Tall, Dark, Handsome, and Crazy

Heathcliff is dark and mysterious, and he wants to keep it that way. Besides the housemaid Nelly Dean, Heathcliff is the only character who manages to stay alive for the entirety of the saga of Wuthering Heights. In fact, the entire novel revolves around his life. Characters are born, and characters die, but his death is what signifies the end of Wuthering Heights. The character of Heathcliff is a presence throughout the story, and his actions and passions are what drive the plot.

Within the first page of the book, Heathcliff is vividly describes as being very dark and secretive with "black eyes" that retreat under his eyebrows. Heathcliff immediately captures the reader's attention and hold onto it for the rest of the novel. Heathcliff is by far one of the most complicated characters in book. Born a poor orphan in Liverpool, Heathcliff is adopted by Mr. Earnshaw and is raised with Catherine and Hindley. Heathcliff quickly rises in social class with his adoption only to be pushed back down by the cruel and taunting Hindley who takes charge of Wuthering Heights after his father's death. Catherine's decision to marry Edgar instead of him brings Heathcliff's turbulent youth to a close. After running away, he returns three years later as a changed man. Taller, more handsome, but much more vengeful. Determined to seek his revenge on everyone who has done him wrong, particularly Hindley for his abuse and Edgar for marrying Catherine, Heathcliff's complicated and lengthy plot is what leads to most of the events that occur during this latter half of the novel. His actions and desires are what drive the entire story line; this guy must be important.

Infatuated by and curious about such a mysterious character, many readers often make Heathcliff into something he is not. Readers including myself often make Heathcliff into a kind of tragically romantic hero despite all of the horrible things he does. Emily Bronte is partially responsible for this. She writes Heathcliff in a way that makes us sympathize with him. We can't help but feel sorry for Heathcliff after all that he has endured. His desire for revenge is not completely without reason, and even when he takes his ruthlessness to the next level, we make excuses for him. He only seems cold and heartless because he is hiding his true emotional weaknesses. He is only cruel because of his unfilled love for Catherine. These excuses we make for him, though, simply are not who he is. Heathcliff truly enjoys watching people suffer. He abuses the innocent Isabella just to watch her come crawling back for more in her blind love for him. Funnily enough, we end up crawling back to Heathcliff, convincing ourselves of his romantic nature. Although maybe not the romantic hero we hoped him to be, Heathcliff is still a vastly complex and misunderstood character who is a force of nature throughout Wuthering Heights.