[Literatery Review ]김나언
The characters are always perfect, and are just the type of people
we would like to become at least once in our lives. Some are even
Insight into Wuthering Heights—
black coffee or earl grey
considered “ideal role models” or the “epitome of class and
morality.” In “Wuthering Heights,” it is entirely different. Rather,
characters like Heathcliff are more often condemned. Even Emily
Bronte’s sister, Charlotte Bronte comments on this: “Whether it
is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff, I do not know.
I scarcely think it is,” saying that “Heathcliff, indeed, stands
unredeemed” even to the very end of the novel. However, sometimes,
it is exactly these “mistakes” and “faults” that draw us further into
the novel. Rather than with a kind, loveable angel, there are times when
we empathize more with the degraded, wicked villain.
At the time of its debut, the whole book seemed like a mistake. The
depiction of humans at their lowest—the lashings of cruelty, the
uncovering of the hideous soul—brought shock and horror to the
conservative Victorian readers of the time. While sipping on their earl grey
teas lightly tinged with lemon, these haughty, snobby ladies must have
blushed and coughed at the utter disgrace of such a horrendous story.
Although unrecognised at the time, “Wuthering Heights” now stands as
an all-time classic to souls of all ages.
In this novel, the characters are all full of faults and mistakes. Cathy
is described as “too mischievous and wayward” from the very first
chapters of the book, Heathcliff is a man who would callously play with the
heart of his lover’s sister-in-law in order to take revenge and Hindley
is a complete drunkard and a boor. Even Edgar, who seems to enter as
“prince charming” riding on his white horse, betrays us in the end with
his transparent impotence and cowardice. Most romantic novels, such as
“Pride and Prejudice,” enchant us with an ideal storyline.
Two mistakes made by Cathy Heathcliff comprise the plot of Wuthering
Heights. First is Cathy’s inability to choose between the passion she
feels toward Heathcliff and the social status she can achieve through
Edgar. Even after marrying Edgar, she is unable to let go of Heathcliff.
Her selfishness may seem mindless in a way—after all, she knew that
once she brought Heathcliff back into her house, it would be the start of
a tragedy. She knew that her safe life with Edgar would come to an end.
Indeed, an “ideal” and “wise” person would have long ago ended
such a relationship with Heathcliff which would eventually lead both
characters into ruin. Nonetheless, through this mistake, we are able to
empathize more deeply with Cathy. It’s not that Cathy was stupid, but
rather that she was more human. In life, things don’t always go the way
we planned them to go. Sometimes we make mistakes—we are people—
we face lapses in judgement and don’t always make the smartest
choices. Perhaps it is because of the mistakes and the faults that Cathy
shows in this story that we are able to connect more with the characters
and plot.