We know why Heathcliff was bad but what are some good traits?

[xXKitoriXx]

Okay so there is a thread on here about wether or not Heathcliff was evil.
Well lets get the other side.....What are some of his good qualities or why was he a good person that would excuse his "bad behavior" I guess you could say? I know its true he was wronged by circumstance and was most likely born out of wedlock and who knows how long he spent on the streets of london, but we know he loves Catherine and when he runs away it is when he hears how if she marries him it will be degrading. When Heathcliff comes back he is changed, he has come into money, no one knows how, has lost some of his ignorance, and grown athletic as Nelly Dean says. Heathcliff left to become better for Catherine.

What are some other arguments you guys have?

[defeated]

well.....I don't enjoy saying good things about that character but I think it is true that there are some positive things about him, I think the most important one is his care for the people....or person....he loves because trhoughout the story it is quite evident that as much as he misstreats everybody else he gives his entire being to catherine

[AshleyMare]

Heathcliff loved, that's really his only good quality. Even if all his heart was black it still loved Catherine. I think the same goes for Catherine, because she wasn't the best person either, although she was better than Heathcliff. She loved Heathcliff though and that's a good quality in her.

[Thespian1975]

I cannot see any good in Heathcliff. Even his love was destructive. He thought of nobody except Catherine until it became obsessive.

He is described as a devil or an animal throughout, and someone less than human.

[danni.x]

His manic obsession for Catherine is quite endearing, if you like that sort of thing :)
Wuthering Heights is probably my favourite novel, but every time I read it I'm in conflict of how I should feel about Heathcliff. He has many evil traits and does some terrible things but I find it hard to hate him.

[demelza]

Heathcliff does care for Hareton. He saves his life when Hareton is a child, even though it is not an intentional act. The grief of Hareton when Heathcliff dies is proof that he is almost like a father to him. I think that Wuthering Heights is one of the best books ever written. Emily Bronte was the genius of the Bronte family.

[Heath]

I think Heathcliff's good quality was his loyalty. He was unwavering loyal to Catherine even when she was long dead. And I think Heathcliff was the sort of the person that it was hard to get his loyalty, but once you did you were then covered for life.
And Heathcliff did have a sort of regard for both Nelly and Hareton, so he wasn't completely uncaring.

[ELarimore]

I think that Heathcliff was good to no one, not really even Catherine. He knew it was killing her to have him do things and he still went about doing them. When he was close to death, that's the only time he became good, trying to almost fix his wrong doings before he was off to be with Catherine(who I think deserved Heathcliff).

[mona amon]

Good qualities? I can't think of any. Certain dim qualities like his grudging respect and perhaps liking for Hareton shine only because of the surrounding darkness. He's a fascinating character, though.

[Oread]

First of all, he's a sexy beast of nature. Second, his ability to love passionately and eternally- how many can boast the same?