Wuthering Heights Relationships
Since the dawn of human thought, man has sought to define the relationships between all things surrounding him. He categorizes every living creature, labels every natural element and names every phenomenon. He then connects each object to another with a line and draws the line back to himself. This way, he feels omnipotent, confidently grasping the 'essence' of his world in his hands. Such behavior seems to have peaked in the nineteenth century when many intellectuals around the world were pre-occupied with defining the relationships between man and the society, man and God, man and nature, and man and man. The preservation of order intrigued them and the concept of entropy frightened them. Many of the writers from the nineteenth century were also captivated by these relationships and Emily Brontė was no exception. Although Brontė's Wuthering Heights is best known as a tale of tragic love, it is also a very provocative study of relationships, especially those between social classes. Brontė creates a microcosm of the upper-class English society in Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. It is a relatively controlled environment until Brontė allows 'factors' from the outside world (and different social
classes) to seep into the society. Immediately, the balance of the two families is disturbed and when the pillars of support (the parents) disappear, the entire society is thrust into complete turmoil. From this premise, Brontė begins to highlight contrasting, paradoxical and complimenting relationships between the characters. These pairs are formed and/or destroyed by the interjection of influence from the 'outside.' Wuthering Heights is an incredibly poignant suggestion of the dangers of disrupting equilibrium and in the story, serenity is only returned when the disturbing factors are destroyed and nature is allowed to run its course again. Throughout Wuthering Heights, evil continually triumphs over goodness. The struggle between good and evil, heaven and hell is constantly present in Brontė's world. This begins with Heathcliff's arrival at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff possesses the dark features and personality commonly associated with hell or the devil. Devils are thought of as cunning and very deceitful creatures, tempting the weak to their own destruction, (Catherine, Isabella, young Linton). They bring to mind fear of evil and power; "If Hareton does not turn you out of the room, I'll strike him to hell" (pg. 259). Heathcliff appears, upon his arrival and throughout the first half of the book, to have purely evil intentions in many of his actions. With further inspection, however, one can argue that he, Catherine and Hindley all inflict on others only the pain that they each have suffered themselves. These three characters appear to have more of a struggle within themselves than with the other characters. There is immediate animosity towards Heathcliff in the Earnshaw family when Mr. Earnshaw brings him home from Liverpool and it is obvious that Wuthering Heights has been thrown into turmoil. However, Brontė holds off Heathcliff's introduction to Thrushcross Grange so as to capture a comparative picture of the two families immediately after outside interjection. At the point, the inhabitants Thrushcross Grange (the Lintons) are described as light-skinned, fair featured (almost angelic) people. Their personalities contradict those of the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights; the Lintons have a much more timid and forgiving nature. It almost seems as if Brontė is suggesting that they are the unsuspecting goodness that is
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1583
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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