HARDENED TO THE CORE: ANALYZING HEATHCLIFF’S CHARACTER IN BRONTË’S WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Abstract

This research paper seeks to carry out  a close textual analysis of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, focusing on Heathcliff’s character as a product of social conditioning rather than inborn vortex of primordial passions that guide his actions. The paper maintains that his behavior is conditioned by his formative early experiences that marginalized him and experienced othering within the Earnshaw family, and Hindley’s incessent cruelty towards him. These early formative experiences made him susceptible to the the development of his intense, often baser displays of emotions, which can be accounted for as lashing out because of exclusion and emotional deprivation. By viewing Heathcliff’s actions within the context of his rearing within the Earshaw family, this study furnishes a nuanced understanding that goes beyond the simplistic dichotomy of villain or hero, by regarding him as a figure conditioned by the forces of environment and social rejectionn beyond his control.