A romantic hero in a novel is usually someone who appears dangerous, daring or cold at first who later emerges to be fiercely devoted and loving. A villain is usually someone who’s violent and ill disposed towards others, the wicked enemy of the hero in a story or play.
As soon as Heathcliff entered the home after being picked up from the streets of Liverpool he caused havoc and jealousy. He upset the family and above all Hindley, as Mr. Earnshaw seemed to have a soft spot for him. Heathcliff abused from this and used it as an opportunity to blackmail Hindley. Once, when the father gave them two horses, Heathcliffs’ appeared to have a defect so he made Hindley change with him or he would have his father of the beatings he had received. Although it was true that he was maltreated as a young boy, he does not seem to have the power to forgive and forget, as it says “I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I wait, if I can do it at last I hope he does not die before I do!”
One afternoon when Heathcliff was going for a stroll with Catherine they passed through Thrushcross Grange. Catherine fell in and the Lintons took her in but they did not invite Heathcliff. They nursed Catherine back to health and in the mean time she came to like Edgar. Later on they arranged for Catherine and Edgar to marry which completely destroyed him. This was the start of many evil deeds that would be caused by Heathcliff to the Linton family.
On the return of Heathcliff as a gentleman Heathcliff thought he was prepared to avenge Hindley for his maltreatment and the Linton family for taking away Catherine from him. His main aim was to gain control on Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange and win back the hand of Catherine.
Heathcliff began gambling with Hindley he caused him to become an addicted gambler and an alcoholic. He lost Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff and died a broken man after living on Heathcliffs’ petty charity.
Heathcliff decided to marry Isabella to get back at Edgar. He treated her like a slave in her own house and they did not even have marital relations. At one instance of insanity he hanged her pet dog on the gates of the Heights. His abuse of her was purely sadistic as he amused himself by seeing how much she could take and still come back for more. In a letter to Ellen she wrote, “Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? And if so is he mad? And if not is he a devil?” He drove her, a pregnant mother to be to the point of running away to find a new life in a new city.
When Heathcliffs’ son came back home after his mother had died he saw this not as an opportunity to regain his lost son but to gain control of the Grange. He sayed of his son, “I despise him for himself, and hate him for the memories he revives!” One afternoon he kidnapped young Cathy and forced her to marry his son, knowing that his son would soon die and he would reap the inheritance of Thrushcross Grange!
Once Linton died he bribed a lawyer and thus gained complete control of the Grange. He forced Hareton to move in with him and he maltreated him just as his father had done to him.
After all the pain and destruction the “gypsy boy” had caused. He finally got what he wanted, he was at his peak but he was not happy all he could think of was being with Cathy.
From the beginning Heathcliff loved Catherine, they would go on long romantic strolls together. Catherine also liked Heathcliff but she said, “It would degrade me not to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how much I love him… he’s more myself than I am... Linton is as different as a moon beam from lightning”. Their relationship was the most meaningfull in the novel. None were as developed as theirs was and thus Heathcliff is the ‘romantic hero’ and the most important character in the novel. Once Catherine died his love for her became the motivating factor in his life. He prayed, “And I pray one prayer. I’ll repeat it till my tongue stiffens—Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest for as long as I am living! You said I killed you -- haunt me, then! ... Be with me always -- take any form -- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!” Heathcliff would see her face everywhere, “Catherine’s face was just like the landscape”. He even bribed a sexton to dig up he grave so that he could have one last glance at her. Finally when Heathcliff was about to die after afflicting himself in order to bring nearer the time that he would be with Catherine again he saw happiness “last night I was at the threshold of death, alone, I am within sight of my heaven. I have my eyes on it hardly three feet to sever me!”
Bronte was very successful in combining two completely distinct characters into one man. As the reader has seen Heathcliff could either be seen as a romantic hero somewhat like Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” who at the end of the play took his own life to be with his love Juliet as he could not stand being alone in this world without her or as a tyrant who destroyed the lives and futures of two families. In my opinion I see Heathcliff as a villain he managed single handedly to win his way from nothing. Nevertheless happiness is restored at the end of the novel moral rightness is restored when Hareton and Cathy get married and the two house holds are left to rest in peace.
