Irony is used over and over in the novel Wuthering Heights to express the notion of revenge. The main ironic incident in this novel is that no one ends up with the person they want to be with despite the fact that they can be with the one they love. For example Catherine loves Heathcliff. Catherine and Heathcliff are soul mates, and she even remarks to Nelly that, " I [Catherine] am Heathcliff!" (142). She is angry at Heathcliff for not leaving sooner to make something of himself. Catherine could have had Heathcliff, but she chooses not to and ends up miserable.

Another example of irony is that Heathcliff and Isabella do no

Heathcliff desires Linton and Cathy to be wed. This plan is curtailed by Edgar. Cathy falls in love with Linton and tells Edgar. When Edgar finds out he says, "No one from Wuthering Heights shall come here" (224). Edgar does this for revenge. He does not want Heathcliff or anyone to be happy. At the end he is Edgar is the one who is not happy even though he thought he got the ultimate revenge.

wealth, but more importantly revenge. She wants to get back at Heathcliff for never making something of himself. But at the end Catherine is the one who suffers.

The plot in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights reflects the concept of revenge. Mr. Earnshaw meets a poor boy on one of his trips. Because Mr. Earnshaw is such a "capital fellow"(9) he takes pity on the boy, Heathcliff, and invites him to live with the Earnshaw's. Mr. Earnshaw has an alterior motive for the boy. He wants his children, Hindly and Catherine, to understand what it is like to share their wealth with someone who is less fortunate than themselves. Mr. Earnshaw figured that the children would learn and grow from this experience. The truth is that the children did not. Hindly grows up miserable and resentful of Heathchiff. And Catherine eventually turned her nose up to Heathcliff only to find that she is cheerless without him.

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. London: Orion House, 1973.

The characters are consumed by desire to have revenge on the people who have tormented them. The people in the novel stop at nothing; not realizing the serious affect that they have on themselves and on other characters. At the end revenge--not love-- is what compels the characters in all the key moments in the novel.

Characterization another literary device that Bronte uses in Wuthering Heights that reflects the concept of revenge. Catherine begins her life happily. She is a wild, carefree, and round character. As Catherine ages she becomes more concerned with her looks and her social position. Catherine goes to Thrushcross Grange where she is treated "like a queen"

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