Heathcliff really father of Linton?

[kos7365]

I have just read this great story, and I wonder about one question: Is Heathcliff really intended as father of Linton? My doubt results from the timeline - once Cathy says that Linton is exactly 6 months younger than her, and as far I can find out, Cathy was born about 2 months after Heathcliff took Isabella with him. There is no hint that Linton was a premature delivery (like Cathy) therefore I would expect that Linton was conceived 1 month ago. If so, only Edgar could be the father! Also Linton looked very much alike Edgar and has no similarity to Heathcliff at all. Is this some kind of a hidden clou, any idea?

[bricks_x]

I wouldn't say that would be the case - even in those days, incest was frowned upon, and in such a small community such as the Heights and the grange, I think someone would have found out. Maybe you're just reading too much into it? Although what you say makes sense, I think it's very doubtful.
x

[PaulT]

As Linton was a sickly, weak child, he may well have been a little premature. Also, I doubt if Heathcliff would have waited for marriage before having sex with Isabella so Linton's conception could have been a bit earlier than their marriage.

[Aragoth]

I'm no doctor, but based upon Linton's symptom's and the Bronte's own lives, it seems that Linton has tuberculosis.

[PaulT]

Cathy says that Linton is "just six months younger than" her which is not exactly six months but an approximation. I have finished my story timeline for my site and my dates as thus:

Isabella elopes with Heathcliff: 6 January 1784 (approx)
Cathy born: 20 March 1784
Linton born: 8 September 1784 (approx)

So Linton is slightly less than six months younger (six months going by whole months - March to September) and his conception would have been early January for a full 9 months and anytime in January or February if he was premature.

[meenakshi]

Well i just want to say that the resemblence Linton Junior bears to Edgar does not prove any thing . It is quite normal for nephews to resemble their uncle.Linton is Heathcliffs own son yet it is hard to belive ,taken into account how he treats him.

[monellia]

I believe Heathcliff was intended as father of Linton for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. A secret affair such as Edgar's being father to Linton would undermine the relevancy of the main motifs in the novel.

That said...

I wouldn't say that would be the case - even in those days, incest was frowned upon, and in such a small community such as the Heights and the grange, I think someone would have found out.
Thus, kos7365's theory encompasses an alternate reason for Isabella's moving to London - she was ashamed of the deed she had commited and naturally wished to be away from the Heights and the Grange should anyone find out. It would also alternatively explain Edgar's sense of detatchment from Catherine in the months prior to her death, and why he chose not to talk about her much with his daughter. He didn't feel justified to reccount for the woman he had wronged. Furthermore, Heathcliff's emotional indifference to both his wife and son suggests him less likely to consider that he may not have been Linton's biological father.

[C. Earnshaw]

Linton is HEATHCLIFF's son, there's no doubt about this. It's probable he (Heathcliff) didn't want to wait till the marriage for having sex, and maybe Isabella was pregnant since there. there's nothing strange if a boy is similar to his uncle! ;)

[Billie_Bumble]

I would think that the more important question is - was Cathy Heathcliffe's daughter? That's a much more likely situation in my opinion.

[PaulT]

I would think that the more important question is - was Cathy Heathcliffe's daughter? That's a much more likely situation in my opinion.

I think there is very little evidence that Cathy was Heathcliff's daughter. She was born on 20 March, seven months premature, so she would have been conceived around the end of August. But Heathcliff did not return from his three year disappearance until September and it is clear that Catherine was surprised when he appeared at the Grange.

Also, Cathy was blonde, like Edgar. Both Catherine and Heathcliff had dark hair.

[henryxiong]

Anybody can teach me how to post a new message? I looked for "post new message" link or something similar for half an hour and found myself completely defeated:(

[Nightshade]

Anybody can teach me how to post a new message? I looked for "post new message" link or something similar for half an hour and found myself completely defeated:(

Hello and welcome to the litnet.:wave:
This link (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23208) explains how to do this and a lot of other things besides. :D

[Sunshineyness]

I think everyone's kid is who they say they are simply because I think the point of the children is to say that we are not our parents. Sons don't inherit the sins of the father- we aren't carbon copies. We are our own people, own personality and quirks. The fact that Heathcliff's son is just like Edgar just proves what I think is a main theme in the book continually- who we are born to is not who we are. Your station does not impose who you are.

[mpmpm]

I was wondering if Linton is Hindley's son...... Maybe not!!

[mpmpm]

I wish I would not have read that post about Linton being Edgar's son....

[Wilde woman]

No, I think the timeline works out (to confirm that Linton is Heathcliff's son) and that Linton may even have been more premature, perhaps a contributing cause to his continuing bad health.

But when I first read that Isabella gave birth, I wondered too if Heathcliff was the father. Honestly, I could not (and still cannot) imagine Heathcliff having sex with Isabella. He made it very clear that he was revolted by her; I can't see him lowering himself to actually sleep with her, and thus degrade Cathy's memory. I can't even see him doing it out of spite; others may disagree with me on this, but I just can't imagine him doing it.

Still, however it happened, I still believe Linton is his child. And I'll tell you why. Remember when Nelly first sees Linton (he's about a year old); she sees all his external resemblances to Isabella - fair skin and hair, slender frame, etc., but she notices a peevishness or sullenness in his eyes, even at that young age. THAT, I think, is the Heathcliff in Linton. I know that sounds rather accusatory (after all, the boy cannot control who his parents are) BUT Nelly even voices that thought much later in the book. When Linton has married Cathy and is lording it over Thrushcross Grange with no pity for his suffering wife, Nelly cries "that's your father in you" or something similar. I really believe that's the undeniable proof that Heathcliff is his father.


Thus, kos7365's theory encompasses an alternate reason for Isabella's moving to London - she was ashamed of the deed she had commited and naturally wished to be away from the Heights and the Grange should anyone find out. It would also alternatively explain Edgar's sense of detatchment from Catherine in the months prior to her death, and why he chose not to talk about her much with his daughter. He didn't feel justified to reccount for the woman he had wronged. Furthermore, Heathcliff's emotional indifference to both his wife and son suggests him less likely to consider that he may not have been Linton's biological father.

Hmmm, this is really interesting. I'm sure someone could find even more proof for this incest-theory as an alternate interpretation of the book. It would completely revolutionize the way we interpret the novel.

[kev67]

I wondered whether Linton was Heathcliff's son. Even Heathcliff wonders where his part of him is. No doubt Emily Brontë knew very little about genetics but it seems to me from the description of Linton that he cannot be Heathcliff's son. Linton is fair and frail. Heathcliff is dark and powerfully built. I don't suppose he was Edgar's son, but if not his and not Heathcliff's than whose?

[UGLA]

I do not think Edgar is Linton´s father, because it doesn´t have any purpose to the plot. But I do think that Isabelle was pregnant before she married Heathcliff. I think that Heathcliff had sex with Isabelle before marriage, because if anyone tried to stop the marriage they couldn´t. At that time, if you had sex before marriage, the only right thing to do was often marry the person. Of course Linton could have been premature, Isabella had faced a lot of stress when she ran away from Wuthering Heights

[kelby_lake]

Heathcliff does say things about Isabella that hint that Linton was probably conceived before marriage. He often refers to her as a slut and said that no form of brutality shocked her. Isabella's attraction to Heathcliff is a masochistic one. I can well imagine Heathcliff wanting to ruin Isabella before their wedding day.