ENG4U | Lauren Pearson, 2022
Image Credit: The New York Times
The once sensible demeanour displayed by Heathcliff had disappeared as he sprung forwards toward Catherine. He possessed a unique sense of urgency, one that has not been physically expressed before, it was as if she had almost been brushed towards the face of death. I continued to observe quietly as I finished the afternoon portions of my chores. I watched as he approached Catherine and leaned towards her to say - “‘Without you, I would sob myself self into a world of only melancholic memories. So why is it so hard to continue to sacrifice my moral intentions in order for us to remain together? You have quite frankly murdered yourself for me, so please forgive me for my wrongdoings. Please.”’
Within the silence, I could faintly hear the cries of Heathcliff, which acted as a subtle reminder of the undying love that he had for Catherine. My mind racing, I turned towards Catherine and nodded as a gentle reminder of the comfort I hold that she can confide in me. A nature that only us females understand even in the midst of distress. As I observed the two, my tolerance for their melancholic love story started to disappear. This brief feeling awaited my consciousness as I was met with the man who I ordered to run an errand. He nervously approached us and reminded us that our evening chores were soon to be expected of us. Catherine nods and says “‘I must leave”’ after seeing Heathcliff in his saddened state. She fears the consequences that she might face if she is seen with Heathcliff, after all, she is supposed to be his servant. As a friend and worried colleague, I grab her from Healthcliff’s arms and we began our walk back to the house.
In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the readers become familiarized with the ideology of romanticism through the plot surrounding the two main characters: Heathcliff and Catherine. Taking place during the victorian era, this text acts as an ode to feminism through challenging the pre-existing societal norms. Through my adaption of the text, I made Catherine take the place of the underprivileged character instead of Heathcliff, to honour the gender inequalities displayed during that time period. This changed the plot to focus more on overcoming Healthcliff’s toxic masculinity as opposed to the rise of feminism that was consistently occurring with Catherine. Catherine represents the innocence of this “picture-perfect” love story, even if it is frowned upon for not meeting the standards of a traditional Victorian couple.
The author uses first-person narration to allow readers the opportunity to infer an opinion regarding Heathcliff. The servant, Neille, is a limited narrator as she does not have all the knowledge of the situations taking place in the text. The text used numerous language features to portray the societal dislike of their relationship, this even revolved around my interpretation to make Catherine intentionally manipulates Heathcliff. As her intense demeanour reflected the accurate views which combat societal norms. The metaphor “brushed towards the face of death” represented the complicated dynamics and the internal psychological struggle of their relationship. Metaphors highlight the key idea that the text tries to convey, making sense of situations that are not as straightforward as they may seem. The dialogue between the characters was specifically added to build the suspense and allowed the reader to fully immerse themselves into their relationship.
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