简析《呼啸山庄》中男女主人公爱情悲剧的原因摘要《呼啸山庄》是由艾米丽·布朗特所创的世界上最伟大的小说之一。
艾米丽在小说中成功的塑造了爱与恨为主题的爱情悲剧故事。
自该小说诞生以来，国内外学者对于《呼啸山庄》主题的研究从未停止。
本文选取希斯克利夫和凯瑟琳爱情故事原因的角度进行探究，致力通过对男女主人公所处的阶级，受到的教育，各自成长环境的变化，及各自性格原因，来分析男女主人公的爱情悲剧。
通过本次研究，能够使读者对希斯克利夫和凯瑟琳的爱情悲剧有更清晰的理解和认识。
关键词：爱；恨；凯瑟琳；西斯克里夫；呼啸山庄ContentsAbstract (i)摘要 (ii)1．Introduction. (1)1.1Introduction of Emily Bronte and her Wuthering Heights (1)1.2 Introduction of the tragic love story (1)1.3 The structure of this paper (2)2．Literature Review (4)2.1 Review on the oversea studies (4)2.2 Review on the domestic studies (4)3．The External Reasons for the Tragedy (6)3.1 The class barrier (6)3.2 The educational reasons (7)3.2.1The family education for Heathcliff and Catherine (7)3.2.2Education conducted by European upper class (7)4．The Internal Reasons for the Tragedy (9)4.1 Catherine’s own reasons (9)4.1.1 Catherine’s growing environment (9)4.1.2 Catherine’s dual personality (9)4.1.3 Catherine’s betrayal (10)4.2 Heathcliff’s own reasons (10)4.2.1 Heathcliff’s growing environment (11)4.2.2 Heathcliff’s extreme pe rsonality (11)4.2.3 Heathcliff’s revenge (12)5．Conclusion (14)References (15)Acknowledgements (16)1. Introduction1.1Introduction of Emily Bronte and her Wuthering HeightsEmily Jane Bronte (July 30, 1818 – December 19, 1848) was a great British novelist and pet in the 19th century and one of the extraordinary women writers in the literary history of England, and she is also best remembered for her only novel Wuthering Heights, which is now an acknledged classic of English literature.Emily was born at Thornton in Yorkshire. She was the younger sister of Charlotte Bronte, and the fifth of six children. It was the discovery of Emily's poetic talent by her family that led her and her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, to publish jointly a book of poems entitled Poems by Currer, Ellis and Action Bell in 1846. To evade contemporary prejudice against female writers, all three used male pseudonyms, Emily's being "Ellis Bell". She wrote many poems of her own and some of these during her short life, in the form of powerful lyrics. These lyrics have been esteemed highly as passionate utterances of the author’s innermost feelings and thoughts.She subsequently published her only novel, Wuthering Heights, in 1847, a powerful, poetic work, but whose innovative structure somewhat puzzled critics. Although it received mixedreviews when it first came out, the book subsequently became an English literary classic.Wuthering heights depicts the foundling boy Heathcliff after the adoption by the Earnshaw. He lived with Mr. Earnsh aw’s son Hindley and daughter Catherine. Hindley treat Heathcliff badly.He insulted and maltreated Heathcliff in veery possible way afther Mr.Earnshaw’s death. At the same time, peculiar emotion occurred between Cath erine and Heathcliff. Because of her vanity and ignorance, Catherine decided to marry Linton. Heathcliff left with anger. Three years later, Heathcliff returned to revenge. He succeeded in annexing all the property of Hindley’s and the Linton’s. However,Catherine’s ghost pestered him all the time and he died in the dream with Catherine.1.2Introduction of the tragic love storyWuthering Heights shows us the life scenes in a deformity society through a tragic love story, outlines all kinds of the terrible events caused by the human nature in the distorted society. The title of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors of the story (as an adjective, Wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tale centers on the all-encompassing, passionate, but ultimately doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and the people around them.The plot of story is actually spread gradually through four stages.The first stage describes the childhood life of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw who the two children spend hours on the moors together and hate every moment; the special feeling between a homeless gypsy boy and an honored, upper-class lady in the unique environment, and their rebel against the tyranny ofCatherine’s brother Hindley.The second stage focuses on describing Catherine as a common lady who pursues the traditional “human love” and denies Heathcliff’s love; at last she married to Layton, a young and rich, educated gentleman, and becomes the mistress of Thrushcross Grange. She admitted Nelly that she loves Layton, because he is young, handsome, and rich and loves her, and the most important one is that he can make her become the most respected woman. While Catherine patted on her forehead and chest said: “In my soul my heart, I know I was wrong.”She also loves Heathcliff, but here love for Heathcliff is derived form “he and I are the same piece of material”. Love, from the pursuit of happiness to the pursuit of oneself, has become just “super-human love”.In the third stage, the novel, by using a lot of words, describes how Heathcliff who is filled with hatred and despair makes all kinds of actions on his revenge. This part is the main theme of the whole story. With the death of Catherine, Edgar, Isabella, Heathcliff’s son and himself, Heathcliff achieves his revenge on those who treated him badly.At last, the novel only narrates the death of Heathcliff, but reveals a brand new change of his minds when he found that Hareton and Cathy fell in love with each other. His minds changes from love, hatred, and revenge to the recovery of human nature, which reveals a light of hope in this tragic love which is full of horror color.In the novel, Heathcliff and Catherine later grow close, and their love becomes the central theme of the first volume; his revenge and its consequences are the main theme of the second volume. Therefore, his minds change from love, hatred, revengeto the revival of human nature, is not only the essence of the novel, but also the theme throughout the whole novel. The author layouts and arranges the changed scene unpredictably according to this theme, sometimes full of dark clouds, wail like ghosts and howl like wolves in the wilderness, and sometimes like the storms blow hard, or in a dark courtyard. The tragic love story is always surrounded in a mysterious and terrible atmosphere.1.3The structure of this paperWuthering Heights is the most unusual novel in the history of English Literature.By describing Catherine and Heathcliff's love; it shows the variation of deformity society, and the distorted humanistic. This article analyzes the book from the reasons of the tradgic love Catherine and Heathcliff. The first chapter is introduction; it gives a brief introduction on Emily Bronte and the Wuthering Heights. The second chapter is literature review, in this part it introduces thestudies of this novel on the oversea and domestic .The third chapter is the external reasons for the tragedy. The fourth is the internal reasons for the tragedy. The last, chapter five, is the conclusion of this paper.2. Literature ReviewToday considered as a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights was met with mixed reviews when it first appeared, mainly because of mental and physical cruelty of the narrative's stark depiction. Although Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre was generally considered the best of the Bront? sisters' works during most of the nineteenth century, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that it was a superior achievement.The novel has been studied, analyzed, and discussed fromevery imaginable critical perspective and from every aspect, yet it remains unexhausted. Most of them are focused on the character of the hero or the complicated love between the characters. Catherine, the heroine of the Wuthering Heights, is a typical tragic role in Western literature. Caterine’s emotional has different changes with different environment.(Chen le,2007).Heathcliff, in Wuthering Heights, is the real dramatic center of the story. Heathcliff is a coalescence of several characters and elements, one is the concept of a man whose mind of hatred is pitiless and ruthless, and another is of a man whose desire for revenge degenerates into avarice (Davy Cecil, 1934). There are man y factors to deal with Heathcliff’s distortion; many of the previous studies attempt to explore the reasons for Heathcliff’s tragedies. In aboard, t hey are respectively Davy. L. Robert’s analysis based on prototype theory, Davy Cecil’s analysis based on b ackgrounds theory and James. C. Janet’s analysis based on love theory.2.1 Review on the oversea studiesAccording to Davy L Robert(1985)，The Prototype of Heathcliff suggests the sensational revenge and tragic characters. He addressed in his The Prototype of Heathcliff that Emily Bronte created the name “Heathcliff” to tell the readers the man’s temperament in a metaphorical way. Davy L Robert argues that the figure of Heathcliff created by Bronte stands for evil and revenge, and he also thinks that Heathcl iff’s prototype would be the devil from hell. According to James C Janet’s (2009) On Bronte’s Wuthering Heights,the relationship determines Heathcliff and Catherine’s love. Their love is thus formed in the rebellion against those social forces, families and classes, which restrict the ideals. Catherine’s choice of love, her choicefondness of wealth, position and social distinction in other words, are the primary reasons for forming Heathcliff’s tragic characters (James C. Janet, 2009). According to Davy Cecil the backgrounds deal a lot with Heathcliff’s distortion. Davy Cecil believes that the change of class state and life experience con tribute a lot to form Heathcliff’s distortion.2.2 Review on the domestic studiesIn China, many scholars combine characteristics and the fate of life experience of character types in Wuthering Heights with author’s personality and characteristic, such as Tang Zheng(2009) believed that, to a certain extent, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights is just the author’s true portraitu re. In recent years, there are many scholars wrote many articles to discuss the hero Heathcliff. Zhao Yunmei(2009) wrote: Heathcliff’s wild and intractable personality, his stronglove, lonely character and the violent perverse revenge figure, reflect the characteristics of Byron effect. After the rise in symbolism, many scholars also do research in this aspect, such as the Wang Zhe(2011) thought, Emily in her" the one and only " novel used a large number of symbolic description, through images shaping, turns out the understanding to the deep and mystical philosophy of life.3. The External Reasons for the Tragedy3.1 The class barrier reasons for the tragedyIn England, the 18th Century, is an age of the bourgeoisie. The old aristocratic class was fast losing its power politically and economically to the rising urban middle class or bourgeoisie who worked hard, economized and accumulated great wealth and became the mainstream of the nation; the social and economic values were changing and land ownership did not always theman make, it is a world of patriarchal values. Along with the emergence of this "industrial revolution" came a class- conscious society. The new London would benefit the wealthy and the middle class but exploit and oppress the working and poor classes. The social changes taking place in England between 1801 and1847 provides context for an appreciation of Wuthering Heights. As industrialization spread, a growing middle class challenged the position of landed gentry. The Earnshaws and Heathclif f represent this moment. Heathcliff’s rise from an orphaned urchin to landholder in Wuthering Heights is a paradigm for the origins of capitalism within society.Heathcliff was a fatherless child when he was brought into Catherine’s family. He has some wil dness and strength in his bones. Belonging to a lower class, he tries to get his rights by opposing the upper class. He must do what he wants to do and follows his nature but does not care about others’ attitude. His action shows his capricious and resistant character. The influence of Heathcliff and Edgar leads to Catherine’s complex personality---strength, brawniness, a little wildness, dignity and vanity. At the beginning, due to Heathcliff’s influence, Catherine keeps her strength and brawniness.Catherine is very ambivalent in her love .Due to human nature, she loves Heathcliff deeply with childlike passion, and he r soul can’t live without him. But the social culture made her betray the love in order to satisfy her yearning for fame and wealth. She chooses Linton; hereby her love becomes a tragedy. Catherine learns dignity and vanity through contacting with Edgar. Edgar who is proud of his social status is a well-educated gentleman, so his action follows traditional manners. Besides, he is proud of his social status. She wants to marry Edgar to satisfyher vanity, so she is nearer to the social class to which Edgar belongs. In brief, Heathcliff makes Catherine keep her nature, while Edgar guides her into true middle class.Catherine’s utilitarian treatme nt of marriage is entirely caused by the social environment. The world was full of patriarchal values. Women's status was unequal in politics and economics. Their values can only be reflected in their marriage. As to Catherine, she does not overcome her vanity and weakness. The love can not escape from the times. They ruined their best things in this era. Because of this, their love must be a tragic love.In 19th century of England, economy, society, and politics had a great change. At that time, the prosperity of the middle and upper classes and the wrenched condition of the poor differed greatly. People of the underclass hardly had right in law, and destined to be abused by upper classes. Undoubtedly, cruel social environment and fierce class origin are regarded as root for their tragic love. Heathcliff is on behalf of these poor ones. He begins his life as a foundling boyadopted by Mr.Earnshaw. Uncared for and unloved, he lives in a hostile and frightening world in himself, which is caused by the real society. Heathcilff owned almost the love of Mr. Earnshaw, but he is badly treated by young Hindley, whose behaviors even make him distorted humanity. It is the injury inflicted on him during his childhood results in the tragedy later. Even when coming back y ears after Catherine’s marriage with great possessions, Heathcliff does not belong to the upper class because of his poor origin. That is to say, for a person from the lower, no matter how rich one is now, he is always what he is. The discrimination from others make they lose whatever they are longing for, including love, and dignity. The only thing left is toretaliate the world to balance the pain of the loss. More pains, more retaliations. It is natural for the appearance of distortions. In a word, such distortions come from the social reality and Heathcliff is a representative of the effects of cruelty, deprivation and alienation that are the products of civilization.3.2 Educational reasons for the tragedy3.2.1The family education for Heathcliff and CatherineHeathcliff's character determines his tragedy; however the formation of character is inseparable from the growth process of family education. He is a foundling boy; adopted by Mr. Earnshaw His arrival does not get the love and the warmth of family. Mr. Earnshaw’s son Hindley treats Heathcliff badly. After Mr. Earnshaw’s dead, Heathcliff is treated as a servant. He is deprived of dignity, and not educated. At last his only sustenance, Catherine also away marries Linton. He suffers from serious injuries. After that, he made the terrorist revenge for everyone include their descendants.Catherine has a superior family; all the family pampers her, so she has a little capricious. When she was young Mrs. Earnshaw was dead, her father is always busy on the business no time to train and educate her. After Mr. Earnshaw’s death, Heathcliff is misused by Hindley Catherine also be affected. She can not get education, she become a wild child.She wrestles with the self-willed and rational, dead with painful.3.2.2 Education conducted by the European Upper classIn the early 19th Century, when UK was a classic patriarchy society with a strong sense of hierarchy and class contradiction, divided human into several levels. Their working people not only were exploited and oppressed by the corrupt landed aristocracy, but also ruled by the emerging bourgeois nobles. Meanwhilewomen and proletariats were oppressed too, whose personal rights had been deprived. Too much education would "ruin" girls, making them unfit for marriage and motherhood. Consequently, most middle and upper middle class girls were taught little beyond basic reading and writing, and instead were trained in "accomplishments," such as music, drawing, and dancing, to better attract eligible suitors. As far as they were concerned, marriage was the best home they turned to, on which their all success or failure depended. Adiscussion of whether or not a man was really a gentleman would consider such questions as how much land he owned, how many tenants and servants he had, how he spoke, whether he kept horses and a carriage, and whether his money came from land or “trade”—gentlemen scorned banking and commercial activities.Charlotte Bronte in her preface to the 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights, refers to Edgar as "an example of constancy and tenderness and goes on to suggest that her sister Emily was using Edgar to point out that such characteristics constitute true virtues in all human beings, and not just in women, as society tended to believe. At the top of British society was the royalty, followed by the aristocracy, then by the gentry, and then by the lower classes, who made up the vast majority of the population. The social status of aristocrats was a formal and settled matter, because aristocrats had official titles. A discussion of whether or not a man was really a gentleman would consider such questions as how much land he owned, how many tenants and servants he had, how he spoke, whether he kept horses and a carriage, and whether his money came from land or "trade"—gentlemen scorned banking and commercial activities. Considerations ofclass status often crucially inform the characters' motivations in Wuthering Heights. Catherine's decision to marry Edgar so that she will be "the greatest woman of the neighborhood" is only the most obvious example. The Lintons are relatively firm in their gentry’s status but nonetheless take great pains to prove this status through their behaviors. The shifting nature of social status is demonstrated most strikingly in Heathcliff's trajectory from homeless waif to young gentleman-by-adoption to common laborer to gentleman again (although the status-conscious Lockwood remarks that Heathcliff is only a gentleman in "dress and manners").4. The Internal Reasons for the Tragic Love4.1 Catherine’s own reasons4.1.1 Catherine’s growing environmentCatherine’s change is mainly from her values during the different environment between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.Cath erine’s natural environment is stabbed as “wild child”. In her narrow world, Heathcliff isher only stabbed playmates and spirit. Her stay at the grange has brought about changes for her that affect the course of the lives Heathcliff and her own, both present and future. She has awared of the social difference between Heathcliff and herself. She has looked and acted as a lady after she returns to Wuthering Heights. She laughs at Heathcliff's unkempt appearance. When the Lintons visit Catherine the next day, Heathcliff dresses up himself to impress her. It fails when Edgar, one of the Linton children, argues with him. Heathcliff is locked in the attic, where Catherine later tries to comfort him. Unfortunately she could never marry Heathcliff because of his lack of status andeducation. She therefore plans to marry Edgar who is a cultured gentleman with enough wealth to make herself as the greatness woman of the neighborhood. In fact, Catherine is totally absorbed in the new way of life and values as her spirit and nature belong to upper-class. Heathcliff has overheard the first part about not being able to marry him and runs away, disappearing without a trace. After three years, Edgar and Catherine are married.4.1.2 Catherine’s dual personalitiesCatherine’s character is filled with contradictions. On one hand, she is pure and free; on the other hand, she is selfish and vanity, which cause her into a dilemma since Edgar proposed her, and makes her mind collapse at last and she dies in childbirth.In the childhood, Catherine has the spirit of revolting, she always reacts against her father and her brother. During the process, she falls in love with Heathcliff. And she can bear all the punishment from her brother, except the separation from Heathcliff. "Without Heathcliff", she says, "the universe would turn to a mighty stranger". (Emily Bronte, 2005)As she grows up, Catherine hates the meaningless freedom. She seems to become another person after back home from Thorncross Grange. Catherin’s alternative could be easily found in many aspects: the changes of her manners, dress and social attitudes. Her dress is suitable in the Grange rather than in the Heights and she has become used to a life that is centered on the inside of houses and she can do no work. She has accustomed to such a style of living: others work for her, produce for her and satisfy her needs. She is attracted by the “cultural life” in the Lintons, and she starts to long for it.Catherine has thrown herself into a dilemma since EdgarLinton proposed her. She is eager for the honorable life in Thorncross Grange, where she can become a rich and great woman, but she also loves Heathcliff with her soul, just like she said to Nelly "My love for Edgar 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"(Emily Bronte, 2005)The duality of Catherine's character revealed a crisis point with her marriage to Edgar - the one event in the novel above all others which determine the futures of the central characters. Catherine's marriage to him is a betrayal of her nature. Not only has she broken with her kindredspirit, Heathcliff, but she has physically removed herself from the wildness and freedom from the Heights. Catherine's marriage to Edgar and her rejection of Heathcliff is a rejection of herself. This choice made by Catherine favored wealth, civilization and social position over her natural affinity with the untamed, uncivilized world represented by Heathcliff.Catherine’s dual characters cause her tragedy, which has aroused the readers’ sympathy. As she lies dying, she says，“I wish I were girl again, half savage and hardy, and free, and laughing at injuries, not maddening under them! Why am I so changed?”(Emily Bronte,2005) she regrets her choice but now she has to face it and gives up her life at last.4.1.3Catherine’s betrayalWhen Catherine is a little girl, she is pure and free, she loves Heathcliff without minding his identity, and she falls in love with Heathcliff and bears all the punishment from her brother. But when she encounters Edgar, she realizes that from him she canget more respects and she would be the greatness woman of the neighborhood. She knows that she would never marry Healthcliff. In her heart, she still loves Heathcliff but she is totally absorbed in the new way of life and values as her spirit and nature belong to upper-class. Compared with Heathcliff, Linton is young, handsome, rich and in love with her. The most important is Linton can make her become the most respected woman. Catherine is a faithful partner of Heathcliff, they develop the true love in common resistance. However, Catherine finally betrays Heathcliff.Catherine’s betrayal of Heathcliff is the distortion of her personality and self-betrayal.The relationship determines the nature of their love. Their demand for love is conveyed in the process of their struggle for individual fulfillment and humanity.Catherine shows her passionate love for Heathliff and inseparability of them. But the nature of love should be explored within a context, because the novel shows love is based on mutual bullion and mutual aspirations. Catherine eventually betrays Heathcliff and becomes the mistress of Thrush cross Grange.Seduction by the glamour of the Grange is the beginning of Catherine’s change and distortion.Because Catherine is kind, she loves Heathcliff by the mercy. Because of her vanity, selfish and arrogant, she had betrayed her love to marry Edgar. Eventually Catherine becomes all the fuses of the tragedy. Catherine has been living in the pain of contradiction, her efforts herself to become an upper-class lady. She chooses to marry Linton, the real gentleman, although she still loves healthcliff. After the marriage, Catherine is still not out of pain, and contradictions until her death. Because her betrayal, a direct result of the tragic misfortune of her life, because her death, Heathcliff makes all the crazy revenge.So Catherine’s betrayal is the beginni ng of his own personal hell; for Heathcliff，Catherine’s betrayal is the turning point of his life; For Heathcliff, Catherine’s b etrayal leads him to cruel punishment or treatment to anyone who has relationship with Catherine or anyone he hates.4.2Heathcl iff’s own reasons4.2.1 Heathcliff’s growing environmentYoung Heathcliff’s childhood is full of both half-happiness and half-sadness, and it formats his life experience and social status and distorts his nature at the same time.A homeless gypsy boy named “Heathcliff” was abandoned by his parents after he was born, and this has a huge influence on his unreasonable disposition. Later he was adopted by Mr. Earnshaw. He is treated well by Mr. Earnshaw, and from Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff learns the kindness. The children of the Earnshaw family are the teenaged Hindley and his younger sister, Catherine. Hindley finds himself robbed of his father's affections and becomes bitterly jealous of Heathcliff. However, Catherine grows much attached to him. After Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley becomes master of Wuthering Heights, and forces Heathcliff to become a servant instead of a member of the family and exterts tyranny on Heathcliff. Despite the abuse of Hindley, Heathcliff still endure and tolerate on the support of Cathe rine’s love until they meet the Lintons . The seed of hatred has planted in his heart gradually. So his character is formed in this discrimination and betrayal of Catherine, both kindness and cruelty during his teenage time.4.2.2 Heathcliff’s extreme pers onalitiesHeathcliff is an orphan taken to Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw and reluctantly cared for by the rest of the family. Heand Catherine later grow close, and their love becomes the central theme of the first volume; his revenge and its consequences are the main theme of the second volume. So his extreme character is love and hatred.At first, Heathcliff is a pure and kind boy. When Mr. Earnshaw died, Heathcliff was very sad and made a heart-breaking cry. From this we can see his natural kindness character. He also has a strong love in his heart. It is the love that is natural and pure. He loves Catherine so much and faithfully and long-lasting. Only when he learned that Catherine was engaged with Edgar Linton, he left Wuthering Heights with angry, before this happened, he never thought that he would leave here for any reason, even when Hindley treated his badly. That’s because of his love for Catherine that gave him the hope. After three years, when he returned to Wuthering Heights, he still loves Catherine. Only having Catherine’s love, he can own the happiness.Heathcliff’s death for love expresses his everlasting love for Catherine, and the resurgence of his human nature.Due to the unfair life, misery experience and the betrayal love of Catherine, he becomes cruel, selfish and fierce. He deprived Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange step by step. He also hurts the young generation, making Cathy marry to his sick son. For revenge, Heathcliff‘s heart is distorted, of course, we admit that his revenge on people who had hurt his is successful. But his revenge is pointless; he spent all his life on revenge and at last, he lives lonely and is empty in spirit. He finally dies and achieves the reunion with Catherine.Healthcliff himself is contradicting. On one hand, he is kind and pure in nature; on the other hand, he becomes cruel when he returns to Wuthering Heights and take revenge on people。
