wuthering heights
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is the captivating tale of two families and the complex relationships that develop bewteen them. The narrator, Mr. Lockwood, relates the story as told to him by Ellen Dean, the housekeeper for both families. Ellen's recount of the dramatic evolution of the Lintons and Earnshaws gives the reader insight into Bronte's use of inheritance and heredity as the means to shed light on the thematic significance of doubling that is seen throughout the novel. The notion of the double is evident in the story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in relation to that of Cathy Linton and Hareton Earnshaw, but more importantly, it is seen within Catherine and Heathcliff as individuals. Bronte replicates characters through the generations of Lintons and Earnshaws in an attempt to imortalize Catherine and Heathcliff's unrequited love. In Wuthering Heights the story of Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff is repeated through Cathy Linton and Hareton Earnshaw. In order to fully understand this parallel, it is necessary to discuss the circumstances leading up to the union of Cathy and Hareton, namely, Heathcliff's interference with the natural lineages of both families. For example, Mr. Earnshaw came to regard Heathcliff higher than his own biological children. As Ellen recalls, " He took to Heathcliff strangely,believing all he said...and petting him up far above Cathy, who was too mischivious and wayward for a favourite" (p.30;Ch.IV). The fact that Heathcliff was named after a "son who died in childhood", shows Mr. Earnshaw's willingness to embrace Heathcliff as a member of the family. Catherine emulates this accepting nature of her father and she and Heathcliff become " very thick" (p.30;Ch.IV). Hindley on the other hand views Heathcliff as a threat to what is rightfully his and resents the fact that his father should prefer an orphan to his own flesh and blood. As Ellen reflects, " So, from the very beginning he [Hindley] bred bad feeling in the house... and at Mr. Earnshaw's death...thr young master had learnt to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a friend, and Heathcliff as a usurper of his parent's affections and his privileges, and he grew bitter with brooding over these injuries" (pp.30-31;Ch.IV). Following Mr. Earnshaw's death, Hindley exacts his revenge on Heathcliff by rejecting him as a legitimate member of the family and reducing him to a mere servant. " Heathcliff bore his degradation weel at first, because Cathy taught hin what she learnt, and worked or played with him in the fields" (p.36;Ch.VI).