Wuthering Heights Essays (1316 words) - British Films,

Wuthering Heights In Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights the idea compensation for love lost is discussed. Wuthering Heights is a quiet house in the country where the Earnshaw's and Heathcliff live. Heathcliff loves Catherine Earnshaw very much but, she decides to marry another man, Edgar. Heathcliff marries Edgar's sister just to make Catherine jealous. At the end Heathcliff abandons his plan for vengeance and professes his love for Catherine only to see her die soon after. In the novel Wuthering Heights Bronte shows that revenge is not the key to happiness through irony, through plot, and through characterization. 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 not love each other. Heathcliff thinks that he is with Isabella to get back at Catherine. He sees Isabella as an unsuspecting ?young lady?(91). However, Isabella married Heathcliff for spite. She resents the fact that her Catherine married her brother and wanted to get back at Catherine. Neither Isabella nor Heathcliff find happiness in each others arms, and they both die miserable and unsatisfied with each other. The fact that Edgar wants to get back at Heathcliff after Catherine's death is very ironic. Edgar won. Catherine marries him and not Heathcliff. Edgar is always jealous of Heathcliff. Before Catherine's demise Edgar tells her that, ?It is impossible for you to be my friend and his at the same time? (99). When Catherine does not p. 3 respond to this Edgar goes on to tell her, ?I absolutely require you to choose? (100). When Catherine does die Edgar seeks revenge. He knows that Catherine died of a broken heart torn between Edgar and Heathcliff. Edgar in a ranting rage tells Nelly, ?I'll crush his ribs in like a rotten hazel nut?(158). He seeks vengeance on Heathcliff, but never gets it. A final example of irony is with Heathcliff and Hindly. A few years after Hindly condemns Heathcliff to a life of servitude Heathcliff runs off and makes a living. He comes back a wealthy and proper man. Heathcliff helps Hindly out of debt. However, Hindly owes so much money to Heathcliff that Heathcliff takes Wuthering Heights from Hindly. So, just when Hindly thinks that he got back at Heathcliff for ruining his life Heathcliff takes his revenge and lets Hindly died a poor, miserable old man. 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. The novel takes a turn when Catherine has to decide whether or not to marry Edgar. She knows that she has ?no more business marrying Edgar Linton than I [Catherine] have to be in heaven? (64). Yet Catherine marries Edgar anyway for p. 4 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. 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