Sympathy For Heathcliff In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

The sympathy that Emily Bronte generates for Heathcliff in the beginning of her novel Wuthering Heights leads the reader to understand the reasons for his moral ambiguity but not justify or overlook his violent, revengeful nature at the close of the novel. Bronte purposefully distorts elements of her work and portrays Heathcliff as inhumane and ghostly to reinforce the idea that people can simultaneously have villainous characteristics (to the extent that they are unrealistic) in addition to desirable qualities. Heathcliff’s consuming passion for Catherine and overabundance of emotion lead him to destroy the lives of all those who surround him when that love cannot be fulfilled. Ultimately, Bronte’s initial illustration of Heathcliff as a helpless

Although Heathcliff must suffer because of his doomed fate, his constant mistreatment of others as well as his desire to thwart the possibility of happiness for those around him only strengthens the reader’s perception of him as solely a villain at the close of the work and not a hero who deserves sympathy. Heathcliff’s horrible childhood generates sympathy for the reader and initially seems to be a source of justification for some of his later actions. Even when Heathcliff first enters the Earnshaw household, the majority of the family criticizes him; not only is Mrs. Earnshaw “ready to fling it out of doors” () but Nelly, whose job is in part to take care of the child, “put it on the landing of the stairs, hoping it might be gone on the morrow” (37). (citation) Nelly’s presentation in the passage reveals her role as an unreliable narrator because she does not present Heathcliff without bias. She even notes, “Hindley hated him: and so to say the truth I did the same; and

The compassion that Heathcliff holds for Catherine remains steadfast even after she dies. Bronte illustrates Heathcliff’s enduring passion and love when he proclaims, “Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living; you said I killed you-haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts wandered on earth. Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad!” Catherine’s death not only leads Heathcliff to call Linton “a pitiful, shuffling, worthless thing,”(209) but also to torment him so much that he “wakes and shrieks in the night.” When he learns that young Cathy accepts Hareton despite his inability to read and low social status, Heathcliff is able to find peace; indeed, he confesses, “My old enemies have beaten me; now would be the precise time to revenge myself on their representatives: I could do it; and none could hinder me. But where is the use? I don't care for striking . . . I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing. (33.59) Ultimately, Heathcliff’s passionate love and emotion overpowers his longing for revenge. Bronte offers hope for all characters with Heathcliff’s recognition that he does not to destroy others to be happy but merely needs to be with his love, even if it is only possible through death.