Wuthering Heights has been described as the greatest love story ever written. Discuss.
Kirsty Hornby 12D
Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights is seen by many as one of the greatest love stories of all time. A conventional love story usually includes two central, balanced characters who love each other equally. Although on first glance, Wuthering Heights may not seen like a conventional love story, it actually does feature some of the major themes of a love story, but simply demonstrates them on a more sinister level, with a mixture of violence, gothic fantasy and horror. Bronte explores different aspects of love through a range of methods, and from numerous perspectives, including religious, maternal, romantic and transcendent.
In central relationship, between Catherine and Heathcliff, Bronte fuses the themes of idealized romance and gothic horror together. When Heathcliff first arrives at Wuthering Heights he is dirty, ragged and homeless, a portrayal which makes him an unlikely Byronic hero within the novel. This later changes, when he is portrayed as brutal, melancholic and powerful. The reader is given the impression that Heathcliff's love for Catherine is passionate but he doesn't know how to show it. Neither of them seem willing to admit to wanting to be together because deep down they know it will not work. There is a major problem with identity between Catherine and Heathcliff, as there are thoughts of them being the same person - "I love..not because he is handsome, but because he is more myself than I am." Catherine struggles with two conflicting ideas of selfhood - she tries to combine a passionate life with a life which remains within social convention. Her view that she IS Heathcliff is unlikely to provide her with any stability as Heathcliff is such an unpredictable and uncertain person. This lack of stability she feels within her self is also a feeling which casts a shadow over their love. Catherine eventually moves towards the more cultured identity, whilst Heathcliff regresses into nature. Regardless of the underlying feeling that the relationship is an impossibility, Heathcliff's intense passion still shines though. It actually trangresses a variety of social taboos, highlighting how to love in the novel is in fact explored through some of the most profound acts of violence. Their love turns into a jealous love, which undermines the stereotypical conventions cast upon love stories. The love becomes extremely corrupted. Bronte's characters and their conduct is often unsavory and undesirable, which many people will find difficult to link with love, as many people have the antiquated belief that love should be perfect. However, the love between Catherine and Heathcliff continues even after their marriages and deaths. Their love is portrayed as one endures forever - it is everlasting. This passion is obviously one of the most compelling and memorable aspects of the entire novel, as it seems powerful and boundless.
