Two for One Deal

It's so easy to speed read through Wuthering Heights, desperately wanting to know what happens to everyone and if maybe there is one character who doesn't die of heartbreak, but if you take the time to slow down and really notice things, it is most definitely worth it. Emily Bronte's classic novel is full of juxtapositions, pairs, and parallels. It seems that almost everything in the novel comes in twos. The most prominent of these pairs are the two estates along with the people are are associated with them. The differences between the Wuthering Heights mansion and the Thrushcross Grange estate couldn't be any stronger. The word "wuthering" literally refers to wild, violent winds that often sweep across the Yorkshire moors. Wuthering Heights represents that wilderness along with unrestrained passion and, ultimately, disaster. The word "heights" evokes dizzying peaks and ominous cliffs. Fierce, spirited characters such as Heathcliff, Hindley, and Catherine who are members of this house reinforce that connotation. Thrushcross Grange, on the other hand, represents everything that Wuthering Heights is not. A thrush is a bird known for its sweet song and is a symbol for piety and Christianity, while a grange refers to domestic farms and peaceful homes. Thrushcross Grange is noble, socially respectable, and civil just like the Lintons.

These houses begin to intertwine, though, as an entirely new generation of characters emerges. This second generation, though, does not take center stage until after the main turning point in the novel: Catherine's death. Torn between her wild, perpetual passion for Heathcliff and her sensible, acceptable marriage to Edgar, Catherine becomes physically ill. On her death bed, Catherine begs Heathcliff for forgiveness, professing her undying love for him and begging him not to leave her. After giving birth to her daughter Catherine (I warned you about these confusing names), she dies (I also warned you about the frequency of death). Her death, one of the strongest emotional climaxes of the novel, causes a major shift in the plot's direction. With Hindley, Isabella, Catherine, and soon to be Edgar dead, the story shifts its focus to the next generation of unruly characters.

At first it seems strange to center on a different Catherine, but before long it becomes clear that it really isn't all that different. For one, she has the exact same name and the same headstrong personality of her mother, but she also ends up in a similar situation. Once again, we see a parallel pattern to the first half of the novel: One girl, two slightly related boys. It's not Heathcliff and Edgar, but their son and nephew instead. Catherine gets pressured into being with Linton, Heathcliff's and Isabella's weak, sickly son. Her passion, though, is for Hindley's rougher but stronger son Hareton. This new generation of characters really are not too different from the first. The wild passion, forbidden love, and indecision will all continue to plague them as Heathcliff continues to wreak havoc on everybody through his ultimate revenge program.