Wuthering Heights Essay, Research Paper

In chapter fifteen, Heathcliff and

Catherine are reunited as she is dying. Catherine knows it is very likely that

she will never see him again, and so they a very emotional conversation with

each other. This scene in chapter fifteen is probably the emotional climax of

the book, despite only being halfway through. It seems to suggest that they,

not simply enjoy each other’s company, but actually rely upon one another. ????? The first thing Heathcliff says to

Catherine is "Oh, Cathy! Oh, my life! how can I bear it?" The fact

that he refers to her as his "life" suggests that he cannot live

without her; she is what he lives for. The sentence is also exclamatory, which

suggests an emotional outburst. The way Catherine responds to his emotional

outburst is with a passionate rage to accuse him of "murdering" her:

"You and Edgar have both broken my heart, Heathcliff? You have killed

me?". What she means by this is that for them not being able to be

together, it has killed her and she blames Heathcliff for this. Heathcliff

believes her to be going mad, as he says, "Don’t torture me till I’m mad

as yourself?". Heathcliff resents Catherine’s feelings of that he murdered

her so much because he she is the only one he truly cares about, and he could

not bear to live without her, let alone parting on such terms, "Do you

reflect that all those words will be branded in my memory? after you have left

me?" ????? There is a lot of powerful words and

imagery used in the conversation between Catherine and Heathcliff. One of the

main images is to death and graves. Many times does Catherine mention herself

being dead in the future and how she will suffer, "I wish I could hold

you? till we were both dead! ?Why shouldn’t you suffer? I do!" She also

talks about her grave, "’That’s the grave of Catherine Earnshaw.’" It

is all very morbid and intense. Interestingly, she refers to herself as

‘Catherine Earnshaw’ even though her married name is ‘Catherine Linton’. This

is, perhaps, linking back with the scene near the beginning of the book, in

Lockwood’s dream, where she was just a child, yet calling herself ‘Catherine

Linton’. It could suggest that, although she is a fully-grown woman, she has

not really changed since her childhood; she is still as fiery and passionate as

she always was. Similarly, when she is just a child, but calling herself

‘Catherine Linton’ it represents the same thing, in that even when she was

known as a Linton, she still was the same as her childhood. The fact that

Catherine comments on how Heathcliff will see her grave after she is dead is

spookily repeated later on in the book when Heathcliff has Catherine’s body

unearthed so that he might embrace her again, so strong was their physical

bond. ????? Closely linked with the death references,

are also graphic referrals to hell. Heathcliff asks Catherine if she is

"possessed with the devil". It is a very powerful thing to ask,

especially in such times when religion was an important part of people’s lives;

to be compared with the devil would always be taken seriously. Heathcliff also

uses living on without her as hell: "?while you are at peace, I shall

writhe in the torments of hell?". The narrator, Nelly, also relates the

hell imagery back to Catherine’s earlier dream about being exiled from heaven, "Well

might Catherine deem heaven would be a land of exile to her?". ????? Something that is used frequently

throughout the book is the imagery of windows, doors, etc. Catherine mentions

this idea in her speech, "I’m tired? of being enclosed in here? not seeing

it [the world] dimly through tears, and yearning for it through the walls of an

aching heart?". The way she uses the word "walls" suggests

barriers, like the windows and doors idea. Also, her window is very important

in this scene. She keeps it open all the time, staring out across the moors as

though she long to be out there again, but fears that looking at them through

the window is all she has left. ????? Catherine’s behaviour during this

conversation is almost schizophrenic at one stage. At first she rages and

rejects Heathcliff, and then she calms down and speaks softly, begging him to

embrace her again, "Won’t you come here again? Do!". "’I shall

not be at peace,’ moaned Catherine, recalled to a sense of physical weakness by

the violent, unequal throbbing of her heart, which beat visibly and

audibly?". This sounds like an almost catatonic reaction, which is also

heavily associated with schizophrenia, and it is often said that, at this point

of the book, Catherine was in a state of madness. ????? Their powerful speech is mirrored in their

actions. Catherine grabs Heathcliff’s head so violently, she pulls some of his

hair out, "?she retained in her closed fingers a portion of the locks she

had been grasping." Heathcliff also does similar actions when he bruises

Catherine’s arm from gripping it so tightly, "?on his letting go I saw

four distinct impressions left blue in the colourless skin." The violence

represents how emotional they both were and this I illustrated in their words

to one another. Also, in some of Nelly’s description, she describes Heathcliff

in an animal-like way, "?he gnashed at me, and foamed like a mad dog, and

gathered her to him with greedy jealousy." Comparing him to a dog gives a

sense of dehumanisation, on Heathcliff’s part. Again, with animals, they do not

know any loving emotions, but merely act on raw and brutal instinct, which is

how Catherine and Heathcliff’s passionate encounter is represented. ????? The reader does have to remember, however,

that this entire passage is being commentated by Nelly, who does not understand

the characters of Heathcliff and Catherine. This means that the only thing we

can really trust is the actual speech from the meeting, and take the meanings

from this. Nelly seems to think that she is not in the presence of her own

kind, "I did not feel as if I were in the company of a creature of my own

species?". This causes her to make judgements on what she sees, and to see

their love as a form of madness. She even says at one point that it would be

better for Catherine if she were to die, "Far better that she should be

dead, than lingering a burden and a misery-maker to all about her." She is

really an outsider to all of this, which causes a huge contrast between the

emotional and dramatic dialogue of Catherine and Heathcliff and the cool, dry

and rather unsympathetic narration from Nelly. ????? The flow and cadences of the conversation

seem to reflect the mood. Every speech seems to flow into the other, and each

time a speaker says something, it is usually long. If it is not long, then it

is made up for in powerful actions, which tend to fill the gaps. The speech

rhythm in between the actions keeps the situation passionate and emotional

throughout. The fact that most sentences is this or either exclamatory or

interrogative suggest that it moved fast and was loud; it made it dramatic.