Topic > "Wuthering Heights": A Story of Love and Lovers

In Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Catherine redeems her mother's inability to love another tenderly with her love for Linton. Catherine's love does not it is an intense and all-consuming passion in which the object of love is neglected and love itself is the focus, but rather a love that nourishes the beloved, embracing them with compassion. Cathy's love for Heathcliff is not a tender love , but rather a love of necessity. Cathy loves Heathcliff as one loves a part of herself: her love is purely self-indulgent. Cathy and Heathcliff's relationship is characterized by intense and absolute passion everlasting love for her, making him hard His life's work is to take revenge on her for marrying Edgar Linton instead of himself Neither of them loves the other and, in fact, their love is a great source of misery for both of moderation, instead pouring every ounce of his being into his burning obsession. Catherine's love, however, is a nurturing love. While Cathy's love is purely self-indulgent, Catherine's love is described as "never fierce; it was deep and tender". (p187) Cathy's ability to love is limited to all-consuming passion, while Catherine's love is compassionate. Catherine's adoration for Linton is a sustaining love. Linton's desire to fall in love with Catherine's feelings towards him is not fickle and surpasses any conflict that may arise between the two of them. While Cathy pours every ounce of her being into her emotions, Catherine rarely allows her emotions to completely overwhelm her, and if she finds that her previous actions reflect bad thoughts she is quick to make amends while Cathy never takes responsibility for what she has done . : While Cathy's volatile behavior rarely undergoes cooling-off periods, Catherine apologizes for any of her misbehavior. Linton longs to be in Catherine's presence while Heathcliff often goes through prolonged periods of wanting nothing more than to be in Cathy's presence. And while the furious love between Cathy and Heathcliff is the source of all the major conflicts throughout Wuthering Heights, Catherine's love for Linton is one of the few redeeming traits possessed by all the characters in Wuthering Heights. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Even in her early years Catherine's growing ability to recognize her misdeeds is evident. Although throughout their childhood Catherine and Linton are for the most part very fond of each other, there are, as expected from two young people (or adults for that matter), sporadic conflicts between the two. "Cathy [Catherine], beside herself, gave a violent push to the chair, and knocked him against his arm. He was immediately seized with a suffocating cough which soon put an end to his triumph. It lasted so long, that it frightened even me with all her strength, horrified at the harm she had done, even though she said nothing." (p236) Catherine's immediate recognition of her bad behavior sets her apart from her mother. Although Cathy has managed to torment Heathcliff without remorse, Catherine is unable to hide her regret for harming Linton. There is no period after knocking over Linton's chair in which Catherine is not overcome with grief and remorse. Catherine is so surprised by his misconduct that she cannot speak. This degree of regret, or even any degree of an apologetic nature, is rarely, if ever, found in Cathy's many spiteful actions. As Linton's condition worsens, the compassion in Catherine's love seems to grow. Now confined to bed, Linton continued to.