English Literature Essay

Paper 5: Pre 20th Century Texts

Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

Q. Discuss some of the effects created by Bronte’s presentation of children and

childhood in Wuthering Heights. (25 marks)

Introduction:
‘Wuthering Heights’ explores the depths of human emotion and provokes greater
consideration of morality through language, setting and characterization. Bronte’s gothic
narrative focuses predominantly on death and the supernatural, class, love and according to
Joyce Carol Oates is “an assured demonstration of the finite and tragically self consuming
nature of passion.” Bronte presents the childhoods of the central characters in great detail,
portraying the experiences that have moulded them, consequently giving readers a more
complete understanding of their ethos, their motivations and the dynamics of their
relationships with one another.

Body:
The intense, all consuming romance of Catherine and Heathcliff at the heart of the novel is
established largely whilst they are in their childhood. As a social pariah, Heathcliff is rejected
and disavowed by all except Catherine and Bronte’s depiction of the “little souls comforting
each other” and how “they forgot everything the minute they were together again” divulges
an inexplicably potent bond which stems from Catherine’s early acceptance of Heathcliff.
This bond later progresses to a love that transcends social and natural barriers, stretching far
beyond the conventional, personal plane of romantic love. Theirs is an unassailable
attachment from the outset, and it is primarily within their youth that Bronte portrays how the
two are “much too fond” of one another. Their childhood, rife with mischief, is one of
wildness and fervour. Catherine’s comment as she nears her death, “I wish I were a girl
again, half savage and hardy and free” suggests that their childhood was almost idyllic in the
freedom it entailed, which both Heathcliff and Catherine seem to lack in their adulthood.

In direct opposition to the natural, untamed childhood of Catherine and Heathcliff, Isabella
and Edgars is one of civilised propriety. Their cultivated behaviour is directly antithetical to
former’s uncultured mannerisms. They are raised in Thrushcross Grange, a “beautiful,
splendid place” where there is a sense of deference and hierarchy present and which serves as
an outpost for education and urbanity. Being nurtured in such an abode, both Edgar and
Isabella are passive and genteel. Through this, Bronte highlights the importance of the
environment in which children are raised and illustrates the effect it can have on their
character. She also employs this as a means of heightening the contrast between the Grange
and the Heights thereby pitting nature against civilisation.

Heathcliff’s childhood, however, in spite of its freedom, is characterized by abuse. He is a

victim of heavy persecution and the trauma he bears in his youth shapes him into the violent,
vindictive man he later becomes. Though, Heathcliff is deigned an “unfeeling child” from the
beginning, he is also impacted by the “tyrannical” Hindley who refers to him as “imp of
satan”, “beggarly interloper” and bestows a profusion of violent abuse upon him because of
which Heathcliff is “hardened to ill-treatment”. This is a striking comment on the
ramifications of brutality. Bronte presents the effects of a troubled childhood on one’s
disposition and “Hindley’s manifestation of scorn” is a crucial aspect of what leads Heathcliff
to his vengeful, ruthless existence. As a continual recipient of ridicule and ostracism, he
develops a deep seated feeling of inadequacy which he attempts to quell through aggression
and the relentless campaign of vengeance Heathcliff pursues is the direct consequence of his
tumultuous childhood.

In his adulthood, Heathcliff assumes the role of the aggressor rather than the victim,
redirecting the resentment inflicted on him back at the families of his persecutors. In an
attempt “to settle his debt with Hindley” he punishes Hareton for his father’s misdeeds.
Deprived of an education, Hareton is “sensitive though uncultivated” and readers see once
more the effect of maltreatment. Heathcliff also subjects Linton to ferocious, diabolical
treatment, viewing his son as little more than a conduit for revenge. He seems to exhibit no
paternal affection for him and induces in him “a paroxysm of helpless fear”. Heathcliff’s
oppression in his childhood dictates his fractured relationship with Linton and Bronte, thus,
comments on the cycle of abuse, foregrounding how the abused can become the abusers. In
the words of literary critic Hathen, this portrayal allows readers to “pity both victims and
victimizers alike”. This is also true for Hindley, who despite his cruelty, merely yearns for
the affection of his parents. Bronte presents Hindley as viewing Heathcliff a “usurper of..his
privileges” and in doing so manages to arouse our sympathy for him despite his wrongdoings.

As a contrast to the other turbulent childhoods, Cathy Linton’s adolescence is depicted to be

content and exuberant. Nelly claims that the years of Cathy’s childhood “were the happiest of
my (her) life”, vastly unlike the “dismal period” Nelly deems the youth of the other
characters. According to Nelly, Cathy “brought sunshine into a desolate house” and Edgar
rears her well, never speaking “a harsh word to her”. She thrives under the loving care of her
father and Nelly and is kept, in “perfect recluse”. She is greatly sheltered and there is a sense
that her world is uncorrupted by that of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights. However, Cathy
does share her mother’s “capacity for intense attachments” and penchant for mischief and
thus, it is notable that the offspring of the first generation mirror some of the traits of their
predecessors and a pattern of dualism emerges. It is notable that readers see the childhoods of
both generations through Nelly’s lens and she plays a maternal role is caring for most of the
children in the narrative.

Conclusion:
Bronte’s presentation of childhood is integral to understanding what drives the central
characters and the core of the crux of the story. It lends to the reader’s awareness of
Heathcliff’s complex character and how the rejection he faces ultimately determines the
outcome of the novel. The exploration of childhood is pivotal to portraying wider cultural
nuances within the text and to appreciating the psyche of the characters more completely as
the novel is, in the view of many critics, “a window to the human soul.”