The Chain of Love and Cruelty in Bronte's Wuthering Heights

One of the most dramatic scenes in the book is the death of Catherine. The first signs of her failing health physically and mentally come when she locks herself up in her room after Heathcliff and Edgar's fight. She fasts herself into a delirium, pulling out pillow stuffing and seeing faces in the mirror. Unlike ordinary death, which comes quick and painlessly, Catherine's slowly wastes her away into a ghost. About seven months later, she dies at childbirth, but returning to haunt Heathcliff. The main cause for Catherine's death is not childbirth, although it may have been the final contributor. Ironically, because of the spiritual link between Heathcliff and her, it is their separation that killed her. Brontë punishes the sinned by slow death, having the guilty put the wrath upon themselves. She also brings in the supernatural to prove that even at death, there is no peace. The precise description of the moments before Catherine's death emotionally charges and further involves the reader. Like Catherine, Heathcliff dies in a similar fashion, except his sufferings prior to death lasted eighteen years. He explains to Nelly, "What does not recall her [Catherine]? Those two [Catherine Linton and Linton Heathcliff] are the only objects which retain a distinct material appearance to me; and, that appearance causes me pain, amounting to agony." This is consistent because he has sinned the most of all

The novel of Wuthering Heights involves passion, romance, and turmoil but most significantly carries cruelty as an overarching theme. Cruelty is apparent throughout the work most importantly when dealing with relationships between Heathcliff and Hindley, Heathcliff and Hareton, and even the emotional cruelty between Heathcliff and Catherine.

His demeanor when Catherine dies completely changes and the reader learns that he was madly, madly in love with her. His love for Catherine changed his mental state; he no longer thought rationally. Rationally, if Heathcliff loved Catherine, he would wish her to be at peace, because loving someone means wishing them to be happy; however, because he was so greedy with what little love he did receive that Heathcliff wished Catherine to be forever stuck on the earth haunting him and “driving him mad”. Nelly then describes Heathcliff as a “savage beast” who was physically hurting himself for Catherine. None of these traits mark Heathcliff as a level headed being; a trait that could be predicted when he married Isabella and made her life terrible for the sole purpose of upsetting Catherine and Edgar. This insanity only becomes more prevalent after Catherine dies, when he raises Haerton as a farmhand and imprisons young Catherine and Nelly at Wuthering Heights when her father was

As a consequence of Heathcliff's visit to the Grange, Edgar's sister Isabella falls in love with him, and her feelings seem to be sincere. In this one-sided love affair Heathcliff takes advantage of the innocent girl's infatuation to foster his obsession for revenge. (Isabella is her brother's heir). Catherine's reaction is very hard to interpret. It is natural that she is jealous, if she still feels the same for him as before, and that may be the reason why she dissuades Isabella from marrying Heathcliff. But the words she uses, telling her what an abominable creature Heathcliff is, are not the sort you expect to hear from someone talking of a sweetheart. Later on when her husband and Heathcliff are having a quarrel, she stops Edgar from hurting her friend . There is an excess of emotion, and her explanation to this behaviour is that she wants them both, Edgar and Heathcliff: "Well, if I cannot keep Heathcliff for my friend - if Edgar will be mean and jealous, I'll try to break their hearts by breaking my own" (109).Her love for Heathcliff has not cooled down, instead it seems to be a stronger obsession than ever considering the torments she goes through, when she becomes seriously ill.The last time Catherine and Heathcliff see each other is a very heart-rending meeting. Their love for each other is as strong as ever, and Heathcliff

Heathcliff is abused; his only source of love is his dearest Catherine, yet even that love cannot thrive in Heathcliff’s environment. The problem is not that his love is unrequited, but rather that Catherine believes she would fall to ruin if she were to be with Heathcliff “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him---because he's more

In addition, remaining persistent taking over everything that belongs to Edgar. Heathcliff throughout the novel exemplified that for him, revenge was an extensively more influential emotion than love. Ultimately, leads to why Heathcliff does not forgive Catherine for marrying Edgar. Although he does make it known that he loves Catherine and desires to be with her, he seems to show no remorse constantly attempting to ruin the life of her daughter; Cathy. Heathcliff is viewed a villainous figure as a result of his obsession with revenge, becoming more violent as the plot progresses. Frequently, Heathcliff comes across as a very violent character, uttering various threats and his violent acts. He illustrates that he lacks pity and sympathy when he hangs his wife and Isabella’s dog; thus, demonstrating one of his violent acts and validating the aspect of him as a villainous figure. Although Heathcliff basically engages in war among the two households, he would never harm Catherine as his love for her is immense. His love for Catherine reveals that he does truly have a sympathetic side in the mist of his villainous figure.

Cruelty compels one to inflict cruelty upon others. In her novel, Wuthering Heights, Brontë illustrates the rough life of Heathcliff, conflicted with whether he should focus his life on loving Catherine Earnshaw or inflicting revenge on those who tortured him as a child. Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff into the Earnshaw family as an orphan gypsy, a social class that most of the Earnshaw did not care for. The eldest child of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley, abuses Heathcliff horribly, shaping the way Heathcliff perceives the world around him. Catherine Earnshaw, Hindley’s younger sister, motivates Heathcliff to endure this pain through their affectionate relationship. With his heart focused on revenge, Heathcliff devises a cruel plan to retaliate those who hurt him; he returns to Wuthering Heights as a refined, powerful man. He takes some of his anger out on Hareton Earnshaw, Hindley’s son; this parallels Hindley’s abuse towards Heathcliff. Through Hindley’s and Heathcliff’s abusiveness in Wuthering Heights, Brontë asserts that cruelty cycles from its perpetrators to its victims.

To begin, Heathcliff uses Isabella as a means of exacting revenge on Edgar Linton, whom he despises. When Heathcliff finds out Isabella is in love with him, he is delighted. His pleasure comes not from a mutual like for Isabella, but rather a vision for revenging Edgar. After Catherine lets slip that Isabella is in love with him, Heathcliff says to her, “...and if you fancy I’ll suffer unrevenged, I’ll convince you of the contrary, in a very little while! Meantime, thank you for telling me your sister-in-law’s secret: I swear I’ll make the most of it. And stand you aside!”(112). Heathcliff’s comment

Heathcliff, after the death of Catherine, continues to be haunted by the ghost of Catherine, which leads him to doing very absurd things including digging up Catherine’s grave, and locking Nelly and Cathy in a room for days. In addition, Isabella is not in approval of the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, leading to the lack of peace displayed in the relationship, as she is tries to pull the two apart, by getting closer to Heathcliff and refusing to come home. Like the unresolved book, Catherine and Heathcliff are not able to tie the loose ends to their relationship, leading to lack of peace. One does not receive closure with an unresolved book, and, similarly, neither does the couple. In addition, Heathcliff continues to do whatever he can to find answers to his questions, like we may do when we finish a book without

At the beginning of the novel, Heathcliff was a victim of orphanage at a young age. He had never experienced unconditional love from anyone. After Mr. Earshawn’s death, Catherine became his addiction because she accepted him for who he was in his eyes. At first, Catherine despised Heathcliff. In time, he latches on to her becoming totally engulfed with her. This devotion turns into an overwhelming love addiction towards her (“Wuthering Heights Love and Betrayal). Catherine’s presence helps calms the family’s antagonism for him. Heathcliff tolerated a lot from the family because of the love he shared with Catherine (Peele).

Furthermore, when Heathcliff returns, Catherine should take no interest in trying to rekindle her feelings for him as Edgar had been putting in effort to make their marriage work 'Mr. Edgar had a deep-rooted fear of ruffling her humour' Up until this scene the couples were getting along and if Catherine had concealed her zealous behaviour towards Heathcliff then the calm atmosphere would have remained. Catherine rudely ignores her husband's presence to the extent that he demands the disrespectful behaviour to be stopped and a decision made 'Will you give up Heathcliff hereafter, or will you giver up me? It is impossible for you to be my friend and his at the same time…' Indeed, Edgar is right to put Catherine's in this difficult situation because any other typical husband at the time would have been less patient with Catherine or banned Heathcliff from the house at an earlier stage. Catherine struggles because the two men in her life represent two types if world and she cannot have both at the same time.

Heathcliff resents her scorn. He desires to regain her approval. He attempts to be “decent” and “good” for her sake (Brontë 40). However, his attempt to be decent fails miserably. He resents the attentions that Catherine gives to Edgar. Catherine would rather wear a “silly frock” and have dinner with “silly friends” than ramble about the moors with him (Brontë 50). Heathcliff keeps track of the evenings Catherine spends with Edgar and those that she spends with him. He desperately wants to be with Catherine. When Catherine announces to Nelly her engagement to Edgar, Heathcliff eavesdrops, but leaves the room when he “heard Catherine say it would degrade her to marry him” (Brontë 59). Catherine has spurned his love, choosing Edgar over him. Heathcliff cannot bear this rejection. The love he possesses for her transcends romantic and filial love (Mitchell 124). He feels that he is one with her (Mitchell 123).

“You teach me how cruel you've been—cruel and false. Why do you despise me? Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy? I have not one word of comfort. You deserve this.

While at Thrushcross Grange, she grows infatuated with Edgar, despite her love for Heathcliff. Edgar came from an upper class family as well and took care of her when she was in a dog accident. This leads to her acceptance of Edgar Linton’s marriage proposal despite her statements regarding her love for Heathcliff. Heathcliff overhears unfortunate passages of Catherine's discourse and disappears for a period during which he mysteriously makes his fortune and changes irrevocably from the person he was. Vengeance consumes him, and Heathcliff attempts to destroy the lives of those who wronged him, (as well as their children). Ultimately, Heathcliff’s bitterly executed vengeance is effaced by a love between Hareton and Cathy that mirrors Heathcliff’s own love for Catherine. Hareton is Catherine’s nephew and Cathy is Catherine’s daughter, which makes the two first cousins.

While reminiscing in his old age, Heathcliff says, “I get levers and mattocks to demolish the two houses and when everything is ready and in my power, I find the will to lift a slate off either roof has vanished … Where is the use [of revenge]? I don’t care for striking: I can’t take the trouble to raise my hand!” (323). The Heights and the Grange are finally “in his power” that he can destroy the two houses if he wants. Though he realizes that his efforts were all in vain and his hunger for revenge made him unfortunate. Catherine Earnshaw confronts with the patriarchal system by hurting herself. As Edgar forces her to choose between himself and Heathcliff, she says, “Well, if I cannot keep Heathcliff for my friend – if Edgar will be mean and jealous, I’ll try to break their hearts by breaking my own…” (116). Catherine “breaks her own” by locking herself in her room and fasting for three days; she has no choice but to use the ultimate method to make her rage and helplessness be heard. On the contrary, Catherine Linton resists by improving herself. Although Heathcliff hinders Catherine from learning, she has so much of novelty to feel and learn and continues to read (322). By education, she succeeds to remove Heathcliff’s will to revenge and gain love chosen by herself. Heathcliff, Catherine Earnshaw, and Catherine Linton’s different reactions bring a different ending; destruction versus