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Snowqueen
12-19-2008, 01:56 PM
I completed the Wuthering Heights almost a year ago. The First thing that struck me towards the end of this novel is the change that occurs in Heathcliff’s character. Why suddenly he loses his appetite for revenge and why it seems as if he is foreseeing his death? He appears to be very remote from the rest of the characters.
amalia1985
12-19-2008, 05:51 PM
He develops a sense of forebonding. Perhaps, he comes to the point of realisation- as a tragic hero- and understands that he can no longer influence those around him. Especially, when he senses the feelings that have been developed between Hearton and Cathy, in the famous table scene, when Cathy "dares" to oppose him and accuse him (openly) of stealing her fortune and Hearton's. What he says to Hearton later is very significant, in my opinion, prompting him to go to Cathy, wondering how can he stand to be away from her. Perhaps, he sees his own love for Catherine in the face of the young love between Hearton and Cathy (even if it sounds a little bit romantic).
Adagio
12-20-2008, 06:18 PM
I agree amalia. Also if you remember what happens at the start of the book - Catherine's ghost. A change within Heathcliff takes place after the scene where he begs her ghost to "Come in! Come in!" and then the candle light is blown out.
Snowqueen
12-21-2008, 11:29 AM
Amalia and Adagio,
Thanks for sharing your views, but don’t you think Heathcliff seems to be more interested in his death and reuniting to Catherine rather than in his surroundings?
Adagio
12-21-2008, 03:43 PM
Of course. Maybe the supernatural encounter gave him belief in the afterlife. He always wanted Catherine. His sobbing when kneeling in the room signifies how much he misses her. In killing himself he is leaving this world to join her in the afterlife (or so he believes). His lack of interest in his surroundings suggests something happened to him that night. Bronte's narrative leaves the reader to fill in the gaps. We don't know exactly what he saw in the room but his trance afterwards helps emphasis the powerful effect it had on him. This is the way i viewed the book.