骆倩-学年论文

1、On Catherines love in Wuthering HeightsByLuo Qian骆倩A term paper submitted to the Foreign Language and Literature Department ofBaoji University of Arts and SciencesClass:1Grade: 2007Term paper Advisor: Wang WeiqiangStudent: Luo QianDate: 12 December 2009On Catherines love in Wuthering Heights. Introd

2、uction Wuthering Heights, a great novel written by Emily Bronte, is not a simple story of revenge, it has more profound implications. They are not only have the lingering love, but also a deeply hate. Love and hate is one of the conflicts in Wuthering Heights. The theme is that hate can't m

3、ake the love disappear, Love is stronger than hate. Catherine and Heathcliff's love is pure .However, the social culture destroys this love, and causes hate, Catherine betrays him. When Catherine married Edgar, Heathcliff starts his revenge to all his enemies. When I finish reading this book, Ca

4、therines love makes me think a lot. If she married Heathcliff, will this tragedy never happen? In fact, it is the society that causes Heathcliffs loss of love. . Catherines love to Heathcliff and EdgarA. Catherines deep and pure love with HeathcliffCatherine is very ambivalent in her love .Due to hu

5、man nature, she loves Heathcliff deeply and her soul can't live without him. Catherine is crazy bout Heathcliff. Their love is rooted in their childhood. At their childhood, they were unseparated playmates. Though Hindley opposed their friendship, and would punish them every time they were toget

6、her. But they were never dismayed, because they were not alone.Moreover, their love is based on their shared perception that they are identical, even their souls are shared by one. When she first comes back from Thrushcross Grange after five weeks, her heart becomes more complex. At first, Catherine

7、 looks for Heathcliff, to embrace and kiss him, and she is afraid about Heathcliff's dirty clothes against her clean dress. But later, Catherine is afraid of Heathcliff be flogged. So, we can see that even though Catherine changed, she cares about Heathcliff. When Edgar Linton asked Catherine to

8、 marry him, Catherine said:“It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now, so he shall never know how I love him. And that, not because hes handsome, but because hes more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Lintons is as different as a moonbeam from lightni

9、ng, or frost from fire.” (Emily Bronte, 2005, 84)“Every Linton on the face of the earth might melt into nothing, before I could consent to for sake HeathcliffBut did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we would be beggars?”(Emily Bronte, 2005, 85)If she marries Heathcliff she will

10、be a beggar. Even if she is aware that without Heathcliff she can't live, but the cruel reality helps her realize that marrying Linton will make her become the greatest woman in the area. The temptation of material benefit and the society, made her betray her love .But her betrayal is not though

11、t, only for material. Although he is against the low-class culture, she is still crazy about Heathcliff even without property. “My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliffs miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished,

12、 and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger. I should not seem a part of it. My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods, time will change it, Im well aware, as winter changes the trees. My l

13、ove for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. I am Heathcliff! Hes always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”（ Emily Bronte, 2005, 86）For Catherine, Heathcliff is eve

14、rything for her. As a love witness of Heathcliff and Catherine, I would say, their love was so heavy that it is beyond ordinary peoples understanding. It was their lives and soul. It was everything. They were shadows to each other. Nothing could separate them unless there was no sun or moon in the u

15、niverse that produced shadow.Their love became strong when departure came. Because of love, Catherine married to Linton; because of love, Heathcliff left and back to revenge until his death. Catherine once said Heathcliff was much more than herself. Without him, she was just like a human being that

16、had no soul. While in Heathcliffs lonely world, he could sense Catherine everywhere.B. Catherines betrayal to Heathcliff and marriage with Edgar.Catherine married Linton. Think about the society at that time, it is not a surprise. The social culture made Catherine betray her love in order to satisfy

17、 her yearning for fame and wealth. She chooses Linton, thereby her love becomes a tragedy.Catherine clearly understands her love to Heathcliff's, but still chose to marry Linton. Compared with Lintons bright future and status, Heathcliff has no position. Catherine once said “if I marry Linton, I

18、 can aid Heathcliffs to rise, and place him out of my brother's power.” （Emily Bronte, 2005, 85） As we all know that is called innocent and selfish. However, we cannot deny that Catherine loves Linton, even though it is only a little. On a rainy day, Catherine managed to inform Linton of her bro

19、thers absence, and was then preparing to receive him. It is easy to see that Catherine likes stay with Linton and she loves the feeling when she stays with Linton.Catherine eventually chose Linton. Heathcliff is stubborn, but Linton is tender and gentle. Moreover, Linton is handsome, young, cheerful

20、 and rich, and loves Catherine very much. Meanwhile, Catherine is just a flower in greenhouse. She needs servants and peaceful environment. At this point, it is impossible for Heathcliff to satisfy her needs.As a woman in that society, Catherine has no choice. She only wants to live a better life. C

21、an we blame her that she is wrong? On the contrary, love is not equal to the marriage. You can't blame Catherine because the world is not only the spirit world.  The causes of Catherines choiceA. Vanity of CatherineIt is the trip to Thrushcross Grange that makes Catherines heart change. She

22、 couldn't resist temptation of Thrushcross Granges life. Compared with Lintons rich and elegant Heathcliff is rude. Instead of being a beggar couple, she decided to marry Linton. A legitimate reason: “if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliffs to rise, and place him out of my brother's power.”

23、 （Emily Bronte, 2005, 85）However the reason is used to comfort herself, not helped Heathcliff, but killed Heathcliff. It destroyed all the hope and happiness, and killed the pure love between them.From the beginning, there is no true love between Catherine and Linton .It was only a marriage tragedy.

24、 In her heart, she first love is Heathcliff and always for Heathcliff.She chose to marry Linton, means betrayal to Heathcliff. Catherine selfish complex characters have already exposed.“Im very far from jesting, Miss Catherine. You love Mr. Edgar because he is handsome, and young, and cheerful, and

25、rich, and loves you. The last, however, goes for nothing, you would love him without that, probably; and with it you wouldnt, unless he possessed the four former attractions.”“No, to be sure not: I should only pity him hate him, perhaps, if he were ugly, and a clown.”“But there are several other han

26、dsome, rich young man in the word: handsome, possibly, and richer than he is. What should hinder you from loving them?”“If there be any, they are out of my way! Ive seen none like Edgar.” （Emily Bronte, 2005, 81,82)When Catherine talked with Nelly, she said all this. Obviously, we can know that Cath

27、erine chose Linton only because his status and wealth can make her life comfortable. This is a choice of betray her heart. Her vanity makes her lover away from her, and also from that time she lives in pain. Therefore, it is one of the factors should not be ignored in the tragedy.B. Heathcliffs twis

28、ted soulHeathcliff was abandoned by the parents when he was very young .Fortunately, he was adopted. But he still couldn't get rid of miserable life situation, and still suffering from a mental and personality torture.For Heathcliff, the greatest pleasure is together with Catherine .At the same

29、time, Catherine is everything to him. She is the hope of Heathcliffs life. Besides, he had nothing, including dignity. Also because of Heathcliff love so strong, so when Catherine abandoned him, the love became hate and revenge. He let the hate lasts for two generations. All the love of him disappea

30、red. “He struggled long to keep up an equality with Catherine in her studies, and yielded with poignant though silent regret: but he yielded completely; and there was no prevailing on him to take a step in the way of moving upward, when he found he must, necessarily, sink beneath his former level. T

31、hen personal appearance sympathized with mental deterioration: he acquired a slouching gait, and ignoble look; his naturally reserved disposition was exaggeration into an almost idiotic excess of unsociable moroseness; and he took a grim pleasure, apparently, in exciting the aversion rather than the

32、 esteem of his few acquaintances. ”（Emily Bronte, 2005, 70)We always encourage others like this: You should turn the pressure into power. However, Heathcliff take a passive attitude. Only because of the loss of his lover he revenged for two generations instead of try his best to let Catherine come b

33、ack. It became confused that how should we express our love for others. When Catherine went to the end of her life, Heathcliff told her “You deserve this. You have killed yourself. You loved me then what right had you to leave me?” （Emily Bronte, 2005, 171)It is easy to see Heathcliff has strong pos

34、sessive. This kind of power led to the revenge. Heathcliff twisted soul led to the revenge.C. Differences between Catherines and Heathcliffs social status and financial conditionsCatherine and Heathcliffs love tragedy has deep social reasons. When they were young, patriarchy dominated the marriage o

35、f English family and the fate of them. Their love is destined to a tragedy.First, they live in different families. They have different background and class status. Catherine is the daughter of Wuthering Heightss master. She loved by people, and was supposed to marry a gentleman. While Heathcliff is

36、just a stranger .He has nothing. At the same time, Catherine's brother is cruel, he treat their love in a patriarchal way. So, family background limited the love between them.Second, Heathcliffs love tragedy is not only the tragedy of society, but also the tragedy of that period. As a famous per

37、son said: “Heathcliff resistance is a special kind of resistance, it refers to those workers against belittle who is physically and mentally has the same social condition and social relations as Heathcliff. Heathcliff's is no longer an exploited but also because he does using the ruling class standard, while the human value also disappeared in their love. The relation of Heathcliff and Catherine is the sam