#wuthering heights heathcliff

[amphibimations]

(38) Wuthering Heights comic 18- swearing

I love how part of heathcliff’s complicated revenge plan is teaching hareton to constantly swear at his dad.

[lausdoodles]

Wuthering heightssss

i'm not normal about this book tbh

[caecilian-king]

Ok. So, i read some more Wuthering Heights today and this one paragraph really struck me- like it got to me just as much as lines like ‘whatever our souls are made of his and mine are the same’. But I don’t think this part is probably talked about as much, because its about 2 of the supporting characters and its not a poetic romance quote.

I’m talking about this paragraph, where Nelly Dean is walking outside and is reminded of her childhood:

“all at once a gush of child's sensations flowed into my heart. Hindley and I held it a favourite spot twenty years before. I gazed long at the weather-worn block; and, stooping down, perceived a hole near the bottom still full of snail-shells and pebbles, which we were fond of storing there with more perishable things; and, as fresh as reality, it appeared that I beheld my early playmate seated on the withered turf: his dark, square head bent forward, and his little hand scooping out the earth with a piece of slate. 'Poor Hindley!' I exclaimed, involuntarily.”

The reason this got to me so much is that this is exactly the way I’d been thinking about Heathcliff. ‘Sure, heathcliff’s a jerk!’ I’d think to myself, ‘but in the earlier chapters when he was a kid he was so cute and loved cathy so much! He was so unfairly treated!! He had moments where he laughed and played!!’ Not that i excused Heathcliff’s wrongful actions, but i sympathized with him, just a bit. Deep down i want him and cathy to have a happy ending, even though they’ve hurt and will hurt so many people.

(somehow, having many of heathcliff’s future actions spoiled for me by reading through the WH tag so often has not made the book any less enjoyable to me. This book is that good.)

Hindley, however….Up until this point I had always seen him as nothing more than a monster. We see very little of his childhood. We see him cry about his toy being broken, and then later we see him being racist towards-and then physically abusing- Heathcliff. After that, he’s a young adult/adult and is just consistently even worse to Heathcliff (and everyone else at Wuthering Heights) than he was before.

Nelly, unlike the readers, saw hindley’s whole childhood. She saw the moments when he was good, when he smiled and laughed. She saw ways that he was treated unfairly (his own father liking this new adopted son better than him and not hiding that bias at all).

Does this make hindley suddenly a good person? Of course not! But it really put into perspective for me how similar heathcliff and hindley are, and how i was biased way more towards one because I had seen his good side. Heathcliff and hindley are both incredibly violent, grumpy, abusive people who crave money and power. I’m sure I’ll continue to find similarities as I read more.

My three main takeaways from this paragraph are:

1) i think that hindley not only serves as a catalyst for heathcliff becoming a bad person, but also as heathcliff’s narrative foil. (Wikipedia says: ‘A foil usually either differs dramatically or is an extreme comparison that is made to contrast a difference between two things.’ I think this is a perfect description of how heathcliff and hindley work in the narrative- hindley is perhaps how we would view heathcliff if we hadn’t seen his childhood.)

2) i think this paragraph serves to remind the reader that everyone is a human who has at one point been innocent, and that this fact doesn’t excuse bad behavior, and that you should be careful about sympathizing with heathcliff so much that you begin to excuse his actions. I also think the fact that this paragraph comes so soon before isabella’s letter to nelly is incredibly important and intentional. That letter she writes about arriving at wuthering heights really highlights how bad of a person heathcliff is.

3) i am now slightly sympathetic towards hindley, and view him as a bit more of a complicated character than i took him for previously. I am also now a bit more conscious and critical of my sympathetic reading of Heathcliff up until this point.

All this being said- heathcliff is still (for lack of a better term) one of my blorbos. I am obsessed with his stupid edgy personality and his sarcastic comments and his over the top evil plans. I am ESPECIALLY obsessed with his relationship with cathy. I know it wouldn’t actually be romantic in real life but, man. I could write a whole ‘nother post about how much i love their relationship. I want to put him in a microwave and watch him spin around. the former-AP-english-student in me is aware that he is a terrible person but the silly drama-loving side of me cant help but just find all of his terrible actions sort of equal parts funny and badass (i feel like this will stay true even as he does some of the more horrifying things i’ve heard about later). silly side of me wants him and cathy to do whatever evil things they want and ride off into the sunset laughing maniacally together.

(JEEZ i did not think i would spend an hour writing like a full essay when i started this post. this is what adhd does to you, folks.)

[queerbarb]

Okay so... Is it just me or Lockwood from Wuthering Heights sounds queercoded?

This might sound crazy, but there are a few moments while reading Wuthering Heights where I thought to myself "wow, Lockwood compliments Heathcliff a lot!", for example on the Edgar Linton's Portrait scene:

"Mrs. Dean raised the candle, and I discerned a soft-featured face, exceedingly resembling the young lady at the Heights, but more pensive and amiable in expression. It formed a sweet picture. The long light hair curled slightly on the temples; the eyes were large and serious; the figure almost too graceful. I did not marvel how Catherine Earnshaw could forget her first friend for such an individual. I marvelled much how he, with a mind to correspond with his person, could fancy my idea of Catherine Earnshaw."

Does that imply that he thinks Heathcliff to be physically appealing? Well, at least he thinks that Heathcliff is more handsome than Edgar, which is weird because the only person that seems to compliment Heathcliff's appearance is Catherine.

I thought that I was maybe too much obsessed about my beloved queercoded characters, but then I found some other interesting parts of the book to support my theory:

"But Mr. Heathcliff forms a singular contrast to his abode and style of living. He is a dark-skinned gipsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman: that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire: rather slovenly, perhaps, yet not looking amiss with his negligence, because he has an erect and handsome figure; and rather morose."

Okay, this seems normal since a compliment between gentlemen may be completely platonic. But there is some hinted stuff about Lockwood that seems to be inherently queer, such as his failed attempts to flirt with women and the fact that his own mother said he would never have a family of his own, which is weird since he seems to come from a wealthy family, he does not seem too off puting besides his social awkwardness, so there is no apparent reason to why his mother would say such thing... EXCEPT FOR WHAT IF HE WAS A BIT FRUITY AND SHE KNEW!

"Let me hope my constitution is almost peculiar: my dear mother used to say I should never have a comfortable home; and only last summer I proved myself perfectly unworthy of one."

"While enjoying a month of fine weather at the sea-coast, I was thrown into the company of a most fascinating creature: a real goddess in my eyes, as long as she took no notice of me. I 'never told my love' vocally; still, if looks have language, the merest idiot might have guessed I was over head and ears: she understood me at last, and looked a return - the sweetest of all imaginable looks. And what did I do? I confess it with shame - shrunk icily into myself, like a snail; at every glance retired colder and farther; till finally the poor innocent was led to doubt her own senses, and, overwhelmed with confusion at her supposed mistake, persuaded her mamma to decamp. By this curious turn of disposition I have gained the reputation of deliberate heartlessness; how undeserved, I alone can appreciate."

Anyways, Lockwood is an awkward guy, and I find him rather amusement. He seems very much homoaffective to me, and I am enjoying trying to understand more about his personality.

[lexareyouokay]

My attachment to Wuthering Heights and My Tears Ricochet is unfortunate but makes a lot of sense.

[sketching-shark]

Haunt me!

Torment me!

Drive me mad!

Just do not go where I cannot find you...

----

Saw a stage production of Wuthering Heights, so here’s a quick sketch of one of the foundational brooding ‘bad boys’ (read: miserable jerk who ruins the lives of everyone around him)/problematic favs Heathcliff (also featuring Cathy’s skull).

[arealtrashact]

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.

[al-norton]

Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad!

[unamazing-sheep21]

The many uses of a Byronic Hero

chair ( Jane & Edward - Jane Eyre)

Pillow ( Christine & Erik - Phantom of the Opera)

Car ( Catherine & Heathcliff - Wuthering Heights)

Water dispenser ( Edith & Thomas - Crimson Peak)

[delziae]

Currently reading Wuthering Heights so brainrot sketch

[divorcedwife]

i think there's something wrong with my new landlord

[amphibimations]

(43) Wuthering Heights comic 21- bullying edgar

This scene is my favorite one in the book so far. Absolutely incredible.

[burningvelvet]

Book covers for Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847)

[galakaz]

my understanding on how canto 6 is going to go

[mvtchayam]

My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of visible delight, but necessary.

[alfazoings]

kurokumo ishmael and kurokumo captain heath!!!!