The Dual Personalities of the Protagonists in Wuthering Heights

1、the dual personalities of the protagonists in wuthering heights contentsabstractii1. introduction12.the brief introduction about wuthering heights13. heathcliffs dual personalities33.1 his extreme hatred33.2 his profound love44. catherines dual personalities55.the influence of their dual personaliti

2、es on their love tragedy76. conclusion9bibliography10summary of writing this thesis11acknowledgements12the dual personalities of the protagonists in wuthering heights abstract: wuthering heights is the flower of english literature; it is a romantic work which describes a thrilling love story. it sta

3、rted from the wildness and ended as a tragedy, in which we see the long lasting revenge and hatred between the two families. it demonstrates the seamy side of the society. this novel built two very complex protagonists because of their dual personalities. in order to make the readers have a better u

4、nderstanding of this novel, this thesis analyzes the main characters, i.e. heathcliff and catherine, through their growing background, their behaviors, their language, and their inner worlds described in the novel written by emily bronte. from the detailed analysis, we can understand a truth about t

5、his novel more clearly, that is, society shaped the peoples character and their character determined their destiny.key words: wuthering heights; heathcliff; catherine；dual personalities摘要：呼啸山庄是英国文学史上的一朵奇葩。它是一部描写惊心动魄爱情故事的浪漫主义文学作品。小说以荒原开始，以悲剧收场，在这期间我们不仅可以看到持续了半个多世纪的仇恨与报复，还可以理解到当时社会的阴暗面。这部小说的主要人物，以及他们的

6、双重性格，都反映了环境对人物性格的影响，同时他们的爱情悲剧反映了人物性格决定了人物的命运。本文主要通过主人公成长的生活环境、行为、语言以及内心世界分析了其主要性格特征，以及该性格特征对其爱情悲剧的影响。关键词:呼啸山庄；希斯克利夫；凯瑟琳; 双重性格iithe dual personalities of the protagonists in wuthering heights 1. introductionwuthering heights is the flower of english literature; it is a romantic work which describes a

7、 thrilling love story. the story started from the wildness and ended as a tragedy, in which we see the long lasting revenge and hatred between the two families. it demonstrates the seamy side of the society. the main characters, their dual personalities and their love tragedy in this novel show us t

8、hat the social environment shapes the character of the people, and the character leads to the peoples destiny. the protagonists in this novel have been extensively studied in recent years by eastern and western scholars. but most of their articles are so professional, to some degree, that there are

9、some difficulties for general readers to understand. in fact, lots of obvious descriptions the author has given are the most powerful evidence to the protagonists unique characters. this thesis focuses on the dual personalities of heathclif and catherine, and analyzes the formation of their dual per

10、sonalities and the influence on their love tragedy through their growing background, their behaviors, their language, and their inner world described in the novel. this thesis begins with the brief introduction about wuthering heights, and then cites some wonderful depictions in the novel to support

11、 the analysis of the main characters dual personalities and the analysis of their love tragedy. 2. the brief introduction about wuthering heights“wuthering is a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather.” (bronte，2009:2)

12、 and this indicates a tragic story.“wuthering heights” is the name of a grange in a mountainous area. one day, its old owner mr. earnshaw brings home a gipsy foundling to meet his surprised family. mr. earnshaw treats the child, heathcliff, as his own son. his own daughter, catherine, changes her in

13、itial attitude of ridicule and befriends the “brother”, but his son, hindley, makes a point of seeing the intruder as one of the servants of the house. nelly, the nurse, is unhappy but kind toward the poor boy. years pass, and old mr. earnshaw dies. catherine falls in love with heathcliff, but agree

14、s eventually to marry young edgar linton of another farm, thorncross grange. because of some mistakes of catherine, heathcliff disappears. a few years later, he resurfaces, goes to see catherine , and revives her old flame for him, but he torments her ruthlessly, taking advantage of edgars sister is

15、abellas innocent love for him, eloping with her and eventually deserting her. in the meantime, he stays with hindley at wuthering heights, tricks his “brother” into gambling, and encourages him to slide to alcoholism. soon hindley loses his farm out to hathcliff and dies miserably, leaving his son,

16、young hareton, behind. the emotional upheaval that catherine is put through proves too much for her weak nerves. it causes the immature birth of her daughter, cathy, and sends her to her early grave. isabella ends up giving birth to a weak son, linton, sends him back to her brother, and dies. heathc

17、liff sends his man over to claim his son, little linton, and take him back to wuthering heights. over ten years pass, and the younger generation grows up. heathcliff then lures cathy over and forces her to marry his invalid son. her father edgar dies in misery, then linton dies soon, and heathecliff

18、 now owns the two properties. he brutalizes hareton and cathy. but he suffers from his psychic wound immensely. he often cries out at night for his long dead catherine, has visions of catherine clutching at his windows, and one windy rainy night he decides that it is time to give up and die. young c

19、athy and hareton unite in the end.“generally, this is a story of revenge. in fact, it reveals fully the rebellion and the abundant emotion of the author.” (hou, 2005:337) and the power of the novel comes first and foremost from the psychic complexities of the two major characters, catherine and heat

20、hcliff.3. heathcliffs dual personalitiesheathcliff is one of the most complex heroes in the english novels, and most readers was attracted by this person, especially by his roaring passion of love and his sharp contraction between love and hate, and his ruthless ways of revenge.3.1 his extreme hatre

21、das the product of environment, the fate of heathcliff is doomed. in other words, the environment makes heathcliffs character, and his character brings his own fate.heathcliff is a foundling in the street of liverpoor. because of this he doesnt like talking too much, even he is taken to mr. ernshaws

22、 family. this makes him seem sullen and patient. after his benefactor dies, hendley becomes the owner of wuthering heights, and the new owner treats him like a dog, and drives him from his company to the servants, deprives him of the instructions of the curate. in order to rebel against the “tyrant”

23、, heathcliff becomes the so called pagan, who promises fair to grow up as rude as savages. whats worse, catherine, his only companion, decides to marry edgar, the handsome and rich owner of thorncross grange. then the revengeful fire begins to devour in its flames whoever stands between him and his

24、beloved. when he decides to be revenged on the people who take the misfortune to him, he also decides that he would gain his tragic fate.heathcliffs mad revenge seems to be against the logic, but it shows his rebellious spirit most incisively. this is a special rebellious spirit shaped in a special

25、environment. if hendley hadnt deprived heathcliff of his educational right, and hadnt treated him so badly, he would not have become a bad man; if catherine hadnt chosen to marry edgar, heathcliff would not have become a terrible man. heathcliff lives in a society which money dominates everything, a

26、nd poverty is shameful. because of poverty, heathcliff loses everything including his beloved person, even his dignity. therefore, after all the sufferings, he swears to get everything that belongs to him. in the capital society, the most powerful thing is money; therefore, heathcliff chooses to occ

27、upy all the prosperity which his enemies have possessed instead of killing them directly. in a word, heathcliffs extreme hatred is shaped by the people and the social environment step by step.3.2 his profound loveafter old ernshaws death, catherine is the only one who treats heathcliff well. she car

28、es for him with all her heart, and she always accompanies him, no matter what happened, even if her brother treats heathcliff as a dirty dog. heathcliff loves this lady, the only one who doesnt mind his lowly identity with all her heart and soul. though he suffers lots of unimaginable distress, his

29、love for catherine has never stopped. when he hears that catherine would debase herself if marrying him, his heart breaking into pieces. desperate as he is, he leaves alone and makes up his minds not to meet catherine again. years by years, however, he begins to realize that the room in his heart is

30、 only for catherine. he makes himself rich and hopeful enough to return to reclaim his lost catherine. when he realizes that its impossible for him and catherine to return to the past. he despairs once again. he uses every means to destroy his enemies, and even innocent persons are involved in his r

31、evenge, such as isabella. all the things he has done seem just for catherine. had catherine married heathcliff at the beginning, hethcliffs evil, violent, and devastating revenge would never have occurred, people would not have died, and life would have been different and moved on for all.chapter xv

32、 describes the pathetic scene of the final meeting between heathcliff and cathy just before the latters death. heathcliff covers cathy who is at the last gasp with frantic caresses, said sadly“you teach me now how cruel youve been cruel and false. why did you despise me? why did you betray your own

33、heart, cathy? what right bad you to leave me?.you broke your heart, and in breaking it, you have broken mine. so much the worse for me, that i am strong. do i want to live?.would you like to live with your soul in the grave?” (bronte, 2009:204)the serious questions heathcliff asks draw tears from al

34、l the readers, and make us realize how profound his love for her is. heathcliff is a person who is as hard as a rock, as rough as the sawteeth, and he regards the love as the most important thing in his life. the only thing he thinks and cares is the love between catherine and him.after catherine di

35、es, heathcliff is inconsolable: “life after losing her will be hell!” all the time, especially in his last days, heathcliff fervently expects the spirit of catherine to come and visit him at night. he raves with a gush of grief, “do come in, my hearts darling!” “haunt me!” “i cant live without my so

36、ul!” “oh, cathy, my life!” and he torments himself to a “queer” end. though his hatred is like a violent storm, when he sees his own shadow and the love between him and catherine, he stopped his revenge on the next generation, and even says that it is an absurd ending.from his torturous monologue, a

37、 despair and deserted soul can be heard crying and shouting. his agony, his trouble, his sorrow, his pressure, and his loneliness can be felt. in short, how much heathcliffs love for catherine is, then how much his hatred for his enemies is.4. catherines dual personalitiescatherines character is fil

38、led with contradictions. on the one hand, she is pure and free; on the other hand, she is peacockish and worldly. just because of this, she has thrown herself into a dilemma since edgar linton proposed marriage. this makes her mind collapse at last and she dies in childbirth.at the beginning of the

39、novel, the characters seem to live in an ancient time, and the scene is just like a moor. in her childhood, catherine is treacherous. she always reacts against her father and her brother. in this process, she falls in love with heathcliff, who is a “barbarian”. she can bear all the punishment from h

40、er brother, except the separation from heathcliff.catherine begins to hate the meaningless freedom as she grows up. after she comes back home from thorncross grange, catherine seems to become another person. she says to her heathcliff, “it was only that you looked odd. if you wash your face and brus

41、h your hair, it will be all right: but you are so dirty!” (bronte, 2009: 65) she is attracted by the “cultured life” in the lintons, and she starts to long for it. in the place where she hears that heathcliff is termed a vulgar young ruffian, and worse than a brute, she takes care not to act like hi

42、m. in her inner heart, however, she is a wild girl, so at home she has little inclination to practice politeness that would only be laughed at, and restrains an unruly nature when it would bring her neither credit nor praise. acquisitions that flatter her from the first, lead her to adopt a double c

43、haracter without exactly intending to deceive anyone. catherine has thrown herself into a dilemma since edgar linton proposed marriage. on the one hand, she is eager for the honorable life in thorncross grange, where she can become a rich and great woman; on the other hand, she loves heathcliff with

44、 her soul, just as she says that she is heathcliff and heathcliff is her, but she knows that they will become beggars if she marries him. on the surface, her bemusement is the choice between heathcliff and edgar. in fact, what makes her bewildered is the contradiction between the ideal love and the

45、reality. in their society, money is the most powerful thing, and money is everything. if one is poor, it means he has nothing and he is a loser. heathcliff is poor, and he lives in the lowest rank. in peoples eyes, of course, he is a loser. catherine knows it clearly. therefore, she is so naive that

46、 she wants to use edgars prosperity and position to protect heathcliff from her brothers control. finally, she makes up her mind to marry edgar. only after she becomes mrs. linton does she begin to realize that she is wrong. she says, i was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; a

47、nd i broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung me out into the middle of the heath on the top of wuthering heights; where i woke sobbing for joy. that will do to explain my secret, as well as the other. ive no more business to marry edgar linton

48、than i have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought heathcliff so low, i shouldnt have thought of it. it would degrade me to marry heathcliff now; so he shall never know how i love him: and that, not because hes handsome, nelly, but because hes more myself than i am. whatever

49、 our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and lintons is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire. (bronte, 2009: 99)from these words, it can be seen that she is regretful and confused, because things do not make progress as smoothly as she thought: heathcliff has disap

50、peared, and she cant step into edgars world, and thorncross grange is totally an antipathetic world for her.in order to go along well with her husband, she has to hold back. but however she holds back, she cant suppress her love for heathcliff. when heathcliff comes back, she faces the most difficul

51、t choice again. from the attitude of edgar towards heathcliff, she realizes that edgar and heathcliff cant be possessed at the same time. but her love for linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, as winter changes the trees. and her love for heathcliff resembles the eternal rock

52、s beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. she is heathcliff! hes always, always in her mind: not as a pleasure, any more than she is always a pleasure to herself, but as her own being. so she cant accept the separation again. however, the contradiction between moral standard and

53、her true love makes catherine go insane. eventually, she chooses to die, and this is the only way she is able to take. only death can help her to release from all her confusion and contradiction. only death can help her to live with her true love forever.5. the influence of their dual personalities

54、on their love tragedythanks to its protagonists dual personalities, the love story that wuthering heights describes is so thrilling. heathcliff is sentimental and tough, but he is tyrannical in his inner heart. catherine is pure and inelegant, but she is also peacockish and worldly. on the one hand,

55、 they love each other heart and soul; on the other hand, they dont believe each other. when staying together, they cant help quarrelling with each other and doubting their love.heathcliff is eager for being respected, and he wants to be equal with catherine. when catherine becomes an elegant lady, h

56、e suspects that she has changed, and even suspects that she looks down him. knowing catherine decides to marry edgar, he is so angry that he doesnt catch catherines words:“my love for heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary.” (bronte, 2009:10

57、3) therefore, he leaves catherine with strong hatred.catherine is very worldly just like the common people, but she is pure in her inner heart. she wants to marry edgar linton to live like the aristocracy, but the love for heathcliff has been filled in her heart and bone. she believes that she can u

58、se edgars money and social position to release her heathcliff from her brothers control, but she doesnt realize that this idea cant be tolerated by the society. and this makes her gradually step into the world which is covered with contradiction and mental torture. catherines dual personalities cause her tragedy, and this tragedy has aroused the readers sympathy. as she lies dying, she says, “i wish i were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! why am i so changed?” (bronte, 2009:159) she regrets h