Krushangi Maisuria is a student at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, the editor of HamletHub's TeenTimes and a regular contributor to Fairfield HamletHub. This week, she shares her thoughts on the character Heathcliff from the classic tale "Wuthering Heights"....
For my AP Literature and Composition class, one summer work assignment was to read Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
To quickly summarize the plot, in the late winter months of 1801, a man named Lockwood rents a manor house called Thrushcross Grange in the isolated moor country of England. Here, he meets his dour landlord, Heathcliff, a wealthy man who lives in the ancient manor of Wuthering Heights, four miles away from the Grange. In this wild, stormy countryside, Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to tell him the story of Heathcliff and the strange denizens of Wuthering Heights. Nelly consents, and Lockwood writes down his recollections of her tale in his diary; these written recollections form the main part of Wuthering Heights. [Synopsis provided by SparkNotes]
I was extremely surprised by the story that enfolded in the novel, and the characters were interesting. The most intriguing character, by far, was Heathcliff. While the story of the Earnshaws and Lintons is a mystery in itself, the life and personality of Heathcliff is also a mystery.
Bronte does an excellent job describing Heathcliff. Her descriptions are tremendously vivid; I feel like I am looking at a picture of Heathcliff whenever she describes him. In one scene, Bronte describes him as "A tall, athletic, well-formed man... His upright carriage suggested the idea of his having been in the army. His countenance was much older in expression and decision of feature than Mr. Linton's; it looked intelligent... A half-civilised ferocity lurked yet in the depressed brows and eyes full of black fire, but it was subdued."
However, imagining what was going through Heathcliff's mind for much of his life was a different story. Heathcliff is considered an antihero. As a reader, it is easy to identify with the struggles Heathcliff faces, but the way he approaches those problems is in a way which I didn't find relatable. Heathcliff loves Catherine, and does everything in his power and beyond so they can be together, which means he often resorts to violence.
Lastly, one slightly odd detail of the book was that Heathcliff did not have a last name. As a child, he was adopted by the Earnshaws, but he never really bears that name. Perhaps that is meant to symbolize that in the eyes of society, Heathcliff never really did become an Earnshaw; he stayed an orphan, without a family, forever.