WUTHERING HEIGHTS BY EMILY BRONTE THEMES OF WUTHERING

WUTHERING HEIGHTS BY: EMILY BRONTE

THEMES OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS

FAMILY TREE OF CHARACTERS IN WUTHERING HEIGHTS

MAJOR CHARACTER LIST Heathcliff: adopted by Mr. Earnshaw at a young age and falls in love with Catherine. He plans and takes revenge on the Earnshaw’s and Linton’s throughout the whole novel. He marries Isabella and has a child, Linton. Catherine: the daughter of Mr. Earnshaw who falls in love with Heathcliff. She marries Edgar and dies giving birth to her daughter, Catherine. Lockwood: the tenant of wuthering heights, and also the narrator. He is vain and presumptuous, which leads him to misunderstand some events as he asks to hear the history of the inhabitants of wuthering heights from nelly dean. Nelly Dean: Lockwood’s housekeeper and the main narrator. She cares deeply for Catherine and is deeply involved in the stories she tells Lockwood. Her strong emotions tend to make the reader question whether she is a reliable narrator.

Edgar: a well-bred and spoiled Linton who grew up in Thrushcross grange. He is described as wealthy, handsome, and cheerful. He marries Catherine and has a daughter, Catherine. Isabella: Edgar’s sister and Heathcliff’s wife. She is abused by Heathcliff as a form of revenge on Edgar. She gives birth to a sickly son, Linton. Catherine: the daughter of Catherine and Edgar. Although she inherits most of her mother's traits, she is more compassionate than her mother and initially falls in love with Linton. She is forced by Heathcliff to marry Linton. She later decides to marry Hareton after Linton dies. Linton: Heathcliff and Isabella’s son. He is weak, demanding, and always ill, which Heathcliff uses to his advantage. Linton marries Catherine, but dies not long after. Hareton: the son of Hindley and his wife. He is raised as a field worker by Heathcliff after both of his parents die. He meets Catherine and by the end of the novel, they decide to get married. Hindley: the son of Mr. Earnshaw. He grows jealous of Heathcliff and treats him cruelly. He marries Frances and has a son, Hareton. He grows sicker after his wife dies and Heathcliff uses this as an advantage to take control of wuthering heights from him.

HEATHCLIFF MOTIVATIONS: 1. Catherine’s love 2. Mistreatment by Hindley DESIRE: 1. To attain Catherine 2. Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering heights[revenge] 3. Achieve High status SELF PRIDE: Heathcliff to Catherine after her arrival from Grange: 'I shall be as dirty as I please: and I like to be dirty, and I will be dirty. '……………. . 'I shall not stand to be laughed at. I shall not bear it!'

BYRONIC HERO A Byronic hero is a person who is wronged by circumstances possesses dark characteristics brooding ostracized from society in some way intelligent arrogant hyper aware of his self Like a Byronic hero he deviates from the stereotypical qualities of a traditional hero and comes out to be an anti- hero: with an unsettling and troubled past fiery emotions a high level of intelligence a hatred for rules a thirst for revenge the capacity to love up to the maximum degree. Thus, he has all the qualities of a Byronic Hero.

REVENGEFUL NATURE The most distinctive trait in Heathcliff’s character is his revengeful nature. His revenge is carried throughout two generations. He makes his only son, Linton, marry Catherine’s daughter in order for him to gain control of both the Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights. He takes revenge against two: Edgar Linton for taking away his love, Catherine Hindley Heathcliff for his treatment when he was young.

Revenge Against Edgar: He marries ISABELLA, Edgar’s sister and treats her badly and depriving her of his needs so that Edgar feels tormented in the same way. Soon Isabella dies leaving a son Linton who is a weakling. Heathcliff manipulates and forces Edgar’s daughter Cathy to marry Linton. But Linton dies as the marriage starts and so dies Heathcliff’s desire for revenge. Then he starts wishing to meet Catherine eternally, for this he changes Edgars coffin beside Catherine and places his own so that he can rejoin with her. Revenge Against Hindley: Returning after years he takes control of Wuthering Heights by getting him into gambling, leaving him shelter less and utterly at his mercy. Hindley dies soon, leaving behind his son Hareton, whom Heathcliff seizes and gives a very bad treatment to him. Soon Heathcliff dies and Hareton becomes free of the miserable life.

CYNICAL CHARACTER Heathcliff is portrayed as a hero who is driven by his desire to avenge. Heathcliff used to be a happy man till he lost Catherine to the good and cultured Edgar Linton. He goes away for three years after which he returns wealthy and dressed as a gentleman. Other characters in the novel compare him to a demon and Heathcliff does his best to ensure that he remains a demon in their eyes. Their fear somewhere seems to give him a sense of win and helps him overcome the frustration born of Catherine’s loss. The hatred for the Lintons’ makes him even cynical. SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER Readers cannot help sympathizing with him for beneath his sinister behaviour they can feel the presence of a romantic hero. His frustration for not finding his love has made him sadistic and evil.

HUMANE CHARACTER Despite his revengeful and cruel character outside, he comes forth as a humane character. Heathcliff was not entirely a monster; he held some humanistic characteristics. Heathcliff shares the same emotions as everyone else. He shouts when he’s angry and cries when he’s in misery. Heathcliff shows his soft spot when he weeps over Catherine. When Lockwood spoke of seeing Catherine, Heathcliff bursts into tears because life after losing her is a living hell. His unswerving love of Catherine never faded away. He wants her ghost to haunt him for the rest of his life, “And I pray one prayer-I repeat it till my tongue stiffens-Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you-haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

PASSIONATE LOVER/TORMENTED LOVER When he hears Catherine talking to Nelly. I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he's handsome, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire. ’ Ere this speech ended, I became sensible of Heathcliff's presence. Having noticed a slight movement, I turned my head, and saw him rise from the bench, and steal out noiselessly. He had listened till he heard Catherine say it would degrade her to marry him, and then he stayed to hear no further. ”Thus, he went through internal conflict due to Catherine’s denial of his love. The realization made him change himself into a better person as his only desire was to attain Catherine without whom he felt incomplete. He cries: Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

THANKYOU ! By: Prof. Sunita Sinha Head, Department of English, Women’s College Samastipur