Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights Essay

Who or what does Heathcliff represent in Wuthering Heights? Is he a force of evil or a victim of it and how main(prenominal) is the role of score in the legend, particularly as it relates to Heathcliff and his life?The lesson ambiguity, glamour and degradation that is Heathcliff (same as downstairs) forms the supreme focus for the story Wuthering Heights, head start as Heathcliff is brought into the Earnshaw family, with his evil machinations completely driving the story and his death mug the conclusion of the novel. Throughout Brontes work he is portrayed as a strong figure who remains mysterious, magnetic and charismatic, keeping non-finite subscribers engaged throughout centuries through the desire to understand both Heathcliffs character and his motivations. Tortured, brooding, passionate and dark, Heathcliff is undoubtedly the embodiment of the Byronic hero, i.e. a self-destructive anti-hero who is apart(p) from society, much like Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre or, mor e recently, Edward Cullen from the Twilight series.While his actions throughout the novel are neither likeable, nor condonable, they are driven by passion, an emotion substitutable with a typical literary hero and this, alongside his torturous sock for Cathy, conveys that readers thronenot protagonist scarcely feel empathy for him, bringing them closer to Heathcliff than whatsoever other character in the novel. Wuthering Heights provoked a skillful deal of anxiety when published, most of which was caused by the character of Heathcliff. The Examiner felt up outraged by the mixture of affection and loathing he inspired, and until now Emilys sister, Charlotte felt hard put to justify Heathcliffs pediculosis and was forced onto the defensive. The creation of Heathcliff, she conceded, may not have been advisable. (Cambridge companion to the Brontes, paginate 166)Not solely a Byronic hero, Heathcliff is also seen to be a hair-raising manifestation of subtler fears about self -making gone too far. (Forgery in Nineteenth-Century literature and Culture p. 13) Heathcliff is the epitome of a self-made man, rising from a fast and abused orphan on the streets of Liverpool to a man of property, wealth, success and culture, a man in dress and manners a gentleman that is, as much a gentleman as many a realm squire (Wuthering Heights p.21) a mere twenty five historic period later. This climb to wealth fundamentally embodies the anxieties that upper andmiddle configuration straitlaceds possess regarding the workingclasses. The upper classes were very ambivalent about the people below them socially feeling charitable towards the unhorse-classes, yet weary of the idea that they may escape their circumstances through the acquisition of power, be it political, social, economic or cultural. The role of class in the novel is something of a constant try for Heathcliff, as although he manages to obtain property and in that locationfore wealth, he can neer change his appearance, which implies more socially than his wealth ever can. For regular(a) as Lockwood notes his gentlemanly appearance, he also recognises Heathcliff as a coloured gipsy in aspect (Wuthering Heights p.21), showing how his ethnic place setting presents an unusual contrast to his master of the house image, and how he can neer truly escape his social standing. This social standing has an enormous outlet on the character of Heathcliff and his life as the novel progresses.Rescued from the streets of Liverpool, Heathcliff enters the Earnshaw home a poor orphan, which automatically deems him to be on a lower level than any other character. He is immediately characterised as a villain, imp of Satan, with a language of gibberish (Wuthering Heights) and is cruelly referred to as it by Catherines father, seen as an object rather than a person. This poor treatment is not much of an improvement on his voiceless childhood and it is clear to see that he becomes a product of this conk out and abuse. Racially different, Heathcliff can and will never be accepted by his adoptive family, something which is highlighted to readers through the fact that he is never given the Earnshaw family name.Nelly uses an raise choice of lyric poem to describe how the occupants of Wuthering Heights felt about Heathcliffs arrival, saying from the very beginning, he bred bad feeling in the house. (Wuthering senior high ch. 4) These words are evocative as there is much guessing surrounding Heathcliffs heritage. Coming from Liverpool, a town with high rank of immigrants, and with his dark looks, Heathcliff is likely of mixed race, with some critics suggesting that he is black, or, like Patrick Bronte, descended from Irish immigrants, either of which would lower his social standing even further.The theme of class is further intertwined in the plot as Heathcliffs lowclass ranking is one of the sole rationalnesss that Catherine prefers to bind Edgar rather than to be with him , disrespect the fact that while her feelings towards Edgar fluctuate, she loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person. She finds Edgar freehanded and pleasant to be with (Wuthering Heights), yet these are merely superficialities Catherine truly marries Edgar because he is a part of the right social class, possessing the ability to provide financial security for her. She hascl proterozoic considered the prospect of attaching Heathcliff as she not only tells Nelly that if Heathcliff and she were to marry we should be beggars (Wuthering Heights) but also reveals plans to use Edgars money to help Heathcliff rise in the class system.After Heathcliff returns, Catherine cannot contain her happiness, forcing Edgar to ask her to choose between Heathcliff and him. She refuses to honour that request, later blaming both men for breaking her join as she could not choose between her love for Heathcliff and the life that Edgar could commotion her. Marrying Edgar g uaranteed Catherine a high social standing. Overall, Heathcliffs role in the Victorian class hierarchy plays an integral role in major events of his life. It is the reason he is abused by the master of the house, the reason that Catherine chooses Edgar over him, leading(a) him to seek strike back and to make something of himself, but, above all, it is the reason he acts so despicably in the latter half of the novel, encouraging Isabellas crush and acting aggressively. None of these events would have taken place if Heathcliff was of a higher social class, as he would have simply been able to marry Catherine.Throughout the text, Heathcliff is repeatedly referred to as being evil in reputation an unmannerly wretch (wuthering heights), with his own wife even asking if he is mad or a devil. Most of the characters assume that individuals are born(p) good or evil, with people having little control over their personalities or actions. However, is Heathcliff truly a force of evil or me rely a victim of it? Is it possible that he could represent both? It is undeniable that Heathcliff is a product of his upbringing. He was neglected, which in turn made him neglectful. He was abused, and so became abusive. He was segregated from the other characters, and so he cast every(prenominal)one deflexion fromhimself. He was treated unfairly throughout his upbringing, making him lashing and fretful in later life.Heathcliff is the utmost paradigm of a victim saturnine perpetrator, and often falls back on emphasis as a means to express his feelings of both love and hatred. His anger is due to the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley and Catherine, tying it to the revenge which he so turbulently seeks. Despite this, Heathcliff also undertakes dishonourable, cruel acts against those who have done no deadening to him in the past, demonstrating a side of him which shows that he is not solely a victim of evil, but also possesses a dark streak. The be st guinea pig of this is the hanging of Isabella Lintons dog, when Heathcliff saysThe first thing she saw me do, on attack out of the Grange, was to hang up her little dog and when she pleaded for it, the first words I uttered were a wish that I had the hanging of every being belonging to her, except one possibly she took that exception for herself. (WH chapter 12) at long last though, Heathcliffs violence and darkness stems from bearing a chip on his shoulder and hanging onto the complexes gained from his past. He may possess a mean streak, however this has ultimately come as a consequence of his early life. Therefore, he is not a force of evil as such, as he had reason for the majority of his actions. No matter how violent or despicable Heathcliff may be by times, he cannot help but remain likeable, due in part to his love of Catherine. His love for her is violent in the sense that it is extremely passionate, but it stirs a brutal defensiveness Heathcliff would never do anything to harm Catherine. Towards the end of the novel, he confesses to Nelly that he no daylong has any interest in violence. This is not so much because he has sated his appetite for it, but rather he has gone past the hold to inflict suffering onto others as a form of vengeance, proving that cruelty was never truly an inbuilt feature of his character.The real discomfort created by the novel when published was not so much that Heathcliff is atrocious, but that he is not, later on all, entirely despicable. (cambridge 167) The novel consistently gives the impression that there is more to Heathcliffs actions than meets the eye, for example,his cruelty is seen as merely an expression of his frustrated love for Catherine, or his sinister behaviour conceals the heart of a romantic hero. His character is anticipate to have a hidden virtue as he resembles a romantic hero, partly due to his overt masculinity, although this is taken to extremes of aggressiveness by times. Traditionally, heroe s of romanticism appear dangerous, brooding and cold only to later issue as loving and devoted.While Heathcliff does not reform as expected, there is no need for him to do so, as he remains permanently devoted and passionate about Catherine, although unable to clearly portray these emotions. certain malevolence proves difficult to explain, as it cannot be deemed a form of revenge against people who have previously wronged him. As he himself points out, his abuse of Isabella is purely for his sadistic amusement, seeing how much she will endure while soothe returning. Critic Joyce Carol Oates argues that Bront does to the reader that which Heathcliff does to Isabella, testing to see how much the reader can be shocked by Heathcliffs gratuitous violence and still,masochistically, insist on seeing him as a romantic hero. Oates has a valid point, as, for all his flaws and sadistic actions, one cannot hate, or even abhor the character of Heathcliff, seeing him solely as a wounded ins tinct who tries to get back at those who previously hurt him, making him the ultimate Byronic hero of Nineteenth Century literature.