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  • Essay / The importance of cycles in Emily Brontë's novel

    The natural cycles of the universe promote continuity through repetition. Emily Brontë had a very cyclical view of life and uses these cycles throughout Wuthering Heights to show this. History itself comes full circle, and death is an important cycle in history. These two cycles are of extreme importance to the structure of the novel because they lead the reader to see Brontë's cynical views of life during the Victorian period. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay From the beginning of the novel, life and death are the most important cycles in Wuthering Heights. Lockwood introduces the reader to the supernatural in the early chapters. in a dream sequence he wrestles with the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw. “Terror made me cruel; and, finding it useless to try to shake the creature, I pulled its wrist to the broken window and rubbed it back and forth until the blood flowed” (Brontë, 20). This brutality between the dead Cathy and Lockwood demonstrates to Brontë how easily the veneer of civilization can be removed. To deepen his point, the ghost moans: “I have been abandoned for twenty years” (Brontë, 21 years old). The word waif, meaning orphan, has a significant connection to the lost souls of Heathcliff and Cathy throughout the book and deepens the reader's curiosity about the events that led to this haunting. This incident also marks the strong bond between Heathcliff and Catherine and the importance of Cathy's room. Lockwood is almost desecrating his sacred place and the ghost comes for revenge. The bloody and brutal language used in the quote shows how thin the line is for the "gentleman" Lockwood to descend into violence. Although Brontë seems to believe that the souls of Cathy and Heathcliff find their paradise on the moors, she goes far enough to say that love can go beyond death. This Gothic interpretation of events is rooted in a strong belief in the supernatural and the unknown afterlife. "Much of Victorian death culture developed from unconscious reactions to widespread death, new scientific discoveries and popular culture, and these fears and anxieties were reflected in much of the 'Victorian era.' Brontë uses her views on death to shape the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. On his deathbed, Heathcliff said: “Catherine Earnshaw, you will not rest as long as I live! You said I killed you – haunt me then! (Brontë, 130). It becomes clear that the narrative structure presented by Lockwood reveals truthfulness: Heathcliff may be telling the truth and Cathy may be a ghost, as we see at the beginning. The parallels between life and death are also significant for the author's views on cycles. of life. Brontë begins the second half of the novel with Catherine's second birth. This is important because it shows the cyclical nature of life. Catherine, the eldest, dies but young Catherine is born as a reincarnation of her mother. Mrs. Dean says, “The capacity for intense attachments reminded me of her mother” (Brontë, 146). The author describes the two Cathys as similar to emphasize the importance of the novel beginning to come full circle. Brontë also looks at the pain that death causes others as a reflection of her own life. When she was a young girl, her mother died of cancer, and a few years later her two older sisters died. This ever-present and cruel loss in his life shaped the novel. She uses her near-death experiences to give a detailed description of.. 2016.