, so like contact with an elemental life force, that her decision to marry Edgar is a tragic mistake, a denial of her essential self for a more superficial identity based on class standing and social status.
The ultimate irony within the story is the fact that Catherine, having made some unhealthy decisions, induces her own fate. Catherine’s death is a direct result of stress, which is caused by grief and agony she faces in her life. One might even go as far to say that love is what creates the loss in the lives of the Heathcliff and Edgar. Today, people often use the expression, “You can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them,” when referring to the one they love, and this statement is also true in this story. Catherine surely finds life hard to live without Heathcliff, but, on the other hand, he ultimately contributes to the cause of her death.
The novel Wuthering Heights not only addresses issues affecting the people during the time it was written, but also today the same issues have considerable bearing. Although criticism of the novel has changed over the course of time, so has public opinion on these issues. The unpopular issues such as, incest, marital affairs, and shallow relationships are seen indirectly through the eyes of the characters throughout Wuthering Heights. Many of the problems that used to be sequestered by society are now manifested. Through biographical information, it is evident that Emily Bronte lived an unusual life; this is what most likely contributed not only to the creation of Wuthering Heights but also to the other stories she wrote before her death. The ingenious insight Bronte used when addressing the issues of religion, questions and doubts, and love and loss, captures the attention of the reader and also causes him to analyze the tragic situations between the characters that create these issues.
