The Dual Personalities of the Protagonists in Wuthering Heights

The Dual Personalities of the Protagonists in Wuthering Heights

Abstract: Wuthering Heights is the Flower of English literature; it is a romantic work which describes a thrilling love story. It started from the wildness and ended as a tragedy, in which we see the long lasting revenge and hatred between the two families. It demonstrates the seamy side of the society. This novel built two very complex protagonists because of their dual personalities. In order to make the readers have a better understanding of this novel, this thesis analyzes the main characters, i.e. Heathcliff and Catherine, through their growing background, their behaviors, their language, and their inner worlds described in the novel written by Emily Bronte. From the detailed analysis, we can understand a truth about this novel more clearly, that is, society shaped the people’s character and their character determined their destiny.

Key words: Wuthering Heights; Heathcliff; Catherine；Dual personalities

The Dual Personalities of the Protagonists in

Wuthering Heights

1. Introduction

Wuthering Heights is the Flower of English literature; it is a romantic work which describes a thrilling love story. The story started from the wildness and ended as a tragedy, in which we see the long lasting revenge and hatred between the two families. It demonstrates the seamy side of the society. The main characters, their dual personalities and their love tragedy in this novel show us that the social environment shapes the character of the people, and the character leads to the people’s destiny. The protagonists in this novel have been extensively studied in recent years by eastern and western scholars. But most of their articles are so professional, to some degree, that there are some difficulties for general readers to understand. In fact, lots of obvious descriptions the author has given are the most powerful evidence to the protagonists’ unique characters. This thesis focuses on the dual...