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Villainy in Wuthering Heights
The human condition is such that one person intentionally harms another for his own benefit. It is these characters, the villains, who often make the most intriguing literary characters. Characters who disregard popular morals are the most scrutinized and in many cases are the most layered and complex characters in a given work. Certainly Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is no exception, though distinguishing the heroes from the villains can be a tricky matter. The reader sympathizes with Heathcliff and Catherine, though their selfish behavior, driven by their backgrounds, underscores the tragic traits of humanity through their fluctuation between love and hate.
Heathcliff and Catherine both came from unpromising backgrounds, which evolve into dark personalities as adults. Heathcliff as brought as a “dirty, ragged, black-haired child” (Ch. 7) to Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw. From the outset his dark skin is a sharp contrast to the genteel life about to be foisted on him. He falls madly in love with Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter, Catherine, and while she loves him back so much that she feels they are the same person, Heathcliff is fiscally unable to provide Catherine the kind of lifestyle she desires. Catherine’s superficiality, along with Hindley’s cruelty, would drive Heathcliff on a sworn path of revenge.
After Mr. Earnshaw’s death, his spiteful son Hindley exploits Heathcliff and abuses him. No stranger to hard times, Heathcliff shows unique strength of character. Even while suffering Hindley’s abuses, Heathcliff takes secret pleasure in knowing that the life of debauchery his persecutor was sinking into would ultimately cause his demise. He further exhibits his strength in his tenacity in pursuing Catherine.
Early in the novel Catherine is high spirited and kind to Heathcliff. This does not last long though as her character quickly gets pulled into a downward spiral that pulls her father and father away from Heathcliff. After she injures her leg and convalesces at Thrushcross Grange with Edgar Linton, she returns a totally different person than the one Heathcliff met and loved. During her absence she had grown to love the wealthy lifestyle and came to look down on Heathcliff. She even scoffs and laughs at his dirty appearance, saying, “It was only that you looked odd. If you wash your face and brush your hair, it will be all right: but you are so dirty!” (Ch. 10).
Heathcliff is by no means a virtuous character who was rebuffed by the love of his life. Bronte alludes to his dark nature in his introduction. He is described as looking like he came from the Devil, and his actions tend to enforce that notion. While Hindley hates him, the feeling is mutual and Heathcliff has his share of indiscretions. One minor incident is when the two boys were both given colts by Mr. Earnshaw, and after Heathcliff’s goes lame, he blackmails Hindley into trading with him. Of course this is just a precursor to his far more [next page]