Like the Romantic poets who so influenced her, Emily Bronte explores the redefinition of religious categories in her most famous novel, Wuthering Heights. Through the relationships between her main characters, Catherine, Heathcliff and Edgar, Brontë moves traditional secular attitudes into a natural, personal and erotic context. The result is a romantic depiction of something like an earthly heaven and hell. One of the main mechanisms the reader can use to observe this dichotomy is the use of descriptions of landscape and architecture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Wuthering Heights is characterized as a sort of castle on a hill. The landscape contains “a few stunted fir trees at the end of the house; and a series of fleshless thorns all stretching their limbs in one direction as if to beg alms from the sun” (4). The quantity and variation of decoration is bare, and unnecessary comforts are rare. The types of plants chosen to inhabit the courtyard are also very revealing: the “stunted fir trees”, symbolizing an unnutritious environment, and the “flesh thorns”, signifying hidden dangers, give a dark and gothic image. The house is quite exposed to nature. elements, namely the wind, a force so powerful and uncontrollable, but invisible. And the very name of the estate has inestimable significance: Wuthering being a significant provincial adjective, it describes the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. (4) Although Wuthering Heights is exposed, the reader is told that "the architect had the foresight to build it strongly: the narrow windows are set deep in the wall and the corners defended by large projecting stones" (4) ). And before you can cross the threshold, you have to pass a disturbing display of "grotesque carvings" on the stone walls, particularly above the front door, depicting a "desert of ruined griffins and little boys without shame” (4). It is extremely difficult to enter a home, both literally and metaphorically. And, as becomes evident throughout the novel's progression, it is just as difficult to escape from. Strong walls, narrow windows, and protective gargoyles show a reluctance to let outside forces in. Mr. Lockwood, the parody of a 19th-century Gothic reader (a voyeur par excellence), is treated with a very poor reception - in the same way that young Heathcliff is originally received. Thrushcross Grange, however, seems to be the near antithesis of Wuthering Heights. It is above all a place of light, flowers and comfort. Instead of “narrow” and “deeply recessed” windows, the Lintons “do not put up the shutters” and leave their curtains “only half closed” (48) at night. Even the demonic Heathcliff calls the house... Magnificent - a splendid place covered in crimson chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling, edged in gold, and a shower of glass drops suspended in silver chains in the center and sparkling with little sweets. cones. (48) Wuthering Heights extends over a bare, rocky hillside. Thrushcross Grange is nestled in a grove of lush green trees. By these initial descriptions of each realm, we, the reader, might be led to believe a very black and white relationship between them: Wuthering Heights being hellish and Thrushcross Grange being celestial. (except the altitude level, because the higher you are, the more hellish it is, and the more heavenly it is in a lowvalley). However, there is no such simple dichotomy. The path to understanding both domains lies in exploring their resident characters. And in the same way, the way to understand these characters, whether they are Earnshaw, Linton, or even of the Heathcliff family, is to examine their relationships with their house. Heathcliff, "the devil's child", is originally forced into the Earnshaw household. Although he holds the power and influence of a favorite, in the eyes of the father and master of the house he does not take the name Earnshaw nor is he initially (and in some cases ever) fully accepted in the house. Hindley, and even Heathcliff's later friend Catherine, are so disturbed by his dark and dirty appearance and his lack of grace and manners, that they secretly kick him out of the children's room and banish him to sleep in the cage of stairs. An event like this shows both that Catherine and Hindley are appearance-oriented and superficial, and that Heathcliff is in fact so demonic and disturbing in his natural youthful state that even though he is a child and must be above all innocent, they always reject him. as a playmate. The first paragraph of the novel gives a vivid physical image of him, as Lockwood describes how his "black eyes" retreat suspiciously beneath his eyebrows as Lockwood approaches. Heathcliff is well described as a Byronic hero; he is misanthropic, passionate, rebellious and has unknown origins. It is an important note in the story that Heathcliff was brought to Wuthering Heights as a homeless orphan from the streets of Liverpool, England. At the time Emily Brontë was writing, child labor laws were virtually non-existent and living and factory conditions in these industrial areas were surprisingly abhorrent. These places were obviously dangerous and despised by those who had to endure them. Not only that, but the upper classes repelled them; conditions were so horrible that the wealthy classes feared a violent revolt. In 19th-century literature, these miserable, smog-covered cities were equated with religion and often with hell. William Blake, in his 1804 poem Jerusalem, referred to the "dark and satanic mills" of England. (Ln. 8) Heathcliff is also frequently associated with hell in description and referred to as a "demon" throughout the novel. Heathcliff defies being understood. Due to his extremely cruel nature, the reader is left wondering if he is more than he appears. Perhaps his bad behavior and brutality are an expression of his unfulfilled love for Catherine or his difficult childhood. Another possibility is that his sour outward demeanor is a literary costume for a traditional gothic romance hero. Even before Bronte wrote, the idea that a tough exterior encases a romantic heart was already a cliché of novels. However Heathcliff does not reform or reveal an inner heart of gold. And his offensive behaviors cannot be easily explained away as revenge for past abuse by Hindley or anyone else. The way he tortures Isabella is purely sadistic. It becomes a game for him to see how much abuse she can take while remaining submissive. The absurd nature of Heathcliff's abuse of Isabella mirrors what Bronte herself does to the reader. It tests how often we can be shocked by Heathcliff's violence, while still seeing him as a sympathetic character. Catherine, as a child, is also a member of the Wuthering Heights house (although she is there by blood, unlike Heathcliff). While Catherine enjoys messy, childish hobbies and games, she is still able to fit inquite naturally to the Lintons and their kind and luxurious lifestyle. After five weeks of childhood spent at Thrushcross Grange, with Isabella and Edgar for playmates, instead of a wild, little savage without a hat jumping around the house... there lit up a beautiful black pony a person very dignified, with brown curls falling from the blanket of a feathered beaver, and a long habit of cloth which she was obliged to hold with both hands in order to sell it. in. (53) What binds little Catherine to Thrushcross Grange is, above all, her desire for beautiful things and comfortable surroundings (as opposed to the many hours spent on shivering, wet knees for a Sabbath sermon on piety and restraint), as well as his desire for upward mobility. Although she feels a deep, mutual love between her and Heathcliff, she is aware that such a marriage would lower her in terms of class and social status as the children grow into adulthood. Catherine increasingly rejects her eternal love, Heathcliff, for the immediate satisfaction of genteel companionship and comfort with Edgar. Motivated by social ambition, Catherine... played the coquette and evidently had an objection to her two friends meeting: for when Heathcliff expressed his contempt for Linton, in his presence, she could not half coincide, as she did it in his absence; and when Linton manifested disgust and antipathy towards Heathcliff, she did not dare treat his feelings with indifference, as if the depreciation of her playmate had little consequence for her. (68) Heathcliff begs not to show himself for "those pitiful, stupid friends" Edgar and his sister Isabella. Catherine's actions are motivated in part by her social ambition, which was first inspired by her five-week stay with the Lintons, which ultimately compelled her to marry Edgar. On the other hand, she is also motivated by striving to transcend social conventions, such as loving Heathcliff, throwing tantrums, and running around the Moors. The contrast between these two impulses is as clear as that between his two men. It's as distinct as...Exchanging a stark, rolling coal country for a beautiful, fertile valley; and the voice and greeting of [Heathcliff] And the voice and greeting of [Edgar] were as opposite as the appearance of [Heathcliff] - He had a soft and low way of speaking, and he pronounced his words. .less gruff and gentler. (70) The descriptions of Catherine's suitors are entirely consistent with each's respective home and estate - Wuthering Heights being represented by the "coal-county, dark and hilly", and Thrushcross Grange by the "beautiful fertile valley" . Edgar serves as the opposite frame of reference for Heathcliff. He is well mannered with grace and a gentlemanly appearance. It is instilled with civilized virtues and symbolizes the constancy of a tamed culture. It is this aspect that ultimately leads Catherine to choose Edgar over Heathcliff, and this is where the rivalry begins. Yet Edgar's refined qualities ultimately prove useless in his battle for Catherine's undying affection. Edgar proves particularly helpless when placed against Heathcliff in a physical challenge. Even so, Catherine declares that Heathcliff would lay a finger on [Edgar] rather than march his army against a colony of mice. (115) Although Catherine chooses comfort at Thrushcross Grange, her true loyalties lie with Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. After dreaming of going to heaven, Catherine confides to Nelly that if she were to actually go there, she would be "extremely miserable." (80) Catherine's realization from this dream helps explain her respective relationships with Edgar and Heathcliff. She explains: ...Heaven does notdidn't seem like my home; and I broke my heart crying to return to Earth; and the angels were so angry that they threw me out into the middle of the moor, on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke up sobbing with joy. (81) First of all, the presence and mention of “health” in this dream is not a coincidence. Heath is an English word which can designate a kind of shrubby plant, a flower similar to “heather” or an expanse of wasteland, said to be uncultivated or with poor soil. Any of these robust definitions can be associated with Heathcliff. In Catherine's dream, Heaven can be compared to Thrushcross Grange, and the dream becomes an allegory for Catherine's true feelings towards Edgar and Heathcliff. In her own words, Catherine confesses: I have no more reason to marry Edgar Linton than to be in heaven. (81) Catherine thinks she is not a virtuous woman. Edgar seems to have the qualities of heaven, and Heathcliff is still loved in hell. Therefore, if not Heaven, Thrushcross Grange and Edgar, then Catherine chooses the Underworld, Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff. However, due to naivety, the situation is imperfect. Catherine concedes a safer and less demanding life with Edgar. She told Nelly it would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he will never know how much I love him; and that, not because he is handsome, Nelly, but because he is more myself than I am. Whatever the composition of our soul, his and mine are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire. (81) Catherine goes on to describe an idea she has that "there is, or should be, an existence beyond you. What good would my creation be if I were entirely contained here?" (82) This idea that she describes is both a description of true love and the presence of the religion of romanticism. Brontë's novel takes place in a landscape where no god exists. If there were a God present in this world, Catherine would not need to wonder if there is an existence beyond her, or how much of her life's purpose is contained in one place. God would be the existence beyond her. God would control his life's purpose. Instead, the worship of God is replaced by the faith of romanticism. Through Catherine's relationship with Heathcliff, she is able to exist somewhere "beyond" herself. In the world of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, there is no imaginable existence outside of the neighborhood itself. None of the characters the reader trusts ever leave the surrounding hills and meadows. But thanks to their divine connection, Catherine is able to exist everywhere at once. His “great miseries in this world were the miseries of Heathcliff.” That is, they exist so deeply within each other that they have the same tools for seeing the world. They process events through the same lenses and arrive at a set of emotions. Catherine says: “If everything else perished and remained, I would continue to exist; and, if everything else remained and was wiped out, the Universe would turn to a powerful stranger. » She wouldn't know how to see the world. Their presences are so linked that we think of a pair of Siamese twins, or the hermaphrodites from Plato's Symposium. When one dies, the other can only exist in a state of semi-uncertainty until it also dies. Without Heathcliff, Catherine would not be able to use her half of the tools of their shared life, and the Universe would effectively transform into a powerful alien. When Catherine eventually dies in Edgar's house at Thrushcross Grange, while Heathcliff waits outside in the bushes and trees, the.