AS English Literature Coursework (grade D)

AS English Literature coursework

Victoria Munro

How does Bronte’s presentation of the character of Catherine Earnshaw influence your understanding of the novel?

The first introduction we are given of Cathy is in chapter three when she is at the window, as a ghost of her as a child asking Lockwood to ‘Let me in’, let me in’. This quotation shows Catherine when she is desperate and scared; she is shown in a supernatural light. This influences our reaction to her throughout the rest of the novel because she comes across as impatient and demanding as well as scared, which is very true to her character.

When Bronte shows us Catherine Earnshaw as a child, there is a section where the children’s father asks the children what they want him to bring them home for a gift and Catherine asks for a whip. This shows that she is a wild and savage child because rather than asking for a doll or pretty clothes, which is what would have been thought normal for girls of a young age in Victorian times, she is asking for a weapon that will cause pain to an animal. ‘Cathy, when she learnt the master had lost her whip in attending on the stranger, showed her humour by grinning and spitting at the stupid little thing, earning for her pains a sound blow from her father to teach her clean manners’. This quotation shows Cathy’s anger at not having what she asked for. She is described as ‘grinning’ and also ‘spitting’ at ‘the stupid little thing’ which is Heathcliff. The bizarre combination of grinning and spitting show Catherine’s slightly crazy side as she is entwining anger and humour together. The word savage has connotations of animals, and the wild and Catherine is a wild child that loves the outdoors, however after her stay at the Linton’s she becomes less savage and more ladylike. In the scene where Catherine asks for a whip the reader is shown how Catherine is frustrated at having to conform to the typical stereotype that Victorian women were inclined to follow. Throughout the novel her anger and frustration at having to conform is shown in great detail.

Catherine’s relationship with Heathcliff begins from when she is a child. Her brother Hindley dislikes Heathcliff from when he is first shown him and calls him a ‘gypsy boy’. The word gypsy has connotations of uncleanliness, foreign roots and low class. This is what Hindley believes Heathcliff is, ‘a cuckoo in the nest, he’ll take all the love from father until he has nothing left to give you’. This influences my understanding of the novel because I understand how lower class people were treated at the time, and I therefore can empathise with the ways some of the characters act.

A major turning point in the novel is when Catherine and Heathcliff are spying on Isabella and Edgar and the Linton’s dog is released and bites Catherine. She then has to spend approximately five weeks living with them until she is recovered.

During this time she changes in various ways and the reunion when she meets Heathcliff is a key turning point in her decisions between Heathcliff and Edgar. When she returns home we are revealed her transformation through the speech from Hindley to Catherine ‘Why Cathy you are quite a beauty! I should scarcely have known you-you look like a lady now’. Heathcliff is told ‘You may come and wish Miss Catherine welcome, like the other servants’. This quotation is significant because the language such as ‘beauty’ and ‘lady’ paint an image of how much Catherine has changed, also how Heathcliff is now regarded as a ‘servant’ rather than Cathy’s best friend.

A major turning point in the novel is when Catherine and Heathcliff are spying on Isabella and Edgar and the Linton’s dog is released and bites Catherine. She then has to spend approximately five weeks living with them until she is recovered.

During this time she changes in various ways and the reunion when she meets Heathcliff is a key turning point in her decisions between Heathcliff and Edgar. When she returns home we are revealed her transformation through the quotation from Hindley to Catherine ‘Why Cathy you are quite a beauty! I should scarcely have known you-you look like a lady now’. Heathcliff is told ‘You may come and wish Miss Catherine welcome, like the other servants’. This quotation is significant because the language such as ‘beauty’ and ‘lady’ paint an image of how much Catherine has changed, also how Heathcliff is now regarded as a ‘servant’ rather than Cathy’s best friend.

In chapter six Nelly acknowledges that Catherine marrying Edgar will gain her respect and wealth ‘I think you will escape from a disorderly, comfortless home into a wealthy respectable one’. Catherine’s relationships with both Edgar and Heathcliff show both sides of her personality. With Edgar she is a typical Victorian woman, intelligent, organised, professional and respected. However with Heathcliff she is wild and savage and allowed to roam the moors freely, with her strong spirited nature and passionate love of the outdoors, ‘But it was one of their (Cathy and Heathcliff’s) chief amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day’. The word amusement makes the reader realize that roaming the moors was a fun and delightful activity that Cathy and Heathcliff experienced. The conversations with Nelly influence my understanding of the novel greatly as I appreciate that Catherine’s soul mate and true love is Heathcliff.

The conflict lies in the choices between pleasing her family and her desire to be wealthy, respected and comfortable, along with her strong urge to be with her soul mate, this constant conflict between her two lovers is mainly what fires her anger.

Bronte shows that Catherine feels she is spiritually connected to Heathcliff.We are revealed this in chapter six ‘my great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff’s miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning, my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished and he remained, I should still continue to be’. This powerful statement sums up the love that Catherine feels for Heathcliff and shows the reader where the conflict lies in her choice between Edgar and Heathcliff. The word ‘misery’ is repeated and has connotations of darkness, gloom and sadness. ‘It is neither practical nor desirable for you to marry Heathcliff’ exclaims Nelly. We begin to understand why Catherine has become so angry and bitter, because she is being forced to choose between desire and practicality.

Catherine loses her beauty towards the end of her life ‘Her pretty face was wan and listless, her hair uncurled, some locks hanging down, and some carelessly twisted around her head. Probably she had not touched her dress since yester evening’. The use of words such as ‘wan’ suggests she has lost colour and is very pale and sickly. This paragraph is a complete juxtaposition to the description of Catherine when she gets back from the Linton’s house, when she is looking beautiful and elegant ‘Why Cathy you are quite a beauty! I should scarcely have known you-you look like a lady now’.

Catherine Earnshaw is presented as a very angry woman and there are several scenes in the book where her anger shines through and illustrates her true character. ‘I don’t want you Edgar, I’m past wanting you.’ Cathy says to Edgar at the end of her life. This quotation shows Cathy’s cruel and heartless character. The word ‘want’ usually has connotations of desire and passion, but Cathy does not want Edgar, and is telling him this in a blunt and harsh way. The effects of her decision to marry Edgar are now taking their toll and she is getting angry and speaking from the heart, confessing she never really wanted Edgar, only Heathcliff, she is feeling regret and anger.

The narrator varies throughout the novel, usually from Lockwood or Nelly. The narrator plays a key part in the telling of the story as they may be unreliable. Nelly is a fairly reliable narrator as she has known the children from when they were very little and is usually in the heart of drama and chaos. The narrator influences both my understanding of the novel and of the character of Catherine Earnshaw. Nelly reveals Cathy in her true light, and shows the reader the wild, confident and complex character she is.