Cathy’s character was so wild and filled with passion that no matter what anybody said or did could not hide it. This is shown when Cathy returned from Thrushcross Grange. Under all those clothes and make up she was still the old Cathy that Heathcliff loved. With the Lintons she had been refined and brought to talk and act like a lady. She had been smothered by all the finery and luxury. However when she saw Heathcliff once more, after she had returned, she discarded it all and “threw it on the floor” in a second.
Cathy, catching a glimpse of her friend in his concealment, flew to embrace him; she bestowed seven or eight kisses on is cheek within the second…
With Heathcliff she could not help but be herself and show her true emotions and innermost feelings.
Heathcliff is described by Bronte very similarly to Cathy, apart from a few minor details. Just like Cathy, he is wild, untamed, and passionate. The first impressions portrayed by Bronte of Heathcliff are he is a young foundling brought home from Liverpool by Mr Earnshaw on a business trip. His supernatural love for Cathy is obvious from the beginning, and eventually they become lovers and soul mates eternally. The reader can depict from the beginning that Cathy and Heathcliff work as a team and are one “unit”. Heathcliff protects Cathy and acts in her defence when she was told off.
How the boy would do her bidding…
They trust, love, and adore one another. He, from the beginning is a threat to the relationship between Hindly and Mr Earnshaw. He is seen by Hindly to be taking his father away from him. Heathcliff’s intervening between Hindly and Mr Earnshaw can be shown with the episode with the fiddle. Bronte creates an impression of darkness and evil with Heathcliff. He has dark hair and dark eyes, which contrast to the fair hair and light eyes to the others in the novel. Therefore he is portrayed as almost “foreign”.
“…though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil”
…I had a peep at a dirty, ragged, black-haired child
There are many things Bronte gives the reader to sympathise with Heathcliff, and take a liking to him. One of which is his compassionate love for Cathy. Heathcliff loves Cathy so much he will do anything for her, even if it means sacrificing his own welfare. Heathcliff tries to make himself worthy of Cathy’s love when she returns from Thrushcross Grange, i.e. he goes off to make his fortune to tend to Cathy’s worldly desires and make a suitable life for them both. He needs to make the money to successfully live up to Cathy’s high standards. He wants to give her everything he can – even more than Edgar Linton would be able to. However this is not possible as Linton has status and a respectable upbringing. Whereas Heathcliff is a foundling brought home by Mr Earnshaw. He has money, but no status. It would degrade Cathy to marry him. This is one of the many things that separate them from each other. We, as the reader do not know where Heathcliff has got his money. Bronte has deliberately left us in the “dark”, to add more mystery to the character portrayed as Heathcliff.
There are many situations where Bronte creates a feeling of empathy within the reader towards Heathcliff. Heathcliff does not know how to return the love and affection shown by Mr Earnshaw and Cathy. We as the reader empathise with him since his ignorance in how to return affection, and how to act in a situation concerning love, was probably due to a neglected childhood on the street of Liverpool. He was not shown love and so when finally he was exposed to the affection of Catherine and Mr Earnshaw he did not know how to react. When Cathy stayed at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks, Heathcliff feels as if he has been deserted by Catherine, left on his own with Hindley and Francis. He feels that life is empty without Cathy, and that he cannot live without her. Heathcliff runs off to Gimmerton so that he does not embarrass Cathy. He does not want to shame her in any way – he loves her too much for that. He is no longer seen as an equal to her in all her luxurious clothes etc. He does not return until he thinks he is worthy to be with her once more. Thrushcross Grange took something away from him – his Cathy, and so throughout the novel he appears to have a dislike towards it, e.g. his tenant – Mr Lockwood who lives at The Grange is treated coldly by Heathcliff at their first meeting. We feel sympathetic towards Heathcliff since Hindley and Francis treat him like dirt. Hindley and Francis try to separate Heathcliff and Cathy up. Hindley is gaining his revenge on Heathcliff for all the trouble during Hindley’s childhood. We feel sorry for Heathcliff because he is being separated from the person they know he cannot live without.
However Bronte also gives the reader reasons for disliking the character of Heathcliff. Heathcliff is cold-hearted and does not communicate with anyone. He has a short fiery temper, which can be shown when people invade his privacy or cause distress or pain to Cathy. He is selfish, just like Cathy. He wants Catherine so much, he will go to any length to get her, no matter who he hurts in the process. He marries Isabella, and hurts her tremendously, due to his jealousy of Linton and wants for revenge for when Cathy married him. He tore Earnshaw and his son apart and made Hindley get sent away to college because of all the arguments he was causing. He became Earnshaw’s favourite and so he was classed as the villain of the family. He doesn’t return Earnshaw’s love, and so breaks his heart. He hates the Lintons, especially Edgar Linton because they are superior to him. This illustrates the idea of Ignorance versus Education. From the beginning the reader can deduce that the Lintons are at a higher social status than the residents at Wuthering Heights. This is partly due to the fact that the Lintons are better educated than the labourers at the Heights. This can also be shown in the way that he does not have any sense of security so he feels that no one cares for him; he is ignorant of the fact that people do. He is a cunning, devious, and vindictive character – he marries Isabella to gain revenge on Linton. This can also be shown in the way that he does not return Earnshaw’s love. As a result he gains power over the people in the household. He uses Hindley’s violent treatment towards him as a source of bribery over Hindley to get his own way. This is shown with the incident with the colt.
“You must exchange horses with me; I don’t like mine, and if you won’t I shall tell your father of the three thrashings you’ve given me this week, and show him my arm, which is black to the shoulder.”
Heathcliff has the permanent upper hand over Hindley because of the physical and physiological manipulation he uses.
There is a feeling of conflict within the reader, created by Bronte, because with both Cathy and Heathcliff every time we, as the reader take a step forwards with the character and start taking a liking towards them, suddenly something happens to make the reader take a step backward due to dislike of the character. For example, with Heathcliff we sympathise with him because he is a foundling, however he is a devious, cunning user and can be very selfish.
Like Cathy Heathcliff is very unpredictable. This is one of his tactics. By using the element of surprise he gains control and reduces the others in the household to a position of vulnerability. He is like a pendulum swinging from side to side.
Like Cathy, Heathcliff is only himself when he is with her. His true emotions are shown and exposed. With everyone else he hides his true self and is cold-hearted and “confined”, but with Cathy he is a “man of emotions”. When Cathy dies he does not want to let go. He wants her every minute of the day, even when she is dead he yearns for her. This is shown in the incident when Cathy returns to the Heights and appears to Lockwood. Heathcliff is upset and distresses that she did not appear to him.
“Come in! Come in!” he sobbed. “Cathy, do come. Oh do – once more! Oh! My heart’s darling, hear me this time – Catherine at last!”
Hindley was the first son of Mr Earnshaw. He was considered to be the favourite until Heathcliff came and took this away from him. He is so fixed on revenge on Heathcliff that he doesn’t realise how much he is hurting those around him, especially his son Hareton. As a result, throughout the novel Hindley has a great bitterness within him and a deep hatred for Heathcliff and this is portrayed well by Bronte. One of the main things that Hindley is bitter about, apart from Heathcliff taking his father’s love away from him, is the death of his wife Francis. Francis was the only one who really loved him, and he discarded whatever other people thought about her because he really loved her. He didn’t tell his father about his marriage to Francis because he was afraid about what his reaction would be, especially considering Francis’ low status in society. His marriage to Francis was the only time in his life when he was truly happy. After the death of his wife, his life got worse and worse. Therefore the reader sympathises with Hindley as his only source of happiness was taken away from him. After Francis’ death Hindley turns to the drink as a source of comfort and to cope with his misery. He has mood swings and is cold and bad tempered. He takes put his misery and distress on the only thing that remains a constant memory of Francis – his son Hareton. He is violent towards him because of the effects the alcohol is having on him, shown when he dropped Hareton over the stairs. He blames Hareton for the death of Francis, because if he was not born she would still be alive. However he is bitter because he also knows he is also to blame for the birth of Hareton. Hindley is portrayed as a needy character in the novel, shown in the way that he needs Francis’ love and support. However because he is so needy he has nothing to give and pass onto his child, since children are needy and dependant themselves. As a result Hareton is brought up neglected and without much love and affection.
“As sure as I’m living, I’ll break the brat’s neck”
Hindley realises that he has neglected his son, and is bitter about it. He is angry that his son won’t respond to him when he calls:
“..he deserves flaying alive for not running to welcome me, and for screaming as if I were a goblin. Unnatural cub, come hither! I’ll teach thee to impose on a good hearted deluded father….”
And won’t show him any affection…
“Kiss me Hareton! Damn thee, kiss me!
He is ashamed of himself because of the way he has raised him:
“By God, as if I would raise such a monster…”
Hareton is the rightful heir to Wuthering Heights, as he was the direct relative to Mr Earnshaw. However due to Heathcliff he is treated like a peasant by everyone. He is made to work as a labourer by Heathcliff at the Heights. It is as if Heathcliff is taking his hatred of Hindley out on Hareton. He is described by Bronte as being very “rough” and “scruffy” when Mr Lockwood visits the Heights at the beginning of the novel.
His thick brown curls were rough and uncultivated; his whiskers encroached bearishly over his cheeks, and his hands were embrowned like those of a common labourer..
As a child, the reader feels very sympathetic towards Hareton especially when Nellie leaves. His whole life he has been neglected and deserted by everyone, and now he was being deserted by the only person who really cared about him. Also he is constantly scared of his father and his violent outbursts.
Poor Hareton was squalling and kicking in his father’s arms with all his might, and redoubled his yells when he carried him upstairs and lifted him over the banister. I cried out that he would frighten the child into fits, and ran to rescue him.
Francis was the wife of Hindley, and was not really a very significant figure in the novel since she is only mentioned in a couple of the chapters. During this time the reader does find out some information about her. She is a poor girl without any status. When Hindley returns with his new bride the reader is forced to ask him or her self why would Hindley marry someone with no money or status. The answer is because he loves her. She is also childish and immature, and quite selfish.
I thought she was half silly from her behaviour while that went on; she made me come with her, though I should have been dressing the children;
All this makes the reader take a disliking to Francis, although she has no real impact on the novel anyway. We learn that she is sick and ailing and that the birth of Hareton and the winter causes her death.
“Earnshaw – it’s a blessing your wife has been spared to leave you this son. When she came, I felt convinced we shouldn’t keep her long; and now, I must tell you the winter will probably finish her.”
This makes reader quite sympathetic towards her. Although she was sick most of her life she tried to be positive and keep in high spirits to be a good wife to Hindley. She also tried to be strong-hearted to support her husband and be there for him.
The first impressions of the Lintons are a typical family of the time Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights. They were of a higher social status of the people ate the Heights and their home was Thrushcross Grange. They appeared to be quite weak and not very passionate, compared with Cathy and Heathcliff. Mr and Mrs Linton were particularly shallow, judgmental and snobbish, especially towards Heathcliff, e.g. when Cathy and Heathcliff had secretly visited Thrushcross Grange, and Cathy hurt her ankle.
“Miss Earnshaw? Nonsense!” cried the dame, “Miss Earnshaw scouring the country with a gypsy!”
When Cathy was in the company of the Lintons she lost her fieriness.
She sat on the sofa quietly.
She was more refined, especially when she returned from Thrushcross Grange after her five-week stay.
…there lighted from a handsome black pony a very dignified person, with brown ringlets falling from the cover of a feathered beaver, and a long, cloth habit which she was obliged to hold up with both hands that she might sail in.
The love between Edgar and Cathy is more reasonable, not like the love between Cathy and Heathcliff. Edgar lacked the fiery passion that both Heathcliff and Cathy had. Bronte wanted to express the idea of passion versus rational love. Passion is what divided Catherine from Edgar. Catherine’s passion for Heathcliff ruined the lives of so many people at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. The whole story revolved around the passion that Catherine and Heathcliff felt for each other. Edgar, on the other hand felt a more reasonable love for Catherine. Catherine was devoted to Edgar, yet was in love with Heathcliff.
“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees – My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath – a source of visible delight, but necessary. Nellie, I am Heathcliff – he’s always, always in my mind – not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself – but as my own being…
Bronte gives every character a duality within their personalities. With Catherine, her heart and mind are divided: she loves Heathcliff, but marries the more stable Edgar. Heathcliff loves Catherine more than his life, yet he is a cruel and harsh man. Nelly is an "impartial" storyteller, yet she clearly influences events and their outcomes. Hareton is a coarse, taciturn man who wants to become civilized but does not know how until Cathy enters his life.
Bronte uses Ellen Dean (Nellie) and Mr Lockwood as devices to tell the story. Within the first chapter the reader is pulled into the action and suspense instead of having many pages of introduction. The interaction of Nelly and Mr. Lockwood create suspense between sections of story. When Nelly breaks off of her story one wonders what will happen next.
Nellie has known both the Lintons and the Earnshaws for a long time and therefore can give the reader all the necessary information from a personal viewpoint in a recollective manner. The information is revealed to the reader because of the questions posed by Mr Lockwood. He is interested in the history of the families and wants to know why Heathcliff was so cold and hostile to him when he visited the Heights.* The narrative structure of Wuthering Heights is quite unique. The narrator, Mr. Lockwood, is a minor character in the story who is being told this tale by another narrator, Nelly Dean. At certain points in the book, different characters become narrators who tell their story to Nelly, who then tells Mr. Lockwood. This allows Nellie to explain everything to Mr Lockwood and to the reader. If Bronte had written Wuthering Heights in the 3rd person, the same effect would not have been able to be created. This method of writing is very cleverly manipulated by Bronte and works very well in the novel.
Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” is full of passionate emotions both between and within the characters. Passionate love is the main focus of the story – that is the love between Cathy and Heathcliff (as mentioned before). Since it is so strong is seems to overshadow any other lover love in the novel, i.e. the love between Hindley and Isabella. This is because their love is supernaturally strong, stronger than beyond their lifetimes.
There is also a lot of hate in the novel. Since Cathy and Heathcliff are such passionate characters whatever they do they do it with a certain passion and fieriness. So when they hate someone, they don’t just a disliking to them, they really hate them. Heathcliff really hated both Linton and Hindley. This is because they both tried to get in the way of him and Cathy being together. When they were small, Hindley always tried to keep them apart. Then when they were older Linton interfered and took Cathy away from Wuthering Heights to Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff put Cathy first in what he did, and therefore anyone who got in the way of allowing him to do this and allowing them to be together became an “enemy”.
Jealousy and revenge are other passionate emotions in the novel. Heathcliff was jealous of Linton, since he could see Cathy and be with her whenever he wanted once she became his wife. Heathcliff always had to fight to be with Cathy. His marriage to Isabella was evidence to his jealousy. He only married her to spite Cathy for marrying Linton. It was purely for revenge. In the first part of the novel Heathcliff had a chance to gain the revenge on Hindley that he has always talked about – when he caught Hareton after Hindley had dropped him on the banister. If Heathcliff had let him fall, Hindley would have been so bitter and angry with himself, and he could have had his revenge. However he had missed his opportunity.
It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intensest anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge. Had it been dark, I dare say, he would have tried to remedy the mistake by smashing Hareton’s skull on the steps;
The idea of revenge is carried through into the second part of the novel and plays quite a dominant part. Heathcliff first believes that if he can avenge the death of Catherine that he will somehow grow closer to her. However, the exact opposite occurs. When Heathcliff gives up on his plan for revenge, he is soon reunited with Catherine in eternal bliss.
The idea of crime and punishment is also portrayed through the novel. All the characters have sinned in one way or another and in the end they are all punished for their crimes, by having to bear some sort of suffering. However, Cathy and Hareton are not corrupt in any way and they are the ones who finally destroy the evil between their families in the next generation. They are the hope for the future.
All through the novel Bronte portrays the idea of abuse and tragedy relived in the generations. It is as if the family at Wuthering Heights is caught in a cycle of tragedy, i.e. the death of Cathy, Linton, and Francis. There is a lot of abuse directed at the younger generation, i.e. the young Cathy – by Heathcliff, and Hareton – by both Hindley early on, and then Heathcliff later.
Another technique Bronte uses is that she sets the strictly in the area of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Events are revealed in great detail there, but when a character leaves this immediate area, nothing is told of their situation. For example, Heathcliff left for three years. Nothing was told about this time except for the fact that he left and returned. Also, when Isabella flees to London the reader is not "taken" there.
There is quite a lot of natural description in the novel. This is included purposely by Bronte as it helps to create atmosphere, at where the novel is situated – at the Grange and at the Heights, and also between the characters.
A lot of the natural description is to do with the moors on which the Heights and the Grange are situated. They create an “open”, ghostly, forbidding atmosphere. This conflicts with the family so close.
Another thing that makes the moors so threatening is that they all appear to look the same. They are dark, cold, which make the reader feel that the moors are a very sinister, unwelcoming place. Cathy being lost on the moor is also linked in with this. There is a sense of something looming, which sets the scene for the family’s tragedies.
At the Heights, Bronte creates the same sort of atmosphere. Barely any of the rooms are occupied and there always seems to be a cold “drafty” feel about the place. There are not many servants apart from Joseph and Nellie. Bronte uses the Heights as a symbol of pain, suffering, and discomfort. Much abuse and tragedy takes place here. Even when this atmosphere is masked, e.g. Christmas time at the Heights with the decorations etc., it just acts as a source of contrast against the dark, sinister atmosphere, which makes it show up even more. However in contrast, the Grange where the Lintons live is warm and luxurious. It is a symbol of comfort.
“… - Ah! It was beautiful – a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass drops hanging in silver chains from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers.
There are many ghoulish and ghostly references, especially with Cathy being lost on the moor, and the hand at the window. This also contributes to the “spooky” atmosphere in the novel.
However this atmosphere created may be due to the detailed, creative description used by Bronte. It is real and eerie because of the way she uses the senses to make things appear not as they seem, which makes the spooky atmosphere possible. For example when Lockwood stayed overnight at the Heights, the cupboard appeared to be possessed, and the tree looked and sounded like a hand tapping at the window.
Merely, the branch of a fir tee that touched my lattice, as the blast wailed by, and rattled its dry cones against the panes!
Cathy’s vision also adds a mysterious atmosphere to the novel. This is because of what Nellie says about dreams.
I was superstitious about dreams then, and am still; and Catherine had an unusual gloom in her aspect, that made me dread something from which I might shape a prophecy, and foresee a fearful catastrophe.
It is almost as if she is forcing tragedy by foreseeing a catastrophe. This is all part of the build up to Cathy’s speech… “Nellie, I am Heathcliff – he’s always, always on my mind…”etc. Ghosts and spirits are linked in with this dream. Cathy tells Nellie that she will love Heathcliff eternally, showing that even heaven cannot separate the two after death.
Bronte uses the weather as a device throughout the novel. She uses it to express symbolism of different emotions. E.g. the stormy nights on the moor always seem to happen just after something passionate, dramatic, or tragic has happened.
There always seems to be a terrible blustery wind around the moors – hence the name “Wuthering Heights”
A high wind blustered round the house, and roared in the chimney: it sounded wild and stormy…
This goes with the stormy, passionate emotions and feelings in the novel.
Emily Bronte has captured my interest in all of the ways mentioned above – i.e. in the ways the characters are presented and portrayed, in the way the story is told – via Nellie and Mr Lockwood, the passionate emotions portrayed, and the natural description and setting. However it is her style, creativity, and detail that make these work so well, and her novel such a success.
