Jul 03, 2007 12:40 AM
7540 Views
Revenge is the act of retaliation against a person or group in response to a perceived wrong doing. Yet when the person persists with his or her vendetta even after the enemies have been vanquished, the human being in the person dies. Duryodhan insulted Draupadi and had her disrobed in the court ostensibly to take revenge against her mocking him when he fell into a pool. Yet even after he had well taken his revenge, he did not stop his vendetta against his cousins the Pandavas, and his refusal to hand over the kingdom resulted in a suicidal war, that wiped out the entire Kuru dynasty. Duryodhan forgot that his revenge, only bred a greater desire for revenge in the heart of Draupadi, and that wiped out his entire family.
What happens when unrequited passion and revenge combine together? The fatal consequences of such a mix of emotions is wonderfully narrated in Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights. The novel employs a non linear style of narration involving flashbacks within flashbacks, and is told from the viewpoint of Mr Lockwood and Nelly Dean.
The story starts off with Mr.Lockwood arriving at Thrushcross Grange, a grand mansion, on the moors of Yorkshire in the year 1801. Lockwood is renting the mansion from it’s surly owner Heathcliff, who lives at nearbyWuthering Heights. The very first night at Wuthering Heights, Lockwood has a terrifying dream. The ghost of Catherine Linton, keeps begging him to allow her inside the mansion. When Lockwood confides this to Heathcliff, he is rebuked, and this is where the housekeeper Nelly Dean, starts to narrate the real story.
30 years back, Mr Earnshaw, the then owner of Wuthering Heights, brings Heathcliff as an orphan from the streets of Liverpool. He adopts him and raises him as his own son along with his children. WhileEarnshaw’s daughter Catherine, takes a fondness to Heathcliff, and becomes his closest friend, her brother Hindley hates him, for his lowly status. When Mr. Earnshaw dies later, a grown up Hindley along with his wife Frances takes over the estate. He starts to treat Heathcliff as a bonded labor, exploiting him and mistreating him. Catherine in the meanwhile meets the neighboring family of the Lintons, and is attracted to the refined Edgar Linton.
Heathcliff and Catherine** share a passionate romance and closeness, which is not to the liking of Edgar, who hates Heathcliff’s rough ways. In the meanwhile Frances dies, and Hindley becomes a drunkard addicted to alcohol. When Heathcliff comes to know that Catherine desires to marry the refined and sophisticated Edgar Linton, he storms out of Wuthering Heights, swearing to take revenge.
Two years later Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights, a much richer man, who has made his fortunes. Edgar and Catherine are married happily, but Heathcliff wants to take revenge on the people residing at Wuthering Heights, who he feels have made his life miserable and are responsible for snatching his beloved Catherine away from him. He cons Hindley into signing away Wuthering Heights to him, and in order to get even with Edgar, he woos his sister Isabella, and elopes with her.
Isabella though initially attracted to Heathcliff’s riches, later realizes she has been made a pawn in Heathcliff’s quest for revenge. Catherine in the meantime dies giving birth to a daughter whose name is also **Catherine or Cathy. This only makes Heathcliff more and more bitter, and he starts to physically abuse Isabella. She flees the abusive marriage, and gives birth to a son, Linton. When Hindley dies, Heathcliff takes over Wuthering Heights, and he swears to bring up Hindley’s son Hareton in the same way in which Hindley ill treated him.
What happens to Cathy and Heathcliff’s own son Linton? Will Heathcliff realize the folly of his actions? Does Hareton turn into another Heathcliff? Well read the book to see the fascinating twists and turns.
The novel does have a touch of the supernatural, like Lockwood’s dream of seeing Catherine’s ghosts, and the rumour of Heathcliff and Catherine’s ghosts riding on the moor. Add to it the bleak, desolate nature of the Yorkshire moors, gives that novel, just that touch of eeriness.
But more frightening is the character of Heathcliff, one of the most fascinating anti heroes you will ever see. His quest for revenge blinds him to everything else. He makes every one at Wuthering Heights mere pawns. He marries Isabella and abuses here to get even with Edgar. He treats Hindley’s son in the same way he was ill treated. He forces Cathy to be married to his sickly child Linton, just so that he can inherit both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. He achieves his goal of taking revenge, but at what cost. Deep inside he is an embittered and broken man. He is a lonely bitter soul, and people fear him, but none respects him or loves him.
The romance of Catherine and Heathcliff is one of the most passionate and vivid ones. Catherine loves Heathcliff immensely, she finds him in a sort of wild and untamed spirit, but yet she wants to lead a happy and secure life, which she knows Heathcliff can never provide her. She seeks the stability of Edgar Linton’s refined world. In a way her character is indicative of the class divide prevalent in England. She refuses to marry Heathcliff, though she loves him immensely, as she feels he is not worthy. This turns Heathcliffinto a totally broken man, and he returns back to destroy every one at Wuthering Heights.
Hindley, Catherine’s brother, hates Heathclifffor his lowly status. He treats Heathcliff as a slave when he inherits Wuthering Heights, and this in a way totally brutalizes Heathcliff’s soul. Retribution is however meted out to him, when his wife dies, he becomes an alcoholic and Heathcliff swindles away his property from him. **Edgar Linton, Catherine’s husband, is a gentle man, but very much cowardly. He despised Heathcliff, and he cannot understand Catherine’s love for him. In a way he is responsible for Catherine’s death, as she suffers a mental breakdown torn between the two men.
In a way Wuthering Heights is a dark, complex portrayal of a person’s descent into hell. Heathcliff’s single minded quest for revenge, turns him into a monster, and the human being within him dies every minute. Inspite of his wealth, he still remains an embittered man not knowing any inner peace. The novel is quite frightening at many places, and more than any supernatural novel. Because in this case, the protagonist is a real person. Wuthering Heights is a gripping fascinating look at what happens when the human within a person dies. Highly recommended.
