Catherine Earnshaw
Encyclopedia
Catherine Earnshaw, known as Catherine Linton after her marriage, is the main female protagonist of Emily Brontë
's novel Wuthering Heights
.
Whilst residing in her ancestral home Wuthering Heights, she forms a deep romantic bond with foster brother Heathcliff
, one that leads them both into misery, violence and despair.
foundling
. Catherine and Heathcliff's strong characters do not part them; rather, they get into a great deal of mischief together, most notably while spying at Thrushcross Grange, the fancy home of the wealthy Linton family. When a dog from the Grange attacks Cathy at her intrusion, the Lintons aid her by keeping her at the Grange for five weeks. This visit allows Catherine to turn into a lady quite unlike the rude, wild, childish girl she has been with Heathcliff, and allows her to form intimate relationships with Edgar and Isabella Linton, the two children residing at the Grange, although her (and Heathcliff's) initial impression of them was contemptuous. Catherine's change is visible on her return to the Heights at Christmas
time. Heathcliff, although hurt by this, remains devoted to her, forming one part of a love triangle that includes Edgar Linton, who quickly becomes a despised rival.
Cathy's most famous scene in the novel sees a memorable declaration of her feelings for Heathcliff and Linton to Nelly Dean, the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights and the novel's main narrator:
Heathcliff, eavesdropping outside, hears only that she feels that a marriage to him would "degrade" her. Immediately he embarks on a mysterious three-year absence.
This decision can be regarded as the beginning of Heathcliff's revenge on the Lintons. He later returns, a wealthy and distinguished gentleman, to find Catherine married to Edgar and living at Thrushcross Grange. The moment of his return is a telling one. After Catherine runs outside to greet him,
In an awkward set of visits to the Grange, Heathcliff begins to exact his revenge, seducing Isabella Linton
in order to gain control of Thrushcross Grange at Edgar's death, and trapping her in an abusive and terrifying marriage. Catherine falls into a state of psychological insanity, although it is partly feigned in her desire to provoke her husband and "break his heart" because of the pain that she feels. Soon she refuses to eat, never leaves her chamber and falls prey to countless delusions and declarations of madness.
Heathcliff and Catherine share one final meeting, about half-way through the story, which is aided reluctantly by Nelly because of Edgar's banishment of Heathcliff from the Grange. The lovers pour out their passions to one another, but, when Edgar walks unexpectedly through the door to the chamber, Catherine experiences a state of shock and faints. She dies a couple of hours after giving birth to a daughter, also named Cathy, whose generation forms the basis of the second half of the story.
Catherine has a spirit that lives throughout the novel. Her ghost haunts Heathcliff up to his mysterious death, and an iconic scene sees Lockwood, the first narrator in the book, visited in eerie, Gothic fashion by her ghost as a little girl, lost on the moors. In Lockwood's vision she tries to enter the house through a window; at the end of the novel Heathcliff, having become desperate to see his lost love again, is found dead before an open window. The open window is therefore a symbol of Catherine's enduring power throughout the course of the story, and of her ultimate reunion with her love; however, it also raises ambiguities as to the nature of the reunion. Considering that Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship was, towards the end, as much about spiteful revenge as romantic love, it is possible that Catherine's ghost actually murdered Heathcliff; likewise, considering that Lockwood's vision of Catherine comes hot on the heels of a dream about a fire-and-brimstone sermon in a church, there is a chance that Catherine has returned to Heathcliff only to take him down to hell with her.
. Her daughter, Cathy
, inherits only two things from the mother, as we are told by Nelly: those peculiar eyes and an expression that makes her seem "haughty".
Catherine is strong-willed, wild, passionate, mischievous and, as a child, spoiled. As may be seen by the markedness of her change after her five-week stay at Thrushcross Grange, she is anything but a lady during her time on the moors with Heathcliff. Nelly claims that she "didn't love" Catherine, perhaps because of the girl's waywardness throughout the book. During her fatal illness, Nelly notes that Catherine is very frail, and has "a bloodless lip", an image which serves to augment the Gothic undertones of her final days; nevertheless, Nelly describes her in death as divine: "no angel in heaven looked as beautiful as her", and her countenance resembled "perfect peace".
— and the famous ghostly utterance "Let me in your window - I'm so cold!", later used by Kate Bush
in her 1978
hit "Wuthering Heights
". The entertainment world, indeed, has been so intrigued by the love between Catherine and Heathcliff that many film adaptations of the novel, particularly the 1939 version with Laurence Olivier
and Merle Oberon
, cover only half of the story, ending with Catherine's death rather than telling the story of the younger Cathy, Hareton and Linton Heathcliff. Thematically, Catherine is also central to the issues of gender conflict, class division and violence in Wuthering Heights, as well as to the antitheses
of good and evil, and reality and fantasy, which pervade the novel.
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
's novel Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë published in 1847. It was her only novel and written between December 1845 and July 1846. It remained unpublished until July 1847 and was not printed until December after the success of her sister Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre...
.
Whilst residing in her ancestral home Wuthering Heights, she forms a deep romantic bond with foster brother Heathcliff
Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
Heathcliff is a fictional character in the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Owing to the novel's enduring fame and popularity, he is often regarded as an archetype of the tortured Romantic hero whose all-consuming passions destroy both himself and those around him.Legend has stereotyped...
, one that leads them both into misery, violence and despair.
Story
Catherine Earnshaw is the younger sibling of Hindley, and is born and raised at Wuthering Heights. She becomes the foster sister of the orphan Heathcliff at the age of six, and the two become close companions. They are separated when Hindley becomes jealous of his father's affection towards Heathcliff and reduces him to servant-boy status after the death of Mr Earnshaw, who took Heathcliff in as a LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
foundling
Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
. Catherine and Heathcliff's strong characters do not part them; rather, they get into a great deal of mischief together, most notably while spying at Thrushcross Grange, the fancy home of the wealthy Linton family. When a dog from the Grange attacks Cathy at her intrusion, the Lintons aid her by keeping her at the Grange for five weeks. This visit allows Catherine to turn into a lady quite unlike the rude, wild, childish girl she has been with Heathcliff, and allows her to form intimate relationships with Edgar and Isabella Linton, the two children residing at the Grange, although her (and Heathcliff's) initial impression of them was contemptuous. Catherine's change is visible on her return to the Heights at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time. Heathcliff, although hurt by this, remains devoted to her, forming one part of a love triangle that includes Edgar Linton, who quickly becomes a despised rival.
Cathy's most famous scene in the novel sees a memorable declaration of her feelings for Heathcliff and Linton to Nelly Dean, the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights and the novel's main narrator:
Heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung me out into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke sobbing for joy.
That will do to explain my secret, as well as the other. I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there, had not brought Heathcliff so low I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.
Heathcliff, eavesdropping outside, hears only that she feels that a marriage to him would "degrade" her. Immediately he embarks on a mysterious three-year absence.
This decision can be regarded as the beginning of Heathcliff's revenge on the Lintons. He later returns, a wealthy and distinguished gentleman, to find Catherine married to Edgar and living at Thrushcross Grange. The moment of his return is a telling one. After Catherine runs outside to greet him,
Mr. Linton walked to a window on the other side of the room that overlooked the court. He unfastened it, and leant out. I [Nelly] suppose they were below, for he exclaimed quickly: "Don't stand there, love! Bring the person in, if it be anyone particular." Ere long, I heard the click of the latch, and Catherine flew up-stairs, breathless and wild; too excited to show gladness: indeed, by her face, you would rather have surmised an awful calamity.
In an awkward set of visits to the Grange, Heathcliff begins to exact his revenge, seducing Isabella Linton
Isabella Linton
Isabella Linton is a female character in Emily Brontë's only novel Wuthering Heights. She is the sister of Edgar Linton and the wife of Heathcliff.- Story :...
in order to gain control of Thrushcross Grange at Edgar's death, and trapping her in an abusive and terrifying marriage. Catherine falls into a state of psychological insanity, although it is partly feigned in her desire to provoke her husband and "break his heart" because of the pain that she feels. Soon she refuses to eat, never leaves her chamber and falls prey to countless delusions and declarations of madness.
Heathcliff and Catherine share one final meeting, about half-way through the story, which is aided reluctantly by Nelly because of Edgar's banishment of Heathcliff from the Grange. The lovers pour out their passions to one another, but, when Edgar walks unexpectedly through the door to the chamber, Catherine experiences a state of shock and faints. She dies a couple of hours after giving birth to a daughter, also named Cathy, whose generation forms the basis of the second half of the story.
Catherine has a spirit that lives throughout the novel. Her ghost haunts Heathcliff up to his mysterious death, and an iconic scene sees Lockwood, the first narrator in the book, visited in eerie, Gothic fashion by her ghost as a little girl, lost on the moors. In Lockwood's vision she tries to enter the house through a window; at the end of the novel Heathcliff, having become desperate to see his lost love again, is found dead before an open window. The open window is therefore a symbol of Catherine's enduring power throughout the course of the story, and of her ultimate reunion with her love; however, it also raises ambiguities as to the nature of the reunion. Considering that Heathcliff and Catherine's relationship was, towards the end, as much about spiteful revenge as romantic love, it is possible that Catherine's ghost actually murdered Heathcliff; likewise, considering that Lockwood's vision of Catherine comes hot on the heels of a dream about a fire-and-brimstone sermon in a church, there is a chance that Catherine has returned to Heathcliff only to take him down to hell with her.
Description
Catherine is said in the book to be pretty, with, as Nelly says, "the bonniest eye" and "the sweetest smile." She has long locks of "beautiful" dark hair, as Heathcliff describes it, but it is her eyes that can be seen in many characters in the novel. The "Earnshaw eyes" belong not only to Catherine, but also to her brother Hindley, and her nephew HaretonHareton Earnshaw
Hareton Earnshaw is a character in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights. He is the son of Hindley Earnshaw and Hindley's wife Frances. At the end of the novel, he makes plans to wed Catherine Linton, with whom he falls in love.- Story :...
. Her daughter, Cathy
Catherine Linton
Catherine Linton is a character in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights...
, inherits only two things from the mother, as we are told by Nelly: those peculiar eyes and an expression that makes her seem "haughty".
Catherine is strong-willed, wild, passionate, mischievous and, as a child, spoiled. As may be seen by the markedness of her change after her five-week stay at Thrushcross Grange, she is anything but a lady during her time on the moors with Heathcliff. Nelly claims that she "didn't love" Catherine, perhaps because of the girl's waywardness throughout the book. During her fatal illness, Nelly notes that Catherine is very frail, and has "a bloodless lip", an image which serves to augment the Gothic undertones of her final days; nevertheless, Nelly describes her in death as divine: "no angel in heaven looked as beautiful as her", and her countenance resembled "perfect peace".
Effect on modern society and popular culture
Catherine delivers many of the lines which have become synonymous with the work, such as her renowned declaration of love for Heathcliff —My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees — my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath — a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff — he's always, always in my mind — not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself — but as my own being — so, don't talk of our separation again — it is impracticable.
— and the famous ghostly utterance "Let me in your window - I'm so cold!", later used by Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
in her 1978
1978 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom....
hit "Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (song)
"Wuthering Heights" is a song by Kate Bush released as her debut single in January 1978. It became a No.1 hit in the UK singles chart and remains her biggest-selling single. The song appears on her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside. The B-side of the single was another song by Bush named "Kite" -...
". The entertainment world, indeed, has been so intrigued by the love between Catherine and Heathcliff that many film adaptations of the novel, particularly the 1939 version with Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon
Merle Oberon was an Indian-born British actress best known for her screen performances in The Scarlet Pimpernel and The Cowboy and the Lady . She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII . She travelled to the United States to make films for Samuel...
, cover only half of the story, ending with Catherine's death rather than telling the story of the younger Cathy, Hareton and Linton Heathcliff. Thematically, Catherine is also central to the issues of gender conflict, class division and violence in Wuthering Heights, as well as to the antitheses
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
of good and evil, and reality and fantasy, which pervade the novel.