The Dual Personality of the Hero and the Heroine in Wuthering Heights

贾梦黎

【Abstract】The most attractive part in the Wuthering Heights was the love-hate relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff， which had a great relationship with their different personality， historical background， and growing environment. It was the hero and heroines unique and charming personality that reflected the social reality of Victorian--- the human inequality of bourgeoisie， which led to a distortion of human nature. In the following paper， we will further discuss the dual personality of the hero and heroine in Wuthering Heights， and study its exposure and criticism to the reality of British society.

【Key Words】Wuthering Heights； hero and heroine； dual personality； society

Ⅰ. Introduction

The Wuthering Heights was a wonderful work in English Literature Corner. It was a description of the Romantic work of the soul-stirring love story， the pursuit of freedom and shouting， the struggle of the poor to the rich， and the lust to suppress the outbreak of love. This fiction was a tragic love story in the wilderness mountain， and was nearly half a century of resentment correcting between two families who lived in the wilderness of Wuthering Heights.

Emily Bronte gave the dual personality to the hero and the heroine.Their dual personality dues to the social background they lived in and the cultural conflict.So I plan to further discuss the dual personality of the hero and heroine in Wuthering Heights， and study its exposure criticism to the reality of British society.

Ⅱ. Literature Review

The development of the research for the character in literature has matured so far， involving character study in Wuthering Heights. For example， Yuan Cuizhens A Distorted Soul is a study about the hero Heathcliff. The conclusion is that Heathcliff is the soul of a distorted capitalism and his dual personality is the result of brutalized society. Ren Jie and Li Ruo Bai's Character Leads to Tragedy is about an analysis of the personality of Catherine. The conclusion is that Catherine has two selves and two natures. And Li Mins On the Distortion of Human Nature is about the analysis of the main character in Wuthering Heights， etc. The conclusion is that the principal contradiction between people is concentrated on the expression in the person's inner world， especially in their twisted mind. So from the dual perspective of the character to study the Wuthering Heights is very important.

Ⅲ.The social background of Wuthering Heightsendprint

The three decades that Emily Bronte lived was precisely at the age of British social unrest. Capitalism was increasingly exposed its inherent defects， the contradiction between capital and labor became sharper， the unemployed workers became poor and poor and a large number of child labor had been brutally tortured to death. Besides， the British government took heavy-handed tactics against the struggle of democratic reform and the workers' movement. Therefore， the literature of this period also reflected the social reality. Emily Bronte was born in the era of such a struggle. She was born in a priestly family which had always been reclusive. On the one hand， the Bronte sisters saw the developing capitalist society in the town， on the other hand， they were infected by the wilder atmosphere. Especially Emily， she was taciturn on the surface， but she had a passionate heart. Although she did not understand politics， she was very interested in politics. Three sisters often saw the Liberal Party or the Conservative journals and they liked to talk politics， which was influenced by their father. Their father was a more radical conservative， and he opposed the Lutheran movement in early years. Later he helped workers and supported their strike. Emily and her sister inherited his sense of justice and compassion of resistance and struggle. This created the conditions for the birth of Wuthering Heights.

Ⅳ. The Duality of Personality

A. The dual personality of Catherine

Catherine——the heroine of the novel， although beautiful and slim， is rebellious， headstrong and hot-tempered. She loves Heathcliff from the depths of the soul and her love is deeply rooted. In fact， her marriage choice is a fatal mistake. Three years later， the return of Heathcliff made Catherine ecstatic. However， she had not made a choice between Heathcliff and Linton and she would not， because the two people can meet her different levels of love. A series of behaviors of Catherine imply that her spiritual world is full of contradictions and conflicts. In fact， Catherine has two selves and two personalities.

Maslow believed that the needs of people include five levels， physiological， safety， love， respect and self-realization .Whenever a need is satisfied， another need will be replaced. For Catherine， physiology and security needs have long been satisfied， and the need for love has been satisfied from Heathcliff and Edgar. Thus， the desire for wanting to be respected immediately came about. In the Grange， she was fascinated by bourgeois civilization and the high life. Catherine had undergone tremendous changes in values at this time. After experiencing consistent etiquette， she had a sense of shame to rude behavior. She wanted to change her behavior so that she looks gentle and polite as much as possible， but she did not know that her wild personality has been deeply kept in her mind and can not be cleared. Thus， she could only distort her own character and disguise as an elegant lady in front of outsiders， only at Wuthering Heights to reveal her wild side. Over time， the behavior of constant changing face formed her dual personality. Catherine of childhood had some temperament that the other children do not have and she was not very flattering. Old Earnshaw lost patience for her， Hindley had distance with her， and Joseph called her devil. Until the emergence of Heathcliff ， lonely Catherine found her bosom friend. But this happy time did not last too long， and after Catherine married Edgar， Heathcliff disappeared in her life. Betrayal of the heart made Catherine return to the solitude again， so she only gave vent to the lonely and depressed heart in a more rude and arrogant way. When Heathcliff reappeared in her life， she was so happy that almost forgot everything around， and immersed in the world belongs only to them. During her life， Catherine pursues the most enthusiastic is love. Her pursuit of love is divided into two different kinds， one is due to human nature， and the other is for meeting her own vanity. The former is manifested in the pursuit of her father and Heathcliff's love， while the latter is manifested in her love to Edgar and Linton. But Earnshaw did not understand mischievous and rebellious Catherine was for arousing the concern of others. This kind of environment which lacks of love had further inspired her wild and imperious character. Heathcliff's arrival had met Catherine's needs of love and being loved. However， after exposing to the real world， Catherine became vainglorious， and she desired for the love of both Heathcliff and Edgar. However， when Edgar insisted to make her choose one between the two， she completely collapsed. Her heart could no longer bear， only to deceive herself with abnormal state. The dual character is Catherine's tragedy. The novel has touching charm of tragedy， demonstrating the rich content that is unparalleled.endprint

B. The personality of Heathcliff

As the wider tree that novel depicted at the beginning， it is distorted and metamorphic， but it is the least modified and natural. Heathcliff is created by the environment， and he is very the wilder tree， trying to survive， resisting the storm. After turning into this ugly state， he confronted and retaliated the harsh environment with his ugliness. When he was a child， he was discriminated and abused by the people around him and demoted by his little master Hendry. After intruding into Wuthering Heights， the rebellious orphans life could no longer stay calm. His flight and coming back to revenge had become a necessity. He used means to enable Hindley bankrupted and killed him. He even stretched the clutches to Hindley's son – innocent and little Hareton， letting him become an illiterate， vulgar， and silly farmer. Heathcliff disliked Isabella who loves him very much， and he lied to her to elope and then desolated and disgusted her. Heathcliff also tortured and beat Catherine's children Cathy and Linton. He said to the whole world with those horrible words： “I do not know how to pity. The more insects twist， the more I can not wait to crush out their intestines.”

The isolation and exclusion that Wuthering Heights gave to Heathcliff received a more forceful response for sure. He was full of the hostility to almost everyone. He belittled the love between Linton and Catherine. He also belittled small Cathy. For people at Wuthering Heights only Catherine loves him， because both of them have the same nature： wild and wayward. In Heathcliffs heart he despised Edgar. When he came back after three years， Catherine had married. So he revenged to Edgar and Hindley for his loss of love. Ironically， when he revenged he still used someone else's scale of values： life experience， wealth， and social status. His goal was to get a higher status - of course including the wealth. In the end， he has a Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange， and Hareton corrupted， and he treated Hareton like Hindley treated him. His weapons were the money and arranged marriages.

Heathcliffs dual personality is mainly reflected on his own strong love and deep hate. He loves Catherine more than he loves himself， but he is a very cruel people. For him， Catherine is more important than himself and it is this kind of love that distorted himself， making him has a terrible view of the world， and even refuse to regret for his actions. He thought that after his death he will not enter into hell but into heaven to meet with Catherine. Obviously， it is really a strange thing for a person who has been aware of his sin but refuses to repent. Thus， the personality of Heathcliff is contradictory， complex， and dual. His character not only embodies the unity and opposite of good and evil， but also embodies the transformation of beauty to the ugliness.endprint

Ⅴ.Conclusion

A good fiction always implies the multi-level connotation， revealing the multi-level value .They not only reproduce the life artistically， but also reveal the profound philosophy of life by means of exploring more abstract level of the historical society and life. The love of two people in "Wuthering Heights" began in the wilderness， maintained by the wilderness and ended with the wilderness. All things come to quiet after experiencing unquiet. Their souls are no longer lonely， and death makes all things got eternal. In this perspective， death means the regeneration of spirit and the reversion of human nature， and reproduces the theme of "rebel society， return to nature ".

When Emily Bronte created Wuthering Heights， it was at the age of social unrest in Britain. Emily Bronte reflected the spiritual oppression and conflicts of individuals in the capitalist society of 19th century in the form of artistic imagination， creating an incredible and fully distorted real picture which shrouded in fear and anxiety and desperation. The woman writer looks the society and life in the perspective of personality. She believes that people's desire for real happiness is entirely out of human nature， which is natural and reasonable. But social's error is precisely inhibited by the desire of people， so that these repressed desires grow in deformity. Its consequences must make those healthy， positive factors in personality become morbid and negative factors， and destroyed the society in some way. The dual personality of the hero characters in the novel reflects the intensification of social contradictions and the cruelty and complexity of social reality. Heathcliff and Catherine are precisely this kind of soul which distorted by the capitalist society. Their dual personality is entirely the outcome of social devastation.endprint