Violence within Wuthering Heights could be seen as an
integral theme, it is perhaps the backbone of Cathy and Heathcliff’s tumultuous
relationship and lurks in every corner of Wuthering Heights, from blazing fires
to the tempestuous storms that may mirror the violent inhabitants within.
Bronte’s two Gothic settings, one of hostility and darkness and one of luxury
and entrapment are perhaps the starting points of violence in Wuthering
Heights. Acts of physical and emotional violence and turmoil are present in
both seemingly contrasting settings, suggesting that violence is borne from
surroundings and perhaps for Bronte’s characters violence is simply commonplace
among the inhospitable moors. Heathcliff represents a key Gothic concept of
otherness which can be seen to make him an outcast, his otherness is the reason
he is subject to violent acts of “pinching” and “blows” from his fellow
characters. His ill-treatment from an early age could be seen as the catalyst
for his own want of revenge and violence later in the novel, suggesting he is a
product of circumstance; Heathcliff perhaps exemplifies that violence breeds
violence. The complexity of the relationships and actions of the characters
with echoes of violence across the generations can be seen to create a vortex
of violence, in itself creating a Gothic setting of a violent labrynth from which there is no escape. As
Nelly suggests she has seen “one set of faces and one set of actions” despite
the different generations highlighting that perhaps violence produces violence
and the cycle must be broken in order for peace.
The question of violence breeding violence can be seen to be
answered by following Heathcliff from childhood to adulthood in the novel.
Hindley inflicts and encourages others such as Frances to abuse Heathcliff from
beatings to pulling his hair when Heathcliff is a young boy. This later evokes
hatred from Heathcliff and propels him into wanting revenge on his violent
abusers as Nelly suggests “his treatment..was enough to make a fiend of a
saint”, suggesting the violence inflicted on Heathcliff as a child has bred
violent behaviour in him as an adult. However, it could be argued Heathcliff’s
later violent personality is perhaps not bred by violence but borne from
frustration. As an outsider or an “other” Heathcliff lacks any status, he does
not own property and cannot gain acceptance from his adoptive family nor can he
marry Catherine for lack of status, placing him under a metaphorical glass
ceiling, suggesting his behaviour and want for revenge is borne from status
frustration and a product of his oppressive circumstance rather than physical
acts of violence imposed on him. It
could be agued that it is in fact Heathcliff’
s nature rather than his nurture that creates his violent
persona. Nelly suggests he has a “violent nature” and perhaps as he was not
born in Wuthering Heights, which can be seen as a symbol of violence, his
violence is perhaps innate rather than bred. However, it could be refuted that
by being adopted and uncontrollably placed in this violent setting, Heathcliff
is moulded and shaped by his surroundings and his abusers. Whether it is a
personality trait or externally imposed, violence from Heathcliff seems to
escalate as he grows older moving from captive with a lack of status and
subject to abuse, to captor, entrapping Cathy and Isabella.
The different generations present in the novel create cycles
of repetition and therefore cycles of violence. Exaggerated through the
repetition of names, violent acts seem to descend through the generations
creating the Gothic setting amongst characters of a labyrinth, as the vicious
cycle seems never ending. From Catherine striking Edgar to Cathy abusing Linton
into fits of coughing, history of violence begins to repeat itself, perhaps
suggesting violence from parents is bred to susceptible children. However,
whilst violence can be argued as an intergenerational theme, it could be
suggested that Cathy, Linton and Hareton
are far less ferocious and extreme than their predecessors. Whilst Catherine
pinches “with a prolonged wrench” and strikes, Heathcliff captures and Hindley
threatens to murder, their children’s acts of violence seem miniscule in
comparison to the irrational and extreme behaviours of their parents. Perhaps
suggesting that whilst violence has been passed on through generations and
behaviour learned from parents, it has become diluted and weaker by the end of
the novel. The somewhat founders of Wuthering Heights and violence are
deceased, destabilising the cycle of violence and leading to its end, Hareton
becomes a gentleman and cultivated, halting the cycle of violence and finally
obtaining peace.
It could be argued a violent setting creates violent people,
Bronte’s depiction of both settings is Gothic as they epitomise excess, fire,
and darkness producing an ideal backdrop for acts of violence. Whilst the
semantic field of violence is more prevalent in Bronte’s description of
Wuthering Heights “roasting, boiling, squealing, lurking” violence is present
in Thrushcross Grange also. Thrushcross Grange can be seen as a direct contrast
to Wuthering Heights, however it too, is a Gothic setting with the excess of
luxury and acts of violence such as Isabella and Edgar pulling at their dog.
The two settings can be seen as oppositions; the opposition of wild versus
domestic. However, as in many Gothic texts, Bronte subjects this opposition to
pressure, causing the distinct boundaries to collapse as this blurring of
boundaries is said to be where “fear resides” David Punter, as wild merges with
civility shown perhaps through as aforementioned the Linton’s violent tugging
of their dog within the seemingly domestic setting of Thrushcross Grange, but
perhaps even more shockingly in the act of violence carried out by Lockwood who
can be seen as a symbol of civilisation. Lockwood and Heathcliff can also be
seen as oppositions or the doppelganger, Lockwood the epitome of the middle
classes and Heathcliff the raw and uncultivated, yet Lockwood’s violent and
most gruesome act of violence when he scrapes the child ghost of Cathy’s arm
across the window pane till the “blood soaked the bedclothes” destabilises this
dichotomy or opposition of wild/domestic. The civilised, on entering the
violent setting of Wuthering Heights turns to violence, whilst the wild or the
violent is also apparent in the domestic or civilised setting of Thrushcross
Grange. This suggests that violent settings breed violence from even the most
civilised and passive, whilst violence also has a sinister place in the
domestic, reinforcing the notion of a cycle of violence.
Violence may be seen as entirely negatively by some
interpreters in Wuthering Heights, it causes physical and mental wounds amongst
characters however Bronte may be seen to present violence in a positive light
as it could be argued violence in Wuthering Heights equates to passion.
Violence in Heathcliff and the Earnshaw’s
is perhaps desirable in comparison to the mundane nature of the Linton’s,
especially when it comes to love. The sheer passion between Catherine and
Heathcliff is fuelled by their violent emotions towards each other, they have
an extreme and irrational passion for each other “my love for Heathcliff
resembles the eternal rocks beneath” suggesting their love is other worldly.
Their tumultuous and sometimes violent relationship has been the focus of many
critics and film versions of Bronte’s novel suggesting the desirability of
violence when it is linked with passion rather than danger. Bronte presents
Catherine’s love for Edgar as a financial contract, as exciting and desirable
as “foliage in the woods” suggesting Heathcliff’s unpredictability and violent
personality as attractive as it is in contrast to a “lamb” such as Edgar. By
juxtaposing these two different types of love, one lacking passion and one
fuelled by violent passion Bronte presents violence as almost an elixir of
life, violence in this case may breed passion and eternal love.
Violence is undoubtedly an overarching theme in Wuthering
Heights and the Gothic genre, violence evokes both terror, for example
Hindley’s drunken abuse, and horror, presented through Lockwood’s gruesome
attack. Violence is a catalyst for many later events in the novel such as
Heathcliff’s revenge and Catherine’s sickness, violent acts seem to breed
further violence and be the source of hatred for many characters, however
despite this violence is perhaps portrayed as a driving force for love and for
progress. The cyclical nature of violence in Wuthering Heights both lends
itself to the Gothic genre and creates the sense of triumph when Hareton breaks
the vortex of violence and progresses to being a civilised gentleman. However, as Wuthering Heights may suggest
violence and civility may not be the distinct dichotomy they are purported to
be, much like the ghost of Catherine that haunts the moors, violence may be
lurking at any time within a Gothic novel.
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