Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Wuthering Heights Question #4
How does Catherine change when she is "forced" (sort of forced) to stay at TG after she is bitten by the dog? What effect does TG have on her and on her relationship with Heathcliff? Do you think she is changed for the better or not? Explain. What about Isabella? How does she change upon her stay at WH after her marriage to Heathcliff?
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When Catherine was held at TG after she was bitten by the dog, she was treated like a princess, or as it was refered to in the book as a young lady. As she warmed herself by the fire, she admired everything around her. Thus the house again imposes its calmness and pleasantness on its visitors.
After that night at TG Catherine is banned from Heathcliff. It is that night that it is really engrained into her head that he is different and therefore unworthy of her.
I think Catherine is changed for the worse because she starts seeing faults in Heathcliff who she will eventually love supposedly whole-heartedly, but choose to marry another man for social status. I think the dog bite incident did a lot to influence her thinking when she chose Edgar over Heathcliff.
When Isabella stays at WH she is brought down by the house. The neglect and even abuse she sustains in the house while married to Heathcliff is far from anyway she was ever treated at the pleasant TG. Although it may not reflect in her character's actions, she is certainly affected by the stormy evilness of the house.
Mrs. Dorwart, I noticed that all of the other #5 questions were up except mine. I'm sure it's because my previous answers have all been so stunning :) but I just wanted to write this as proof that I DID check for it. And do we have questions on the weekends?
Before staying at TG, I'd imagine that Catherine was a big of a "wild child." She didn't really have much training on what was lady-like, or acceptable for her to do. I'd presume that spending so much time with Heathcliff would have made her a bit of a tomboy. However, after spending time at TG Catherine did a bit of a 360, in more ways than way. She grew up. She learned how women were supposed to act, and was treated very well. Upon returning from TG, Catherine is led to believe that she is above Heathcliff, that they are of an entirely different calibur. She is changed for both the better and the worse. She is changed for the better because she finally has some class, and carries herself in a respectable lady-like manner. But at the same time, she is changed for the worse because she damages her relationship with the person who was with her from the beginning. (Heathcliff) Her relationship with Heathcliff is brought to a crossroads because the things that she was taught led her to believe that Heathcliff was not acceptable. The change made her choose status over real love, and that perhaps is the worst decision of all. Isabella also makes a pretty big change from living at TG to living at WH. While living there she sustains abuse by the person she loved, (Heathcliff her husband) and such abuse widdles away the person she used to be little by little. She was a nice girl, who actually cared for Heathcliff, but after moving to WH she was bound to be sucked in to the darkness of the house.
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