One connection from the prior chapters of Wuthering heights we read preciously to the end of Wuthering Heights, which we read this week, is the consistent connection the women of the novel make between loving someone, and wanting to be like them. Early on in the novel, in Chapter 9, Catherine states she loves Edgar because, in her word, “he’s more myself than I am”. Later, towards the end of the novel, when the other Cathy finally confronts Heathcliff, she says, quite deliberately “I wouldn’t be you!” This sentence seems a direct reference to the previously mentioned line in chapter 9, as despite the fact that Cathy is not talking about personally loving Heathcliff, (like Catherine had been talking about Edgar), her comment is directly tied to the concept of love, as her comment is preceded by her statement that Heathcliff is loved by no one. This way Bronte continuously equates wanting to be someone (or wanting to be like someone), and loving that someone is rather disturbing, but also intriguing. It leaves me wondering, did Bronte simply see this as a healthy form of love, or is she trying to further integrate the idea that all of the romantic relationships in the novel are broken in some way ?
Wuthering Heights’ equation of admiration and love
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