Wuthering Heights By BronteI would like to analyze the conflicts that Heathcliff faced throughout the novelWuthering Heights. Heithcliff’s character was very complex. He lived atroubled childhood that is never completely revealed to the reader. All we knowis that he was abandoned at a young age and when Mr. Earnshaw discovered him, hewas sickly looking.
Heathclfidd was then brought to live in this brand newsociety at Wuthering Heights. Hindly, Mr. Earnshaw’s son, was jealous ofHeathcliff from the start because he felt that his father loved Heathcliff morethan himself. Hindly’s hatred for Heathcliff was worsened once he realizedthat he and Cathy had fallen in love. To protect his sister, he slowly turnedHeathcliff into a vagabond. This ultimatly forced her to seek love elsewhere.
When Heathcliff overheard that Cathy was to be married to another man, Edgar, heran away from Wuthering Heights. After fleeing Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff wasforced to start a new life and obviously succeeded at this because during thistime he became very wealthy. Upon returning he confessed to Cathy that he neverstopped loving her. When Cathy didn’t reciprocate his feelings, Heathcliffbecame enraged and to spite Cathy, he married her sister in law, Isabelle. Atthis point Cathy and her husband Edgar were expecting a baby.
Heathcliff’smarriage sent her into a deep depression. She fell very ill and soon aftergiving birth to her daughter, Cathrine , she died. Berfore she died though, sheconfessed to Heathcliff her true love for him. After Cathy’s death, Heathcliffnow became a scornful person, full of hatred.
He wanted in the worst way to getrevenge on Edgar Linton for stealing Cathy from him. He spent years and yearsthinking up a valid plan that would drive Edgar to his deathbed. His plan usesCathrine’s cousin, Linton, to lure her to Wuthering Heights against herfather’s will. When she arrives, Heathcliff’s new revengeful side is nowrevealed.
He locks Cathrine up in the house and forces her to marry Linton. Whenshe is finally free to visit her father, Heathcliff’s wish is now granted. Herfather, Edgar, lies on a deathbed, and dies shortly after Cathrine’s return. Now Edgar’s fortune belongs to Linton who as according to Heathcliff’s plandies soon after their marriage.
Edgar’s fortune is now passed on from Lintonto Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s life persists accordingly for a while until Mr. Lockwood, a new tenant at Wuthering Heights, ariives. He stays in Cathy’s oldroom against Heathcliff’s orders and during the night gets a visit from herghost which he immidiatly reports to Heathcliff.
This encounter makes Heathcliffrealize that Cathy is waiting for him in heavon. Now that he had seen Edgar dieand had stolen his fortune from him, he was ready to join Cathy. From this pointon he welcomes death and yearns for his and Cathy’s reunion. Heathcliff’sdeath comes abruptly and the only person to mourn his death is Hareton, hisnephew. Heathcliff lived most of his life as a victim, but I think that all ofhis hardships turned him into a stronger person. Unfortunatly, he not onlybecame hard, but lost all the tenderness in his heart.
Over time, he enjoyedseeing people endure pain as he himself was forced to do so many times in hispast. The ultimate thing that brought Heathcliff to peace was to die and enterheavon where his beloved Cathy was. Now that they are both in heavon it seems asif Heathcliff’s wishes have come true because at the end of the novel, someonecomments on seeing Heathcliff’s ghost with a woman. That woman is presumablyCathy.
Their love was obviously an undying love because even in death they founda way to be together.
