How Does Heathcliff's Use Of Revenge

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Through menacing storyline, Heathcliff displays a vicious and resentful personality against those who have harmed, sullied and shamed him in Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff’s seek of revenge upon those who have done him wrong is what will eventually lead to his dismal fate. Bronte uses Heathcliff to show how a steadfast human emotion can take over a person’s life and to warn against the destructive power in eternal vengeance. While revenge is mainly portrayed by Heathcliff in the novel, the first character to show any attempts at revenge is Hindley. Heathcliff is introduced in the novel as a homeless child. He is a “dirty, ragged, black-haired child” (29) who Mr. Earnshaw adopts and brings back to Wuthering Heights. Mrs.…show more content…
Heathcliff leaves for three years in order to obtain enough education and wealth to take his revenge on both Hindley and the Lintons. Heathcliff comes back after those years as an educated and rich man and Bronte begins to shows the dominance of revenge during this part of the novel by displaying Heathcliff’s pernicious revenge schemes. Heathcliff’s motivation on destroying the Lintons is the fact that they stole Catherine from him. During her stay at Thrushcross Grange, Catherine is made in to a civilized lady which makes her question Heathcliff’s social status and what could possibly happen to her if she married him. Because Catherine is now rejecting Heathcliff, Heathcliff seeks revenge on the family who oppressed him and demands to show his new social superiority. Healthcliff despises Edgar Linton, Catherine’s new wealthy husband, is such a profound way that “I (he) would have torn out his heart and drunk his blood” (124) However, Heathcliff’s malicious revenge schemes are made to show the true destructive power of long term revenge. Healthcliff decides to seduce Isabella, Edgar’s sister, and to raise Hareton, therefore taking him away from Hindley’s authority, making him a financially depended drunk…show more content…
She feels “particularly cheerless seated here in worse than solitude.” (116) The happy and true love based marriage Isabella thought she had with Heathcliff has uncovered to be a lie. By marrying Isabella, Heathcliff only planned on separating Isabella and Edgar for revenge, along with marrying Isabella to show Catherine that he married a Linton too. After the death of Catherine, Heathcliff becomes as lonely as ever and is more vengeful than ever. After Hindley dies a few days later, Heathcliff becomes proprietor of Wuthering Heights. The once servant is now master and now he can begin to treat Hareton in same degrading way his father treated him. More than seeking revenge, Heathcliff seems to be re-enacting the

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