Many people in the world are trying to find a
perfect companion. Some of these
may marry and not
know what their new husband or wife is like. This kind of situation
often leads to separation
or hostility. Other situations may develop between two friends
that stem from
jealousy, desire for revenge, uncaring parents, etc. Emily Brontë's
Wuthering
Heights displays several characteristics
of destructive relationships. Three of
these are
uncaring parents, marriage without knowing the person, and jealousy.
Uncaring or unsympathizing parents are shown
throughout this story to be an
element of
destructive relationships. Because Heathcliff gained all the attention from Mr.
Earnshaw, Hindley
became disassociated from his father. This separation continued until
after Mr.
Earnshaw had died. Another example is between Hindley and Hareton. Hindley
became such a
drunk and a gambler that he could not properly care for young Hareton.
This led to a
separation between Hareton and his father as well. One primary example of
an uncaring
parent is shown between Heathcliff and his son Linton. Heathcliff did not
even want his son
for anything except enacting a part of his revenge. This is shown by
Linton's fear of
Heathcliff and Heathcliff's enmity toward his son. Linton even says "...
my father
threatened me, and I dread him - I dread him!"(244) to express his feeling
about Heathcliff
. The hostility and separation between
father and son in this book shows
that uncaring
parents can cause serious damage in relationships with their children.
This element of destructive behavior may stem
from an unhappy marriage in
which the
husbands or wives don't know each other. This had happened between Isabella
and Heathcliff.
Isabella did not really know Heathcliff when she married him, but after
she had married
him she saw that Heathcliff was not a gentleman at all. To declare her
feelings she
wrote "Is Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil? I
shan't tell my
reasons for making this inquiry; but I beseech you to explain, if you can,
what I have
married ..."(125). Another example of this is when Catherine married Edgar
Linton. Although
she had been happy at the beginning of the marriage, she thought
having parties
all the time was going to be fun. Yet, after a while, she became bored. She
also realized
that she loved Heathcliff more than Edgar and would always love
Heathcliff. This
enlightenment created separation between Edgar and Catherine during
the final hours
of Cathy's life. An additional marriage which was made that was doomed
was the one
between Catherine and Linton. Because this was a forced marriage, Cathy
had not yet
learned all she could about Linton. Because she did not know until after the
marriage that
Linton was selfish and inconsiderate, she became distressed and grew
isolated in the
house. These three failed marriages described in this novel show that
knowing the
person you will marry is very important.
While these marriages took place, jealousy
also took a hold in some relationships.
One example of
this is when Mr. Earnshaw starts to favor Heathcliff over his own son,
Hindley. Because
of this, Hindley becomes jealous of young Heathcliff and sets out to
make Heathcliff's
life a nightmare. Hindley's jealousy becomes evident when he says
,"... be
damned you beggarly interloper! and wheedle my father out of all he has; only
afterwards show
him what you are, imp of Satan."(35). Jealousy was also found very
notably in the
relationship between Heathcliff and Edgar Linton. The jealousy between
them is expressed
when Heathcliff and Edgar start a hostile conversation after Cathy's
homecoming at
Christmas near the beginning of the book. As the story progresses these
two become bitter
enemies who will not speak to one another. Another relationship
which jealousy
ruined is the one between Hareton and Linton. These two become jealous
of each other
over Cathy's affections. This relationship ends as Hareton and Linton
hating each
other. These relationships show that jealousy can ruin a relationship very
quickly.
The jealousy, neglect, and unprepared nature of the many relationships
in this
book indicates
that many of the relationships in this book have gone "sour". In
spite of all
these destructive
elements one relationship may succeed. This is the one between Cathy
and Hareton.
Because there is no more jealousy or neglect, and because they are getting
to know each
other, their relationship has a good chance of succeeding. Because all the
other failed
relationships in this book containing the elements; jealousy, neglect, and
ignorance
concerning the nature of your companion; one can conclude that these
elements will
destroy any relationship.
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