Theme+of+Revenge+and+Resentment

“// You teach me now how cruel you’ve been – cruel and false. Why did you despise me? Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy? I have not one word of comfort – you deserve this. You have killed yourself. Yes you may kiss me, and cry; and wring out my kisses and tears. They’ll blight you – they’ll damn you. You loved me – then what right had you to leave me? What right – answer me – for the poor fancy you felt for Linton? Because misery, and degradation, and death, and nothing that God or Satan could inflict would have parted us, you, of your own will, did it.” // P 163 Here Heathcliff tells Catherine that she holds the blame for their relationship’s failure, as she chose to seek the affections of Mr. Linton instead of him. Heathcliff has a right to hold such resentment. He was a filthy and miserable orphan before coming to Wuthering Heights and his life there was not much better. Catherine was certainly the most positive force in his life, and she removed herself from his instead of allowing her love for him to cultivate. As for revenge, it is quite understandable why Heathcliff had motives for exacting revenge on Hindley. As he was growing up, Hindley constantly antagonized Heathcliff, beating him, scorning him, and preventing him, to the best of his ability, from seeing Catherine. When he received control of Wuthering Heights, Hindley did even // more // to make Heathcliff’s life unbearable. For example, Heathcliff strongly encouraged the relationship between Catherine and Edgar Linton // just // to spite Heathcliff. Though Heathcliff took his revenge on Hindley by acquiring his estate, he was hardly satisfied or assuaged by this. Especially since his love, Catherine was dead. Therefore, Heathcliff continued his quest for revenge by the means of making the // children // of his antagonists miserable. The clearest example of this is Heathcliff’s treatment of Hareton. Heathcliff makes Hareton work for his living at Wuthering Heights and clothes and feeds him rather poorly. He also treats // his own // child horribly; the first time Heathcliff meets his son he calls his mother a slut. This animosity certainly stems from the fact that Heathcliff resents that his son’s mother is Isabella and Catherine. Finally, Heathcliff is cruel to the young Catherine; he uses her as an object for his own benefit; to secure possession of Thrushcross Grange, even going so far as to kidnap her from her home and father to // force // her to marry his son. Heathcliff nearly commits the ultimate act of wickedness which would be to prevent Catherine and Hareton’s love. Only through a vision of his own beloved Catherin does Heathcliff see reason and allow their love to develop. After this scene Heathcliff becomes uncharacteristically tame and soon tells Nelly; “// Last night I was on the threshold of hell. Today, I am within sight of my heaven – I have my eyes on it – hardly three feet to sever me!” // P 328 This implies that Heathcliff feels that in a way, he has come to terms with his failed relationship with Catherine by allowing Hareton and Catherine’s relationship to flourish without imposing as Hindley did to him.
 * Revenge/Resentment ** – Because he though Catherine no longer had any love for him, Heathcliff’s only motive for returning to Wuthering Heights was to exact revenge upon all those who had wronged him while he lived at the Manor. Heathcliff, though he is a brooding and introspective character, reveals through his actions (such as staying with the hated Hindley to take cheat him out of his money through gambling) and several poetic outbursts that he feels wronged by life. He expresses his feelings of resentment most poignantly in this quote: