Love and loss in Wuthering Heights

Question 1

Remember & Edgar

Answer 1

Similarity
When Cathy dies - a ‘hush of exhausted anguish’
Nelly comments on ‘how much selfishness there is even in a love like Mr Linton’s’
Edgar mourns the death of his wife, Heathcliff mourns the death of his ‘matching half’ (Plato’s symposium)
Though Edgar relays his love in his relationship with young Cathy - something Heathcliff deters
‘I don’t believe he ever did speak a harsh word to her’

Question 2

Remember & Heathcliff

Answer 2

Difference
Heathcliff’s desire to dig up Cathy’s grave
‘intolerable torture’
‘I felt that Cathy was there’
‘two yards of loose earth was the sole barrier between us’
Remember takes a traditional orthodox approach and abides by the customs of Victorian mourning
‘Did she die like a Saint?’ - series of interrogatives as Cathy could never answer his questions - entrapment of marriage
Polhemus ‘Cathy and Heathcliff put their faith in one another as Christians put their faith into God’
‘Be with me always…drive me mad!’
‘a savage beast’
‘frightful vehemence’

Question 3

Non sum Qualis & Hindley and Frances

Answer 3

Branwell Bronte (AO3)
Destructive nature of his paternal relationship
Parallels Heathcliff’s destruction when mourning Cathy
Respectively, Hindley and Heathcliff wreak havoc on their peers and children due to uncontrolled grief
When contrasted with Edgar, the selfish nature of the relationships is drawn to the light
Haque - ‘Uncaring fathers are shown…to be an element of destructive relationships’
Hindley ‘had room in his heart for only two idols - his wife and himself’
‘execrated God and man, and gave himself up to reckless dissipation’ - unorthodox like Heathcliff and Dowson ‘madder music and stronger wine’ - a coping mechanism

Question 4

Remember

Answer 4

Traditional orthodox poem with typical views on Victorian mourning
Published 1862
Rosetti was deeply influenced by her personal life as her father’s metal and physical health deteriorated throughout her childhood
Follows Petrarchan sonnet, the regularity of the iambic pentameter creates a relaxed and calming tone - strongly juxtaposes Heathcliff’s ‘frightful vehemence’

Question 5

Non sum Qualis

Answer 5

Atypical form achieves the inconsistency and destruction of the narrators love
Pathetic fallacy enforces a depressing tone reflective of the narrators feelings - similar to Heathcliff and Hindely - atmospheres created during their presence