When Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights after several years, his frustration leads him to exact revenge on Hindley Earnshaw. Heathcliff blames Hindley for Cathy not returning his love and becoming married to Edgar. Hindley reduced Heathcliff to such a status that it would ruin Cathy to marry him. Heathcliff's villainy is shown when he returns the favour to Hindley, reducing him and his son Hareton to servant class. This is apparent when Heathcliff is talking to Nellie about his joy in degrading Hareton, he says,
I've pleasure in him!...He has satisfied my expectations - if he were born a fool
I should not enjoy it half so much - But he's no fool; and I can sympathise with
all his feelings, having felt them myself - I know what he suffers now, for instance exactly - it is merely a beginning of what he shall suffer though. And he'll never
be able to emerge from his bathos of coarseness, and ignorance. I've got him
faster than his scoundral of a father secured me, and lower; for he takes a pride
in his brutishness. (252-253)
This is also shown when Heathcliff accidentally saves Hareton from certain death. This is apparent when Nellie says, "A miser who has parted with a lucky lottery ticket for five shillings, and finds next day he has lost in the bargain five thousand pounds, could not show a blanker countance than he did on beholding the figure of Earnshaw above - It expresses...the intense anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge."(Bronte, 115) These quotes clearly show Heathcliff's villainy through his actions towards the Earnshaws. Heathcliff is also shown as the villain by his vengeful actions against the Lintons.
Cathy married Edgar Linton for his status and wealth, betraying her love for Heathcliff. Heathcliff is so frustrated that Cathy married Linton that he seeks to destroy the entire Linton family. Heathcliff achieves this by marrying Isabella Linton. Isabella believes that Heathcliff is a kind decent man; however, soon after she marries him, he becomes abusive. Heathcliff's true intentions of revenge are shown when Cathy says, "Pray, don't imagine that he conceals depths of benevolence and affection beneath a stern exterior! He's not a rough diamond - a pearl-containing oyster of a rustic; he's a fierce, pitiless, wolfish man...I know he couldn't love a Linton; and yet, he'd be quite capable of marrying your fortune..."(142) This is also shown in a letter from Isabella to Nellie in which she says,
...he is ingenious and unresting in seeking to gain my abhorrence!...I assure you,
a tiger, or a venomous serpent could not rouse terror in me equal to that which he awakens. He told me of Catherine's illness, and accused my brother of causing it, promising that I should be Edgar's proxy in suffering, till he could get a hold of him.(181)
Heathcliff's villainy is also shown when he has a son, named Linton. Heathcliff has his son married to Edgar and Cathy's daughter, Catherine. He has Linton pretend to love Catherine so that she will marry, but soon turns his son against her, having Linton leave all the inheritance of the Linton family fortune to Heathcliff, finally exacting his revenge on the Linton family. Heathcliff as the villain is finally shown in his actions against Cathy herself.
Heathcliff's whole evil nature stems from his frustration that Cathy betrayed her heart and his when she married Edgar Linton. Heathcliff is so angry he condemns her soul when she dies, hoping that she may never rest in peace, that her spirit will always wander the earth, anything just so long as she does not leave him again. This is shown when Heathcliff says,
May she wake in torment!...Why, she's a liar to the end! Where is she? Not
there - not in heaven - not perished - where? ...And I pray one prayer...Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest, as long as I am living!...Be with me always - take any
form - drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!" (204)
This quote shows Heathcliff's love for Cathy; his love is strong enough to cause him to curse her soul rather than go without her. His villainy is also shown when he talks to Cathy when she is sick. He condemns her for breaking both his heart and hers. This is apparent when Heathcliff says, "Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy? I have not one word of comfort - you deserve this. You have killed yourself...They'll blight you - they'll damn you. You loved me - then what right did you to leave me?...I have not broken your heart - you have broken it - and in breaking it, you have broken mine." (197) This quote shows Heathcliff's anger, and his blaming of Cathy for his becoming a villain. Heathcliff as the villain is shown through his actions towards people.
In the novel, Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is a villain. He is a villain because of his unrequited love for Cathy. His villainy is shown though his actions towards the Earnshaws, a famliy that degraded him, the Lintons, the people he believes stole Cathy away from him, and Cathy herself, the woman he feels betrayed her heart and his love. Heathcliff felt that he did not have Cathy's love, when all the time he truly owned her heart. Without love being returned jealousy and anger could make villains of all.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
I feel sorrowful about my husband but I know he is gratified about what I did.…
- 260 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Earnshaw, went from his fields, Wuthering Heights, to Liverpool for a business trip where he finds a young boy who was abandoned on the streets. Mr. Earnshaw takes him home with him to join his family. He names the boy Heathcliff after his own son who passed away. Heathcliff then meets Catherine and Hindley, the daughter and son of Earnshaw. He becomes close friends with Catherine, however Hindley doesn’t take a liking to him because he felt liked he was being replaced. After Earnshaw’s wife passed away, he sent Hindley away to college to become more worthy and to put less stress on the household. Soon, Earnshaw’s health was declining and after he passed away, Hindley returned home married to a young woman. He became true heir of their household and used his powers to reduce Heathcliff to a servant of the house. However, Catherine and Heathcliff continued their relationship and didn’t care about punishments. One day, they ran to Thrushcross Grange where they met the Lintons. They also had a son and a daughter, Edgar and Isabella who were polar opposites of Heathcliff and Catherine. The Lintons welcomed Catherine, but rejected Heathcliff making him feel like an outsider again. Heathcliff starts to think of revenge after and is soon filled with jealousy after seeing Catherine spending more time with Edgar. He then runs away from Wuthering Heights after overhearing Catherine telling Ellen she can never marry…
- 525 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë is a forbidden love story that has a loveless controversial marriage and a "love after death" scenario. Brontë shows emotions in her novel that force characters to do things that are not a "traditional" behavior for a person. Although the main theme throughout "Wuthering Heights" is love, it is equally based on revenge. Examples of that revenge are mainly between the characters Heathcliff and Hindley. For example, when Hindley decided to make Heathcliff's life a living hell it caused Heathcliff to plan revenge on Hindley. Additionally, when Hindley became so fed up, he wanted to murder Heathcliff and also wanted his soul and blood.…
- 619 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
"Do you think, Victor," said he, "that I do not suffer also? No one could love a child more than I loved your brother" (tears came into his eyes as he spoke); "but is it not a duty to the survivors, that we should refrain from augmenting their unhappiness by an appearance of immoderate grief? It is also a duty owed to yourself; for excessive sorrow prevents improvement or enjoyment, or even the discharge of daily usefulness, without which no man is fit for society." (78)…
- 921 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Be it real or fiction, relationships are volatile cocktails of love, lust, honesty and secrets. There are the healthy ones that benefit both parties and protect them both from constant harm. In Wuthering Heights and Twilight we see examples of unhealthy relationships. These relationships always include more than the two people involved, are complicated and the people involved seem almost eager to hurt themselves and each other. Catherine and Heathcliff are the ultimate anti-love story. They are two people cut from the same cloth, both cruel, masochistic beings that enjoy inflicting pain upon themselves and others. Though Catherine says she is completed by Heathcliff, she marries Edgar Linton. Edgar is not much better than either Catherine or Heathcliff. He is solely devoted to his wife who is in…
- 1591 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In the story “Wuthering Heights”, almost all of the characters were seeking for justice in their own way. However, the character who stood out most was Heathcliff. He was treated horribly for ages and came looking for revenge/justice to Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff was most hated by Hindley throughout his entire childhood and even some adulthood. Although the majority of Heathcliff’s hatred went to Hindley, Heathcliff still developed hatred towards Edgar for having Catherine choose him over himself.…
- 356 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Lockwood gets a bad introduction to Wuthering Heights when Gnasher –Heathcliff’s dog- attacks him. Heathcliff himself doesn’t get a great introduction to Wuthering Heights, firstly Cathy spat in his face and Hindley constantly hit him and insulted him calling him a “vagabond” and a “gypsy” on several occasions. A prime example of violence upon Heathcliff is in chapter four Heathcliff threatens to tell on Hindley for hitting him -“if I speak of these blows, you will get them again with interest”-so Hindley hits him again. It almost seems as if Heathcliff wants Hindley to hit him so that he has something to hold over him. This is a great example of rising action as this harassment leads to his craving for revenge for the rest of the novel. As with relationships in Wuthering Heights violence and desire go hand in hand. Cathy hits Edgar in chapter eight but he is so besotted with her that he ignores the incident thus refusing to heed the warnings of her troubled behaviour and instead he proposes to her. His desire makes him similar to Heathcliff who has a masochistic attraction to drama – which is the reason he married Isabella to cause friction between the two Lintons and to make Cathy jealous of…
- 1064 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
In Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights she depicts the balance of good and evil and does this so through her characters and their relationships with one another. Emily accomplishes this through her multitude of biblical allusions that depict the disolant road that older Catherine trots down, while Heathcliff and Edgar bash skulls for the hand of Catherine more than once. Each of these complex relationships take place with different intentions. One has selfish intentions while the other has pure hearted intentions. This creates a veil of anticipation for each of the characters that is constantly strained and only creates more turmoil within the Wuthering Heights community. Thus love for the wong reasons ulitmatly end up…
- 1361 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
“He'll love and hate, equally under cover, and esteem it a species of impertinence to be loved and hated again...” (Brontë, 2). This quote describes the actions taken by Heathcliff throughout the novel, while he undergoes a transformation from a true and romantic lover to a cruel and uncaring hater. Although he may appear to be selfless and simply a man deeply in love, his actions involving jealousy, hatred, abuse, and vengeance cause him to breakdown and alter his love for Catherine into a burning and passionate vengeance against all who have got in the way of his love for her. In Emily Brontë's novel, Wuthering Heights, she uses her character Heathcliff to show what occurs when true love is transformed and warped into nothing but obsession and pure lust.…
- 2590 Words
- 11 Pages
Powerful Essays -
"I have no great devotion to the deed, and yet he has given me a satisfying reasons" (happy…
- 381 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
In the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Heathcliff is haunted by his past of childhood mistreatment and grows up with a mentality seeking revenge to those he believes took so much from him. His inability to let go of his past abuse, affects not only himself but the people around him.…
- 530 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The main characters of Wuthering Heights are Heathcliff, a gypsy-like man brought to Wuthering Heights as a child and eventually ends up owning it; Catherine Earnshaw, a woman Heathcliff falls in love with but eventually dies in childbirth; Edgar Linton, Heathcliff’s archenemy who marries Catherine; and Ellen Dean, a.k.a. Nelly, who is the narrator of the story. The overall conflict of the story is that Heathcliff has always loved Catherine, who also loves him, but never end up together because Catherine marries Edgar Linton instead to raise her status and wealth, and then dies soon after she confesses her love for Heathcliff. The conflict is resolved when Heathcliff dies and is buried next to Catherine, and each other’s spirits are together for all of eternity (Wuthering Heights). One theme in Wuthering Heights are the clash of elemental forces because the universe is made up of two opposite forces, storm and calm. Wuthering Heights and the Earnshaws express the storm and Thrushcross Grange and the Lintons represent the calm. Catherine and Heathcliff are elemental creatures of the storm.…
- 881 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
"And let me know that he thought I had much more labour upon me on his…
- 564 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
“some half-drunken fool that think he’s making himself agreeable when he’s teasing and worrying and disgusting a woman so that hardly any money could pay her for putting up with it”…
- 1388 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Pain, I have realized, is beautiful only when one can rise from its depressing power. I have known the people who have become bitter and cynical under the lash of sorrow, and I have known some who have never recovered from anguish. My experience is important only so far as it may help others towards growth: it is worthless to me if it implies vanity.…
- 2023 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays