WUTHERING HEIGHTS
Revenge. A. Towey.
Human degradation is a theme in the novel, and it is from this degradation that the impulse for revenge springs
Heathcliff’s revenge on Hindley is the result of his humiliation and degradation at his hands. Nelly says: “It was enough to make a fiend of a saint”. Even Nelly herself joins in the persecution, leaving the infant Heathcliff on the landing, hoping he would be gone in the morning.
Only old Earnshaw shows the child Heathcliff love, calling him “a poor fatherless child”.
Heathcliff bears Hindley’s blows patiently, biding his time. He is further humiliated by the well-bred Lintons and is banished from their house: “I am trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I wait. I hope he will not die before I do. I’ll plan it out. While I’m thinking of that, I don’t feel pain”
The “new” Heathcliff, who returns in Chapter Ten, is well placed to carry out his plans. Not content with destroying his tormentor, Hindley, he wants to punish his descendents also. Thus, Hareton becomes a victim---a second Heathcliff, hardened, brutalised, deprived of education, robbed of his inheritance as the rightful heir to the Heights. Heathcliff delights in this “Let’s see if one tree won’t grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it.” But Hareton’s brutalised exterior hides a gentle and kind nature. His loving nature never completely dies, and he never stops loving Heathcliff.
With his marriage to Isabella, Heathcliff’s revenge on the Linton’s is complete. His violent treatment of her shows his character in a new and shocking light.
Heathcliff becomes isolated in his revenge---after the death of Catherine it becomes his sole obsession. Young Cathy reminds him of his awful fate: ”You have nobody to love you. You are lonely like the devil, and envious, like him. Nobody will cry for you when you die.
Who will break this vicious circle? It is left to the angel of mercy, Cathy, and the fundamentally good Hareton, to lay the evil to rest. They are redemptive characters in the novel, sowing the seeds of love, hope and new life in the barren, harsh terrain of the Heights. Lockwood notices the flowers that Cathy has planted, which symbolise renewal and rebirth. The love and goodness of Cathy and Hareton prove stronger than Heathcliff’s hatred.
As they grow older their combined love for each other is too strong for Heathcliff’s cruelty.: When Heathcliff threatens Cathy in one of his fits of violence “Damnable witch! I’ll kill her, Ellen Dean, if you let her come into my sight again”
she retorts: “If you strike me, Hareton will strike you…he’ll not obey you, wicked man, any more”
Human degradation is a theme in the novel, and it is from this degradation that the impulse for revenge springs
Heathcliff’s revenge on Hindley is the result of his humiliation and degradation at his hands. Nelly says: “It was enough to make a fiend of a saint”. Even Nelly herself joins in the persecution, leaving the infant Heathcliff on the landing, hoping he would be gone in the morning.
Only old Earnshaw shows the child Heathcliff love, calling him “a poor fatherless child”.
Heathcliff bears Hindley’s blows patiently, biding his time. He is further humiliated by the well-bred Lintons and is banished from their house: “I am trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I wait. I hope he will not die before I do. I’ll plan it out. While I’m thinking of that, I don’t feel pain”
The “new” Heathcliff, who returns in Chapter Ten, is well placed to carry out his plans. Not content with destroying his tormentor, Hindley, he wants to punish his descendents also. Thus, Hareton becomes a victim---a second Heathcliff, hardened, brutalised, deprived of education, robbed of his inheritance as the rightful heir to the Heights. Heathcliff delights in this “Let’s see if one tree won’t grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it.” But Hareton’s brutalised exterior hides a gentle and kind nature. His loving nature never completely dies, and he never stops loving Heathcliff.
With his marriage to Isabella, Heathcliff’s revenge on the Linton’s is complete. His violent treatment of her shows his character in a new and shocking light.
Heathcliff becomes isolated in his revenge---after the death of Catherine it becomes his sole obsession. Young Cathy reminds him of his awful fate: ”You have nobody to love you. You are lonely like the devil, and envious, like him. Nobody will cry for you when you die.
Who will break this vicious circle? It is left to the angel of mercy, Cathy, and the fundamentally good Hareton, to lay the evil to rest. They are redemptive characters in the novel, sowing the seeds of love, hope and new life in the barren, harsh terrain of the Heights. Lockwood notices the flowers that Cathy has planted, which symbolise renewal and rebirth. The love and goodness of Cathy and Hareton prove stronger than Heathcliff’s hatred.
As they grow older their combined love for each other is too strong for Heathcliff’s cruelty.: When Heathcliff threatens Cathy in one of his fits of violence “Damnable witch! I’ll kill her, Ellen Dean, if you let her come into my sight again”
she retorts: “If you strike me, Hareton will strike you…he’ll not obey you, wicked man, any more”