英语本科毕业论文-浅析《呼啸山庄》中影响希斯克里夫性格形成的因素

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河南大学2009届本科毕业论文

Analysis on the Elements for the Formation of Heathcliff’s Personality in Wuthering Heights

浅析《呼啸山庄》中影响希斯克里夫性格形成的因素

论文作者名称： 作 者 学 号： 0503613069 所 在 学 院： 民生学院 所 学 专 业： 英语语言文学 导师姓名、职称：

论文完成时间： 2009-05-18

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Analysis on the Elements for the Formation of Heathcliff’s Personality in Wuthering Heights

浅析《呼啸山庄》中影响希斯克里夫性格形成的因素

Zhang Jin

Minsheng College Henan University

May 2009

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Acknowledgements

My study at Henan University will soon come to an end. At the completion of my graduation thesis, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to all those who have offered me invaluable help during the four years of my undergraduate study here.

Firstly, I would like to heartily express my gratitude to my tutor, Professor Fu Jiangtao for his constant encouragement and guidance. The completion of the thesis benefits from his help and guidance. He helps me with going through all the stages of writing the thesis. Due to lacking of experience, it is inevitable to appear some mistakes. He patiently picks out my mistakes and helps me remedy them. If there is no my teacher’s guide, it is difficult for me to complete the thesis.

Secondly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the teachers who teach me during the four years’ college life, because they teach me how to be a useful person to the society and cultivate me to be a qualified citizen.

Finally, I would like to thank my family, friends and classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the thesis.

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[Abstract] Wuthering Heights is the unique novel written by Emily

Bronte who was a British novelist in the nineteenth century. Heathcliff, the protagonist, has always been a fully disputed man since the book was published. Most readers think that he is a devilish person. However, some people believe that the formation of his distorted personality is a reasonable reflection of his unfair treatment. Heathcliff’s personality experiences three times’ change, that is, from a naive boy with human being’s merits to a devilish avenger after he suffers hurt and distorts his personality, then to a normal person after he gives up his revenge. The article follows Heathcliff’s experiences and tries to analyze the elements for the formation of his personality from the three periods.

[Key Words] Wuthering Heights; Heathcliff; personality;

elements for the formation

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[摘要]《呼啸山庄》是十九世纪英国女作家艾米莉·勃朗特的唯一的一部

小说。自从该书出版以来，主人公希斯克里夫就是一个备受争论的人物。多数读者认为他是一个“魔鬼式”的人物，然而，也有人认为他的扭曲性格的形成是受到不公正待遇后的正常反应的结果。希斯克里夫从一个具有诸多人性美的男孩，到遭受伤害后扭曲了人性变成魔鬼式的复仇者，又到放弃复仇后的正常人。本文循着希斯克里夫的经历，试图从这三个阶段中希斯克里夫不同性格特点，探析影响造成他不同性格的因素。

[关键词]《呼啸山庄》；希斯克里夫；性格特点；形成因素

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Chapter one

1. Introduction

1.1 plot summary

“Wuthering Heights is beyond all doubt one of the most extraordinary books which human genius has ever produced.” Ralph Fox, the revolutionary critic of England said. Wuthering Heights is the unique novel written by Emily Bronte. It is considered as a peculiar and strange book, because it is covered with a tinge of mystery and terror. Love and revenge are the clues of the novel. The story goes as follows. Heathcliff , the protagonist, is a gypsy waif picked up by Mr. Earnshaw one street of Liverpool and brought up with Hindley and Catherine, who are the son and daughter of Mr. Earnshaw. He is always suffered maltreatment and discrimination from servants and Hindley however, Mr. Earnshaw loves him more than his children. After Mr. Earnshaw’s death, Hindley ill-treats him by all means. Fortunately, Catherine shows her sympathy with him and they plays innocently together, therefore, they fall in love gradually. However, when he hears Catherine is going to marry Edgar Linton who is a rich man, the owner of Thrushcross Grange, he leaves runs away. Everything changes since then. After three years’ left, Heathcliff goes back as a rich man to take his revenge. A great conflict occurs to Heathcliff and Hindley, Catherine falls ill since then. Catherine dies after she gives birth to little Catherine, Heathcliff continues with his revenge on Hindley, Linton and the next generation. During the revenge, Heathcliff has always haunted by Catherine’s spirit nearly for twenty years. After finishes his revenge, he finds Hareton, Hindley’s son, and little Catherine fall in love, but he is not willing to prevent them because he sees Catherine’s eyes from

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theirs. He dies of insanity at last.

1.2 thesis statement

The book has brought about lots of dispute since it was published, especially, the protagonist, Heathcliff, who becomes to be a hot topic. Some people think he is a demon, while others send their sympathy and understanding to him because they think it is a reasonable response to his unfair treatment. However, the author thinks one can not judge him only by his deed during revenge, because Heathcliff’s personality is not static but varied in three different periods. In general, Heathcliff’s personality has experienced three times’ great change, that is, from a boy with human being’s merits to a devil then to a man who recovers his humanity. What does cause the formation of his personality in the three different periods? There are both objective and subjective elements. It is love that keeps him a good boy before Catherine’s marriage. The formation of Heatgcliff’s distorted personality results from Catherine’s betrayal to their love, special circumstance and Heathcliff’s own character during his revenge. The unhappiness and emptiness, and the non- destructive of love and humanity in Heathcliff’s mind promote him recovery.

Chapter two

2. The elements for the formation of Heathcliff’s personality before Catherine’s marriage

2.1 Heathcliff’s personality before Catherine’s marriage

“His name consists of two words ‘heath’ (an open piece of wild land without any farm) and ‘cliff’ (a high very steep face of

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rock and a coast). These two words make readers feel and ferocious, but Heathcliff is not born with a cruel and ferocious personality” (Li, 2008:71). As a matter of fact, Heathcliff possesses many human beings’ merits when he comes to Wuthering Heights. First, he is a tolerant boy. “He would stand Hindley’s blows without winking or shedding a tear, and my pinches moved him only to draw in a breath and open his eyes, as if he had hurt himself by accident and nobody was to blame” (Bronte, 2003:44 ).He could have treated them as what they do, however, he seldom complains about it. He knows clearly that Mr. Earnshaw regards him as his own son and treats him better than Hindley. If he tells what Hindley and Nelly do, Mr. Earnshaw will scold them for him. However, he endures silently. Second, he is persevering and quiet boy. Even though Nelly, the nurse, who dislikes Heathcliff very much in the first place, yet she is moved by Heathcliff’s hardness against illness. She says “he was the quietest child that ever nurse watched over” (Bronte, 2003: 45). Third, he is a kindhearted and innocent boy. He is a common person as others with human feeling. When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Heathcliff sets up a heart-breaking cry and does his utmost to comfort Catherine with the thought: “no parson in the world ever pictured heaven as beautifully as they did, in their innocent talk” (Bronte, 2003:52).It shows that he is a good boy with human being’s emotion. Because of his innocence and kindhearted, he gains Catherine’s love gradually, who dislikes him at the beginning. Fourth, he is ambitious. He has his own dream as others, that is, he desires to be a handsome, rich, elegant and civilized person. When he sees the bright and graceful Catherine go home from Thrushcross Grange, he tells Nelly: “make me decent, I am going to be good.” “I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed and behaved as well, and had a chance

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of being as rich as he will be”(Bronte, 2003:67-68). Although the author did not tell readers clearly what merits does Heathcliff possess, yet the author hinted that Heathcliff is a youth who has many merits of human nature through other people’ love and care to him. Since Mr. Earnshaw loves him more than his own son, Heathcliff must have many merits that attract Mr. Earnshaw’s attention.

2.2 The elements for the formation of his personality

When Heathcliff comes to Wuthering Heights in the first place, he is not welcomed. Almost everyone has an aversion to him, especially, Hindley. Just as Nelly’s words“His treatment of the latter (Heathcliff) was enough to make a fiend of a saint” (Bronte, 2003:81). However poor the condition is, his humanity is not destroyed totally. What keeps him a good boy? It is love. It is Mr. Earnshaw’s and Catherine’s love that supports him to go through.

2.2.1 Mr. Earnshaw’s fatherly love to him

On the one hand, Mr. Earnshaw treats him better than his own children. Mr. Earnshaw“took to Heathcliff strangely, believing all he said, and petting him up far above Cathy” (Bronte, 2003:44). He knows his position in Earnshaw’s heart, because of Mr. Earnshaw’s love, “he had only to speak and all the house would be obliged to bend to his wishes” (Bronte, 2003:45). However, he never makes trouble to Mr. Earnshaw in return for Mr. Earnshaw’s love. Therefore, when Hindley bullies him, he always endures the pain and humiliation silently and never tells it to Mr.Earnshaw. Because he is a waif and never enjoys parents’ love, so he regards Mr. Earnshaw’s love as bliss and treasure it very much. He is not willing to destroy it, so no matter how Hindley ill- treats him, he will let everything go and be tolerant.

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2.2.2 Catherine’s love to him

On the other hand, after Mr. Earnshaw’s death, it is Catherine’s love that gives him strength to endure the humiliation from others. Catherine is a headstrong, mischievous and wayward girl. Even though she dislikes him at the beginning, because they have something in common in their nature, Catherine loves him gradually and has a good relationship with him. So, after Mr. Earnshaw dies, Catherine becomes to be the only spiritual support for him to live. “She was much too fond of Heathcliff. The greatest punishment we could invent for her was to keep her separate from him: yet she got chided more than any of us on his account” (Bronte, 2003: 50). It shows that she loves Heathcliff heartily and they have been indivisible. When Mr. Earnshaw is alive, it is Catherine who comforts and plays with Heathcliff as he is bullied by Hindley. When Mr. Earnshaw is dead, Hindley degrades him into a servant and maltreats him by all means; it is Catherine who helps him with doing work and plays with him in field, meanwhile, teaches him what she learnt. “It was one of their amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all the day and the after punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at.” “Joseph might thrash Heathcliff till his arm ached; they forgot everything the minute they were together again” (Bronte, 2003:55). Two of them can not separate from each other. Heathcliff is also fond of staying with Catherine, because he can feel the dignity as a man. “As a mater of fact, their love makes him strong to stand everything unfair. Catherine is his spiritual mainstay and the hope of his life” (Li, 2008:71). After Mr. Earnshaw’s death, he is still tolerant not because he is cowardly but because Catherine. Only if he possesses Catherine’s love, he will forget all pain and humiliation; only if he possesses

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Catherine’s love, there is reason for him to continue living. He regards his love to Catherine more important than his own life. The love is supreme in his heart, and it can not be substituted by any thing. Therefore, only if they still love each other, he will not change his attitude of kindness to the whole world.

“When the conflict between love of the soul and society does not occur, love of the soul is till in the dominant position undoubtedly” (Wu, 2007:107). So, Heathclff shows more love than hate before Catherine’s marriage. Because of Mr. Earnshaw;s love to him, he shows his tolerance and leniency to people around him in return; because of Catherine’s loyal love to him, he endures people’s ill-treatment to him. Under the guide of love, his honest and kind nature develops very well. Only if there are people concerned about him and loving him, he will not rebel against them regardless of maltreatment and humiliation. “The sweet love makes him willing to devote his whole life to Catherine, living in the shadow of Catherine forever, even though he is ordered by Hindley and mocked by others, he is never mind”(Li, 2009).

Chapter three

3. The elements for the formation of Heathcliff’s personality during his revenge

3.1 Heathcliff’s personality during his revenge

Catherine’s marriage is deathly stroke to him. When he hears Catherine will marry to Linton, he leaves Wuthering Heights. His personality is gradually distorted since then. He is distorted to be a vampire, a devil, just as he says: “I have no pity! I have no pity! The more the worms writhe, the more I yearn to crush out their entrails” (Bronte, 2003:198)! The disgusted words show that his personality is totally

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twisted. He has lost human being’s merits and the common sympathies of human nature. He has become an oppressor. First, he is destroyer as Hindley. Little Catherine is a kindhearted, gentle and hospitable girl in the first place, but under Heathcliff’s torture, she not only loses her property but also loses her spiritual property and becomes to be an arrogant and indifference woman. Besides, “he controls Wuthering Heights and takes an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Zhang, 2008). He trains Hareton as an idiot and let him live in the shadow of him. Take an example, after Hindley’s death, he says to Hareton: “Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we will see if one tree imwon’t grow as crooked as another with the same wind to twist it” (Bronte, 2003:244)! Heathcliff deprives Hareton of receiving education as Hindley does to him. He tries his best to cultivate Hareton to be a rascal. “He appeared to have bent his malevolence on making him a brute: he was never taught to read or write; never rebuked for any bad habit which did not annoy his keeper; never led a single step towards virtue, or guarded by a single precept against vice”(Bronte,2003:256). So, he is a destroyer both on mental and on physical. Second, he is emotionless, cold-blooded and brutal. To some extent, Heathcliff expedite Hindley’s death. However, when Hindley’s coffin is passing from the house, something like exultation appears in Heathcliff’s countenance. What is worse, his son is only a tool for his revenge. He shows little emotion towards him. In Heathcliff’s eyes, his son is less important than money. When little Catherine tells him that little Linton is seriously ill and should send for a doctor, however, Heathcliff answers coldly: “We know that, but his life is not worth a farthing, and I won’t spend a farthing on him” (Bronte, 2003:383)

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. His cruelty shows not only on treating human but also on treating animal. He hates Isabella, and he hates anything related with her. He says to Nelly: “The first thing she saw me do, on coming out of the Grange, was to hang up her little dog; and when she pleaded for it, the first words I uttered were a wish that I had the hanging of every being belonging to her” (Bronte, 2003:196). All of these show that Heathcliff’s personality has been distorted seriously. Heathcliff, who is engulfed by hatred, transmutes into a devil and is swallowing his so-called enemies’ heart and soul.

3.2 The elements for the formation of his distorted personality

There are objective and subjective elements for the formation of his distorted personality.

3.2.1 Catherine’s betrayal to their love

First, Catherine’s betrayal to their love is the direct and most important reason. When Heathcliff hears Catherine’s words that she will marry Linton and it will degrade her to marry Heathcliff, his heart is broken. Catherine’s betrayal makes the remained love to the world in him lost. Then the crazy love to Catherine turns into crazy hatred. The humanity in him is totally destroyed. After many years’ discrimination and maltreatment, the poor man loses the only person who loves him in the world, so his hatred is up to the limit and he is driven to extremes. “The utmost love must lead to the utmost hatred; the desperate love will turn their sweet love into crazy hatred” (Wu, 2007:107). Catherine marries Linton for social position and fame, which brings the sunshine in Heathcliff’s heart away. He can not bear his love is menaced.

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For instance, after five weeks’ stay in Thrushcross Grange, Catherine becomes a well-behaviored woman from a wild girl. When Catherine shows her care to Heathcliff after she goes back, Heathcliff says: “You needn’t have touched me!” “I shall be as dirty as I please: and I like to be dirty, and I will be dirty” (Bronte, 2003:65). It seems that he is in a mood, in fact, it is a form of revolt. Meanwhile, Hindley does his best to separate them from each other. It is cruel to depart them, just as what Catherine says to Nelly on the night Heathcliff goes away: “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated,the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it”(Bronte,2003:105). So, “When his love is threatened, he realizes the root of the unfortunate result is Hindley, his intention of revenge occurs” (Sun, 2004:76). It is a normal reflection for him to take a revenge for the loss of his love. When Heathcliff loses Catherine, he loses the strength of living. He has endured too much humiliation in the past, and it is Catherine’s love that gives strength to bear it. However, once he loses her love, his life can not stand any heavy burden. The stress twists his soul gradually. Even though Catherine marries Linton, he still loves her very much, he says to Catherine : “I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murder---but yours! How can I” (Bronte, 2003:210)? When the news that Catherine dies comes to him, he stands still like a wooden man, trembling,

. .

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