I also believe that Catherine is trying to convince herself of her love for Edgar. This was shown earlier by her asking Nelly for reassurance, but it is shown further when Nelly asks her why she loves Edgar:
“I love the ground under his feet, and the air over his head, and everything he touches, and every word he says – I love all his looks, and all his actions, and him entirely, and altogether. There now!”
This response also puzzled me – it has been worded in a very impersonal fashion. She uses dry, unlovable vocabulary in her description, such as “ground”, “feet” and “air”. It is a list of clichés, and instead of giving the intended outcome of proving her love, these clichés further show that her feelings for Edgar are common and shallow. The conclusion of “there now!” gives the impression that she is only saying these declarations to convince Nelly of her love, of which she herself is unsure – she almost says it in a proud manner.
The idea of superficial love is explored throughout this scene, as Catherine only wishes to marry Edgar as he is “handsome, young and cheerful”. As mentioned before, she wants to have a “proper” husband, and does not wish to become a “beggar”. She dresses up when she expects Edgar, whereas she does not for Heathcliff, who we will soon find to be her true, eternal love. She even admits that her love for Edgar will not last:
“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees.”
This shows that her love is, indeed, superficial – it is only appealing on the outside, and once the pretence has worn off, it will not be the same at all.
These points combined, we can see that Catherine’s love for Edgar is purely superficial, and this fact is known to Catherine, as we can see by her doubts. If she is to feel all these doubts on the day of their engagement, it shows that she knows something is missing from her choice: Heathcliff.
She has known Heathcliff all her life, and declares him her “soulmate”. We are shown that her feelings for Heathcliff are very deep – her description of her love does not contain shallow clichés or text-book analogies:
“Nelly, I am Heathcliff. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks – a source of little visible delight, but necessary.”
This contrasts vividly with, firstly, her description of what she loved about Edgar, and secondly, with the idea of her love with Edgar being “foliage in the woods”. She describes Heathcliff as being a part of her, necessary to her living. It also expels any hint of superficial love from the situation, as she does not find him appealing in the way that she finds Edgar, yet her love for Heathcliff is deeper – it is the rocks beneath the foliage.
“If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and, if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the Universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”
This amplifies her idea of not being able to survive without him. Although his rock-like character is unappealing, he is a part of her. She proves this snapping that “talk of their separation” was “impracticable”.
Comparing the above, we can see that she loves Heathcliff passionately, but only loves Edgar so she can have the life she feels she was meant to have.
I believe that we are meant to question her choice – the author gives us clear indication, as shown above, that her feelings are far deeper for Heathcliff. Catherine says that she cannot exist without Heathcliff – then why would she not marry him? Furthermore, we are introduced to a dream of Catherine’s, in which she goes to heaven. This image is normally associated with happiness and tranquillity, yet she says that she hated it, and “broke her heart” crying. She was only comforted when she was returned to Wuthering Heights, which shows that she prefers the stormy, dark abode to the typically light and happy idea of heaven. This shows that her choice to marry Edgar was a complete contradiction to what her inner-self was trying to convey to her through her dream – she is happier with what she knows and is part of, not what is thought to be good.
This chapter strongly questions marriage – firstly the reasoning behind it, but also its necessity at all: she marries Edgar although she loves Heathcliff more, yet, as long as he is still in her life, she can exist. This shows that she does not need to be married to Heathcliff to love him, as long as he remains in her life.
In conclusion, we can see that her love for Edgar is superficial, and her passionate love for Heathcliff is so deep that it does not need the bond of marriage to secure it.
