In his new home, he is treated just well enough to survive until he can carry out his father’s plan to marry his cousin and thus become the heir of Thrushcross Grange. When Ellen and Cathy rode to meet Linton they had to go quite close to Wuthering Heights to find him. His “large blue eyes wandered timidly over her; the hollowness round then transforming to haggard wildness the languid expression they once possessed”. This vivid description of Linton shows that he looks much healthier than before. The adverb “timidly” suggests his shyness and lack of confidence when his “large blue eyes wandered” over her. The adjective “possessed” suggests that he owns her already as he starts to like her. Linton had a hard time making conversation with Cathy, and was clearly not enjoying their talk, so she said she would leave. Surprisingly Linton then looked frightened towards Wuthering Heights and begged her to stay longer, and to tell her father he was in “tolerable health.”
Catherine and Linton start meeting secretly and later with her father’s approval (for Linton’s sake) we can see that he is bullied into these meetings when he does not feel up to it. His father forces him to appear healthy but weak in order to attract Catherine’s attention and compassion. We see this clearly in one of the last visits when Catherine perceives that her visits were more of a punishment than a gratification and proposes to leave “That proposal… roused him from his lethargy, and threw him into a strange state of agitation. He glanced fearfully towards the Heights, begging she would remain another half-hour at least.” The verb “roused” implies that his anger awakened and the aggressive verb “threw” portrays his anger at Catherine. The verb “glanced” followed by the adverb “fearfully” highlights his anger and expression on his face.
Love letters to Cathy begin in chapter 21, most likely under Heathcliff’s instruction. Although his affection for Cathy may be genuine, his single minded mentality makes him open to manipulation, which Heathcliff takes advantage of to exact his revenge. “The earlier dated were embarrassed and short; gradually… they expanded into copious love letters… as the age of the writer rendered natural, yet with touches here and there which I thought were borrowed from a more experienced source.” At first, the letters were “short” and “embarrassing”, maybe because he could not explain his feelings well. The adjective “expanded” portrays how their relationship grew and expanded. Nelly could not believe that it was Linton who wrote these love letters to her, as he could not write or read properly when he was a little kid.
Linton’s weakness makes him intrigued by the rarity of others being deemed or made weaker than himself. His ability to be easily manipulated by Heathcliff means that Heathcliff’s ideas are able to easily penetrate and take hold in Linton’s mind. “Papa would make you sing out” he answered. “He says I’m not to be soft with Catherine: she’s my wife... she hates me and wants me to die… she may cry, and be sick as much as she pleases!” The possessive pronoun “my” suggests he owns her and takes full control over her. The harsh verbs “hates” and “wants” imply how much Linton thinks Catherine hates her. She cares for him when he falls ill and fulfils all his needs.
We see Linton as a wane character always about to disappear and this will be true for the rest of his short life. On hearing of his son arrival, Heathcliff decides that the child must go back to Wuthering Heights, leaving Edgar, Catherine and Nelly heartbroken. From these short descriptions we read about Linton, it is clear that he is presented as a weak, snivelling and demanding character. Bronte’s language choices become powerful descriptions which give an in depth look into the personality of Linton and not just her character. It is from this that the readers grasp an idea of what he is like and how he influences other characters in ‘Wuthering Heights’.
by
fizzy01 (student)
