Catherine Earnshaw
Catherine Earnshaw is the daughter of Mr. Earnshaw and his wife; Catherine falls powerfully in love with Heathcliff, the orphan Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool. She was born at Wuthering Heights and was raised with her brother Hindley. Catherine loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person but does not marry him because Hindley has degraded him after their father's death so her desire for social advancement motivates her to marry Edgar Linton instead, a neighbour from Thrushcross Grange and he is handsome and rich, another reason for Catherine marrying him. She is quite passionate about Heathcliff though, and does not want to give him up. She becomes ill when Heathcliff and Edgar fight, and dies in childbirth.
Catherine is free-spirited, wild, impetuous, and arrogant as a child, she grows up getting everything she wants as Nelly describes in chapter 5, ‘A wild, wicked slip she was’. She is given to fits of temper, and she is torn between her wild passion for Heathcliff and her social ambition. She brings misery to both of the men who love her, ultimately; Catherine’s selfishness ends up hurting everyone she loves, including herself.
As a child Cathy was wild and headstrong and her determination enables her to get everything that she wants. Although she only loves Heathcliff, she has a choice between him and Edgar Linton, as he too loves her. She chooses Edgar because of his status, but ends u...
Catherine manipulates,her own self even. Who does she really love,and want to be with? “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.” Cathy is also referring to herself as Heathcliff,basically stating that she knows him and loves him as well as she does herself. Catherine may have been in love with Linton but she feels like that's going to change. Her love for Heathcliff maybe too strong and she does want to be with Linton. He has only manipulated herself. Yes, as such wondrous creatures, women even manipulate themselves
Which drew Catherine towards him; she describes him as “handsome”, “pleasant to be with,” and “cheerful,” and “rich”. Linton turns Catherine from a wild child to a well-mannered lady. They meet when Catherine got bit by a dog, and then the Lintons take her in while she is healing, this lasts for five weeks. Edgar tames her in a way, his overall persona clashes with hers in a perfect way. His love gives Catherine safety a security in the society. Heathcliff on the other hand is almost obsessed and can't give her the attributes she needs and wants; such as, commitment and how he won't sacrifice anything. However, those exact qualities attract Catherine to him. “She was much too fond of Heathcliff. The greatest punishment we could invent for her was to keep her separate from him: yet she got chided more than any of us on his account.”(Brontë 41) According to Levy, “As a result of the Unlove that they were made to suffer, both Heathcliff and Catherine, by opposite means and in distinct circumstances, turn loneliness into a community of rejection over which they wield absolute control. Heathcliff does this by persecuting those he hates; Catherine, by persecuting those she loves.” Edgar and Heathcliff have a good angel bad angel complex, of course Heathcliff is the bad angel and Edgar is the good angel. The reasons behind this is simply the characteristics portrayed;Edgar
Catherine thought love was about being rich and having good looks, both of which Edgar Linton had. “You love Mr. Edgar because he is handsome, and young, and cheerful, and rich, and loves you. The last, however, goes for nothing: you would love him without that, probably; and with it you wouldn’t, unless he possessed the four former attractions” (76). This proves Catherine’s immaturity; she couldn’t tell the difference between love and infatuation. When he couldn’t have Catherine, Heathcliff reverted to Isabella, Edgar Linton’s sister. “Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil?” (132). Heathcliff was troublesome
Catherine first becomes exposed to the opposing forces as she experiments with her desires for love and a better quality of life. *6* Because she constantly shifts priorities from one man to the other, her love for Heathcliff and Edgar results in a destructive disequilibrium. *1*In the novel, Cathy is portrayed as a lady with untamable emotions. *7* In her childhood she learns to l...
Much of the blame for the tragic events could be placed upon Catherine. She unwisely chose to reject Heathcliff, even though “[thei]r souls…are the same” and marry Edgar Linton instead (Bronte 102). Their marriage was founded on love, but not a lasting bond. When asked to describe her relationship with Linton, Catherine says she is well aware that “time will change it…as winter changes the trees” (Bronte 104). She proves to be entirely selfish, accepting Linton’s marriage proposal with shallow motives. Linton is good-looking, affectionate, and wealthy, and even if their relationship will not be permanently fulfilling, he looks like the better choice in comparison to Heathcliff. Whatever motives convinced her to marry Linton betrayed her true feelings. I know how difficult it can be to choose between two people, especially when you don’t want to hurt either one. The decision is made even more confusing when you could picture yourself happy with each. In Catherine’s case, she was not worried about hurting their feelings as much as which one would be...
The complicated nature surrounding Heathcliff’s motives again adds an additional degree of ambiguity to his character. This motivation is primarily driven by Catherine’s marriage to Edgar and past rejection of Heathcliff, since he was a servant whom Hindley disapproved of. Prior to storming out of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff overhears Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (Brontë 87). The obstacles that ultimately prevent Heathcliff from marrying Catherine provide insight into Heathcliff’s desire to bring harm to Edgar and Hindley. The two men play prominent roles in the debacle, Edgar as the new husband and Hindley as the head figure who refused Heathcliff access to Catherine. Following this incident, Catherine says, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…” (Brontë 87). Catherine’s sentiment indicates she truly would rather be with Heathcliff, but the actions of others have influenced her monumental decision to marry Edgar. Furthermore, Heathcliff is motivated to not only ruin Edgar’s livelihood, but also gain ownership of his estate, Thrushcross Grange. This becomes clear when Heathcliff attempts to use Isabella
Catherine Earnshaw appears to be a woman who is free spirited. However, Catherine is also quite self-centered. She clearly states that her love for Edgar Linton does not match how much she loves Heathcliff. She is saying that she does love both, and she is unwilling to give one up for the other; she wants “Heathcliff for her friend”. Catherine admits that her love for Linton is “like the foliage in the woods”; however, her love for Heathcliff “resembles the eternal rocks beneath”. She loves Heathcliff and yet she gives him up and marries Linton instead, Catherine believes that if she marries Heathcliff it would degrade and humiliate her socially.
Catherine is trapped between her love of Heathcliff and her love for Edgar, setting the two men down a path of destruction, a whirlwind of anger and resentment that Catherine gets caught in the middle of. Catherine is drawn to Heathcliff because of his fiery personality, their raw attraction and one certainly gets the sense that they are drawn together on a deeper level, that perhaps they are soulmates. C. Day Lewis thought so, when he declared that Heathcliff and Catherine "represent the essential isolation of the soul...two halves of a single soul–forever sundered and struggling to unite." This certainly seems to be backed up in the novel when Catherine exclaims “Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind--not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being...” This shows clearly the struggle Catherine feels as she is drawn spiritually to Heathcliff, but also to Edgar for very different reasons. Edgar attracts Catherine predominantly because he is of the right social class. Catherine finds him "handsome, and pleasant to be with," but her feelings for him seem petty when compared to the ones she harbours...
From being isolated in the moors of England, with only the two houses-Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. And those are placed 4 miles apart from each other. Having grown up at Wuthering Heights, Catherine, Hindley, and Heathcliff all suffer from a lack of love and structure. Wuthering Heights is a very bleak and dark place, that isn’t too happy. None of them found happiness until they fled from that dreary place that they call home. Heathcliff is grumpy and mean, and wants to inflict that on everyone else around him. Hurt people, hurt people. As opposed to Thrushcross Grange, which is more structured. Edgar and Isabella are more compassionate people, because of the love that they received from their parents. It also leaves them vulnerable to Catherine and Heathcliff’s aggressive nature, as well as a ploy in Heathcliff’s plan. Knowing this, Catherine is only stuck with two options-marry Heathcliff or Edgar. Based on the decision she made (good or bad, depending on the person) it started a spiral of events that currently effects Linton, Hareton, and Cathy. The same thing is to be said about Cathy. Cathy is still in the same environment. Though she is growing up at Thrushcross Grange, and be raised by her father and Nelly. Hareton is growing up at Wuthering Heights, under the wrath of Heathcliff, which is not pleasant. He is becoming mean and malicious, something Heathcliff wants. Then you have Linton who grew up
Heathcliff and Catherine have loved each other since their childhood. Initially, Catherine scorned the little gypsy boy; she showed her distaste by “spitting” at him (Brontë 27). However, it was not long before Heathcliff and Catherine became “very think” (Brontë 27). They became very close friends; they were practically brother and sister (Mitchell 122). Heathcliff is intent upon pleasing Catherine. He would “do her bidding in anything” (Brontë 30). He is afraid of “grieving” her (Brontë 40). Heathcliff finds solace and comfort in Catherine’s company. When Catherine is compelled to stay at Thrushcross Grange to recover from her injury, she returns as “a very dignified person” (Brontë 37). Her association with the gente...
In "Wuthering Heights," we see tragedies follow one by one, most of which are focused around Heathcliff, the antihero of the novel. After the troubled childhood Heathcliff goes through, he becomes embittered towards the world and loses interest in everything but Catherine Earnshaw –his childhood sweetheart whom he had instantly fallen in love with.—and revenge upon anyone who had tried to keep them apart.
During the first half of the book, Catherine showed different types of love for two different people. Her love for Heathcliff was her everything, it was her identity to love and live for Heathcliff but as soon as she found out how society views Heathcliff, she sacrificed their love and married Edgar Linton in the hopes of saving Heathcliff from Hindley and protecting him from the eyes of society. In her conversation with Nelly, Cathy who professed her love for Heathcliff quoted “My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself.” Catherine proved Nelly Dean that the only person who can make her feel pain and sorrow is Heathcliff. The extent of her love was uncovered when she sang her praise of “I am Heathcliff” because this was the turning point in the book that allowed the readers to truly understand and see the depth of Cathy's love for Heathcliff. On the other hand, Catherine's love for Edgar wasn't natural because it was a love that she taught herself to feel. It might have come unknowingly to Cathy but she did love Edgar as she said “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees.” Cathy knew that it was not impossible to love Edgar for he was a sweet and kind gentleman who showed her the world but unlike ...
Mr. Earnshaw believes that “the young man, [Hindley], should be sent to college”(45) as Hindley is not treating Heathcliff properly. This shows how Mr. Earnshaw is favoring Heathcliff to Hindley and is forcing Hindley to leave. Catherine becomes good friends with Heathcliff. One night, they spy on the Lintons, their neighbors, and are caught. Mrs. Linton is disgusted that “Miss Earnshaw [was] scouring the country with a gypsy”(53). Catherine is expected to behave like a proper lady, implying that she should not associate with those inferior in status to her because she is part of the middle class. Even though Catherine and Heathcliff have a strong friendship, he ruins her reputation in the eyes of the Mrs. Linton. While having connections proves to benefit Heathcliff status, they appear to be detrimental to his connection’s
After a realization of his true noble personality, Elizabeth then found true love with Mr. Darcy, which cannot be said for the beautiful Catherine Earnshaw, in Wuthering Heights, who is a daughter from a gentry family. At a very young age, an orphan named Heathcliff joined the Earnshaw family. Both Catherine and Healthcliff have been madly in love with one another since then. One would expect them to marry due to their strong attraction for one another but because Catherine has an immature desire for social advancement, she married Edgar Linton, instead of Heathcliff. Catherine is a very spoiled socialite which very well contradicts the honest and virtuous Elizabeth Bennet, but although they make different decisions and are different as a person, both these free-spirited women want to choose their own future that satisfies their desires.
Catherine’s revenge does not make things better for her. Her revenge on Heathcliff by blaming him for her upcoming death does not meliorate her mind. Just before she dies, she ascribes Heathcliff for her “murder.” “You have killed me, and thriven on it, I think” (Bronte 158). Catherine resembles what Oliver Goldsmith said, “When lovely woman stoops to folly, and finds too late that men betray, what charm can soothe her melancholy?