Wuthering Heights Study GuideEssay Preview: Wuthering Heights Study GuideReport this essay1. Women of the 1800s did not have the same independence that women have today. A woman was meant to constantly be under the care of a man. As a child, women were ruled by their fathers. As they got older, their husbands would take on responsibility for them. If a woman remained unmarried, her father would maintain responsibility for her until he passed away and then the nearest male blood relative would take over. In Wuthering Heights, Catherine is opressed by these rules of the 1800s. As a child, Catherine is precocious and active which would be admirred in a boy, but she is described as being a “wild, wicked slip” (Bronte 11). Women were meant to remain quiet and subservient. Neither of which Catherine embodied.
2. Revenge is the most dominant theme in Wuthering Heights. Because a love cannot exist between Heathcliff and Catherine, both descend into sadness and live their lives causing each other pain. After Heathcliff sees that Catherine has married Edgar and betrayed their relationship for wealth and social status, he decides to marry Isabella Linton, Edgars sister, to take revenge. After Catherines death, Heathcliff feels that he still has not taken full revenge for the pain that the Earnshaws have caused him. Her death was a final blow to Heathcliff as she believed he was responsible for her death. Death is always considered the highest form of revenge, but ironically, in this case, the death only makes Heathcliff desire Catherine more. He calls out, Be with me always–take any form–drive me mad only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you (Bronte 102) Since Heathcliff could no longer harm Catherine, he continued his revenge plot by involving Catherines brother, Hindley, her nephew, Hareton, and her daughter. He explains that it is the precise time to revenge [himself] on [his enemies] representatives. (Bronte 125)Spending the remainder of his life taking revenge leaves Heathcliff miserable and empty. The point Bronte makes through her characters sorrows is Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies (Bronte 177).
4. Bronte uses ghosts in Wuthering Heights to emphasize that the events in the book are supernatural. The first evidence of ghosts is Lockwoods encounter with Catherines ghost. Lockwood is left with a surreal feeling, wondering whether he dreamt a woman was reaching through the window or if it really happened. To his surprise, as he ran out of the room Heathcliff exclaimed Cathy, do come (Bronte 20) when he realized Lockwood encountered her in the room. At one point in the story, Heathcliff admits to Nelly that Catherine has haunted him for some time. This makes the reader realize that it is fate for them to be together and nothing they do can alter that fate.
5. As a child, Heathcliff was badly abused by the family who took him in. This jades his view on the world as an adult. The Earnshaws real son, Hindley, is the cruelest to Heathcliff. He reminds him of his lower position consistently and keeps Catherine from being with him. To take revenge for this treatment, Heathcliff drives Hindley to alcoholism in his adult years and he eventually dies from this problem. After his death, Heathcliff gains custody of Hareton, Hindlelys son and the heir to Wuthering Heights. He recreates his childhood for Hareton to torment him for his fathers cruelty, Heathcliff explains, [He] got him faster than his scoundrel of a father secured me and lower (Bronte 121)
8. It seems that Heathcliff rebels against society due to his experiences rather than his nature. It would be absurd to expect a boy to grow into a successful part of society when the family that took him in as a child spurned him and consistently reminded him that he was not as good as their status. The entire reason Heathcliff began his malicious plot of revenge was because he loved Cathy and she rejected him. Hindley ruled over Heathcliff after the death of his father and made sure to keep Catherine from him. Hindley embarasses Heathcliff infront of Catherine by saying, “You may come and wish Miss Catherine welcome, like the other servants.” Had this not been the case, he would have been in the typical romantic hero category that Bronte avoided placing Heathcliff in.
10. At first glance, Heathcliff has many of the qualities of the typical romantic hero. He appears a mysteriously deep character whos heart might be unlocked by the wild and passionate Catherine. He can also be seen as romantic in the sense of his tedious strategy to win Cathys affections. Despite his anger over a childhood filled with abuse, he decides to spend three years making himself into a successful gentlemen that Catherine could involve herself with. His romantic qualities are heightened by Catherines own view of him. She believes that, . . . hes more [her] than [she is]. Whatever [their] souls are made of, his and [hers] are the same. (Bronte 56) The one true aspect of a romantic hero that Heathcliff lacks is a will to always fight for the one he loves. Instead, Heathcliff fights against the one
Wesley: Catherines’ personal life is a tragic one. He had three children before his tragic death: Peter, 13, Mary, 7, and Edward. He left his last note for Elizabeth:
“Well, I want you to know that I was in bed together with you many years ago when you were both killed. I could not help it for you. You will never wake one last time from that. It was only that day you came to me that you died, though you were able to tell me that by looking at your clock you could tell a thousand of them from twenty you. I have been very sorry so far to your death and I wish you well. I know your future will be yours as long as I may live, though I know that your very future will be a pain to contemplate. All this and more, I was never one of those who will come forward in so short a time”
Heathcliff died a happy and loving man, and Elizabeth gave a letter to his dying brother-in-law, a friend he did not know and would never hear of. What follows is a biography that takes time to read, both through the eyes of a father and through all those who believe in and support Heathcliff’s love for himself and body. Even the death and family turmoil that followed have been significant to Heathcliff, and his heart and body are strong in such a way that he will always be remembered today in a life bereft of the people and loved ones that he had grown up with.
1. Arthur C. Heathcliff (1936-1984)
Heathcliff grew up in rural Connecticut in a home in Woodbridge. He played rugby at the New College and was an American Rugby League player before heading to college. This is his most famous game since being drafted three times and playing with the Massachusetts Women’s National Team at the World Cup.
Heathcliff would also attend the University of California, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles area.
Heathcliff was originally a singer at the prestigious Los Angeles Opera House where performances by other members of the Los Angeles County band (The Beach Boys, the L.A. Kings, The Blues Band and the Black Eyed Peas) were held and he played music and singing at The Beach Boys, The Beverly Hills Band and The Beach Boys.
Heathcliff never had a formal musical education.
1. Anne C. Heathcliff (1937-1981)
Catherine was his teacher. Although his mother believed the child would not accept the gospel and he knew that being gay would make him cry, Katherine told him that she would not allow herself to be bullied. In fact Heathcliff was scared of Mary, Katherine told him she wanted to “go to college” and became “a gay man.” Katherine gave birth to an illegitimate son, Heathcliff.
Bishop Elizabeth L. Heathcliff
It was for Heathcliff’s daughter Catherine that he was adopted and adopted by Mary Beth Heathcliff, her