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Tanner Strickland

Wuthering Heights Essay

January 20, 2010

Internal Conflict That Accentuates a Theme

The driving force behind someone¶s actions, have you ever wondered what they are, whether

it is passion, anger, or any other emotion? Brontë¶s Wuthering Heights is a story about two

people¶s love that tears apart both their family and another family that lives a few miles away.

The two main characters,Heathcliff and Catherine, while trying to obtain each other, show no

regard for the other people in their life, their whole existence being consumed with trying to be

with one another, and those that get in the way are left in the wake of their destructive passion.

Brontë utilizes dramatic internal conflict between characters to develop the prevalent theme of

the novel, passion overcoming reason.

Throughout the story Edgar and Heathcliff constantly quarrel over their one true love,

Catherine, though Edgar does end up being with her, it doesn¶t stop Heathcliff from striving to

rekindle the relationship that they had when they both lived at Wuthering Heights together when

they were younger. When Heathcliff comes to Thrushcross Grange, Edgar intervenes in the

conversation that Heathcliff and Catherine are having. Edgar proceeds to challenge Heathcliff

because he feels that he shouldn¶t have to deal with Heathcliff¶s company in his own house.

³This is insufferable!´ he exclaimed. ³It is disgraceful that she should own him for a friend, and

force his company on me´ (Brontë 83). Edgar enters the room and strikes Heathcliff, giving in
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to his emotions rather than thinking through the situation, knowing that Heathcliff could floor

him in one punch. Heathcliff also shows emotional tendencies, though his actions are much

more of an extreme than Edgar¶s, causing a lot more damage than what Edgar did, ³He seized a

tureen of hot apple sauce, the first thing that came under his gripe, and dashed it full against the

speaker¶s face and neck´ (Brontë 42). Heathcliff¶s brash actions occurred after Edgar made an

observation of Heathcliff¶s hair while attending a dinner party. Heathcliff immediately took it as

an insult and relied on raw emotion to guide his actions. Though they had a multitude of

physical altercations, their disagreements also entered the verbal plane.

Edgar and Catherine¶s throng of verbal squabbles become a main source of her ³fits of

passion´ that also drive her to her own undoing and her ultimate downfall. ³I desire no further

advice from you,´ answered Mr. Linton. ³You knew your mistress's nature, and you encouraged

me to harass her. And not to give me one hint of how she has been these three days! It was

heartless! Months of sickness could not cause such a change,´ (Brontë ). Edgar after his

argument with Catherine, learns of Catherine¶s state, and then blames Nelly for her not telling

him of Catherine¶s current state of being, and how he had then pestered her even more and

making her worse off than before. ³Well, go, if you please - get away! And now I'll cry - I'll cry

myself sick´ (Brontë ). This dispute commenced after Catherine hurt Nelly, and Edgar saw

Catherine¶s true colors then tried to leave. Afterwards, Catherine made the statement to try and

coerce Edgar to stay with her, and against his better judgment, he later professed his love for her.

Edgar¶s proposal to Catherine was purely impulse and in that way, his judgment was clouded and

unfortunately for him it turned out for the worse.

Catherine and Heathcliff have the most turbulent relationship in the novel, from the unrefined

behavior that they both exhibit, that starts from the beginning and doesn¶t finish until the
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entombment of Heathcliff¶s beloved, and kept worsening for Heathcliff, pending his demise. ³I

shall not,´ replied the boy, finding his tongue at last, ³I shall not bear it!´ (Brontë ) Heathcliff,

after having being forced to greet Catherine as a servant would a person of higher status, denies

the formal greeting that Catherine extends to him. Following this scene, Heathcliff flees to his

chambers to try and veil his emotions that Hindley had stirred up. ³He had listened µtill he heard

Catherine say that it would degrade her to marry him, and then he stayed to hear no further,´

(Brontë 59). A setting depicting Heathcliff escaping the confines of Wuthering Heights; though

the author never tells of what Heathcliff does after removing himself from the house.

Heathcliff¶s passion drives him to run away from the one person he cares for to try and amass a

fortune that could compete with Edgar¶s, though he was penniless and devoid of any form of

money-making racket, as to draw attention away from Edgar, and onto himself. Catherine shows

a spurt of raw sentiment for Heathcliff, after his abrupt departure from the house, and sits outside

in a torrent of rain, only to contract a near-fatal disease that during its course leaves her bed-

ridden and spiteful to anyone that dares to try and approach her, and even worse off after she

beats the malady and recovers. ³She got steeped in the shower of yesterday evening, and there

she has sat the night through, and I couldn¶t prevail on her to stir,´ (Brontë ). Heathcliff and

Catherine together both pushed one another to do completely irrational things and followed

instinct and their zeal for each other.

Young Catherine gained her mother¶s trait for being head-strong and pushing the envelope

when it¶s only making it worse for herself, Cathy displays these traits when she consorts with

Heathcliff. ³Give me that key: I will have it!' she said. ³I wouldn't eat or drink here, if I were

starving,´ (Brontë ). After locking Cathy and Nelly inside Wuthering Heights, Cathy attempts

to obtain the key that Heathcliff is holding, as to escape from Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff.
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But instead of quitting after Heathcliff had issued a warning, Cathy instead continued to pursue

the key, and for her efforts received buffets from Heathcliff, leaving her in a melancholy state.

³I've given over crying: but I'm going to kneel here, at your knee; and I'll not get up, and I'll not

take my eyes from your face till you look back at me! No, don't turn away! DO LOOK,´ (Brontë

). At this time, Cathy¶s father is dying, Cathy is pleading that she be allowed to return to visit

Thrush Cross Grange to visit her father before he dies. As Cathy is pressing Heathcliff for

permission to return even if only for a day she forgets what kind of person her jailer is and he

then promptly denies her request, and sentences her to Linton¶s chambers. Catherine shows a

perfect example, of inheriting her mom¶s trait for being head-strong, and doing what she pleases

no matter the consequences, whether it be in her favor or not, by not listening to reason, and

acting purely on raw passion.

All the characters in this book lack reason when it comes to doing what is most sensible, and

instead proceed in a fashion that is based solely on emotions. In this way Brontë portrays

internal conflict between characters to develop the prevalent theme of the novel, passion

overcoming reason.
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Works Cited

Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1996 (Print).