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avalindasutter 's review for:
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
“He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.”
First of all, let me just start off by saying that this masterpiece is my favorite novel of all time. I cannot think of a work of art that better captures all the complex, suffering, seduction, beauty and heartbreak that love engenders. Of course it’s dark — love itself can be an exceptionally dark emotion and drive us to commit unimaginable evil.
In one of the most famous novels about love ever written, Catherine Earnshaw ambivalently consents to marry Edgar Linton, her ambivalence arising from the fact that she loves another man. When asking her servant and confidante Nelly whether or not to marry Edgar, Nelly asks, “First and foremost, do you love Mr. Edgar?” to which Catherine replies, “Who can help it? Of course I do.” Catherine’s answer dissatisfies Nelly, and the following conversation ensues:
Nelly: “Why do you love him, Miss Cathy?”
Catherine: “Nonsense, I do – that’s sufficient.”
Nelly: “By no means; you must say why.”
Catherine: “Well, because he is handsome, and pleasant to be with.”
Nelly: “Bad!” was my commentary.
Catherine: “And because he is young and cheerful.”
Nelly: “Bad, still.”
Catherine: “And because he loves me. And he will be rich, and I shall like to be the greatest woman of the neighborhood, and I shall be proud of having such a husband.”
After numerous disappointing replies, Nelly tells Catherine, “But there are several other handsome, rich young men in the world; handsomer, possibly, and richer than he is. What should hinder you from loving them?” Eventually, Catherine breaks, confessing that she loves not Edgar but Heathcliff. When asked why she loves Heathcliff, her response paints an entirely different picture of love that evokes a metaphysical union between two souls, “I love him…not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” The novel puts forth a philosophy of love that suggests that the reasons for which a human being loves another depend not on the qualities of their beloved but on some enigmatic, spiritual unity between two souls. A question that has perplexed philosophers throughout time thus emerges: what is the reason for love? Some philosophers would argue that Catherine is mistaken and that she loves Heathcliff simply because of his qualities, perhaps his dark, brooding aura or his passionate personality. Harry Frankfurt would outright deny that love is a rational response to value. Niko Kolodny would tell Catherine that her “beloved’s bare identity cannot serve as a reason” and that her love for Heathcliff is a response to her valuing their relationship. However, Catherine and Heathcliff seem to think differently. For the two lovers, it is not the qualities they admire nor the value of their relationship but a more profound, spiritual magnetic pull that seems to unite their divided souls into one.
The love portrayed in Wuthering Heights is represented as an ideal love, the broken soul reunited illustrated in Symposium. When Catherine dies at the end of the novel, Heathcliff’s death follows. He wails, “do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” He does not say that he cannot live without his beloved, without their relationship, but rather, he cannot live without his soul. Like Heathcliff, Catherine finds meaning and purpose in life through their transcendental union, “if all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.” Their love exists on a higher or spiritual plane, they reject the emptiness of the universe by finding meaning in their relationship with each other, by an assertion of identity upon the other, thus transcending the innate separateness of the human condition.
For an intimate, metaphysical love like this, one could argue that the relational history between two beings is almost irrelevant. After all, Catherine disproves quality theory but does not say that she loves Heathcliff because of their history, or because she values their relationship. Instead, she proclaims that her reasons for love transcend the earthly and temporal – they reside in the magnetism of two souls. Although Kolodny’s theory may explain most modes of love, love could be more spiritual than he presumes. Rather than love being valuing a relationship, love could be an involuntary pull of the soul. Under this assumption, strange phenomena such as loving someone with whom one has never had a relationship and unrequited love could thus be explained – phenomena that Kolodny’s theory cannot fully account for. Furthermore, consider an infant child who seems to possess familial love for his mother the moment he comes into existence. The child cannot possibly value his relationship with his mother, they have no ongoing history, and yet the child exhibits signs of love despite missing Kolodny’s historical requirement. While these two notions about love could be compatible – intimate love could be a magnetic pull between souls and the valuing of that relationship – Kolodny only addresses the latter. While the relationship theory of love provides a plausible framework for why we love, it does not provide a fully comprehensive one – there are simply too many instances of strange phenomena regarding love that do not fit with Kolodny’s theory. For Heathcliff, Catherine, and countless lovers throughout history, love is more than just valuing a relationship – it is a metaphysical union for which the reasons are yet to be understood. Before attempting to find the reasons for which human beings love, perhaps we should ask if love can be understood rationally, spiritually, or both.
Wuthering Heights and the love between Catherine and Heathcliff will linger throughout time, piercing the souls of thousands who have, like them, suffered and rejoiced at the hands of erotic passion.
First of all, let me just start off by saying that this masterpiece is my favorite novel of all time. I cannot think of a work of art that better captures all the complex, suffering, seduction, beauty and heartbreak that love engenders. Of course it’s dark — love itself can be an exceptionally dark emotion and drive us to commit unimaginable evil.
In one of the most famous novels about love ever written, Catherine Earnshaw ambivalently consents to marry Edgar Linton, her ambivalence arising from the fact that she loves another man. When asking her servant and confidante Nelly whether or not to marry Edgar, Nelly asks, “First and foremost, do you love Mr. Edgar?” to which Catherine replies, “Who can help it? Of course I do.” Catherine’s answer dissatisfies Nelly, and the following conversation ensues:
Nelly: “Why do you love him, Miss Cathy?”
Catherine: “Nonsense, I do – that’s sufficient.”
Nelly: “By no means; you must say why.”
Catherine: “Well, because he is handsome, and pleasant to be with.”
Nelly: “Bad!” was my commentary.
Catherine: “And because he is young and cheerful.”
Nelly: “Bad, still.”
Catherine: “And because he loves me. And he will be rich, and I shall like to be the greatest woman of the neighborhood, and I shall be proud of having such a husband.”
After numerous disappointing replies, Nelly tells Catherine, “But there are several other handsome, rich young men in the world; handsomer, possibly, and richer than he is. What should hinder you from loving them?” Eventually, Catherine breaks, confessing that she loves not Edgar but Heathcliff. When asked why she loves Heathcliff, her response paints an entirely different picture of love that evokes a metaphysical union between two souls, “I love him…not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” The novel puts forth a philosophy of love that suggests that the reasons for which a human being loves another depend not on the qualities of their beloved but on some enigmatic, spiritual unity between two souls. A question that has perplexed philosophers throughout time thus emerges: what is the reason for love? Some philosophers would argue that Catherine is mistaken and that she loves Heathcliff simply because of his qualities, perhaps his dark, brooding aura or his passionate personality. Harry Frankfurt would outright deny that love is a rational response to value. Niko Kolodny would tell Catherine that her “beloved’s bare identity cannot serve as a reason” and that her love for Heathcliff is a response to her valuing their relationship. However, Catherine and Heathcliff seem to think differently. For the two lovers, it is not the qualities they admire nor the value of their relationship but a more profound, spiritual magnetic pull that seems to unite their divided souls into one.
The love portrayed in Wuthering Heights is represented as an ideal love, the broken soul reunited illustrated in Symposium. When Catherine dies at the end of the novel, Heathcliff’s death follows. He wails, “do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” He does not say that he cannot live without his beloved, without their relationship, but rather, he cannot live without his soul. Like Heathcliff, Catherine finds meaning and purpose in life through their transcendental union, “if all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.” Their love exists on a higher or spiritual plane, they reject the emptiness of the universe by finding meaning in their relationship with each other, by an assertion of identity upon the other, thus transcending the innate separateness of the human condition.
For an intimate, metaphysical love like this, one could argue that the relational history between two beings is almost irrelevant. After all, Catherine disproves quality theory but does not say that she loves Heathcliff because of their history, or because she values their relationship. Instead, she proclaims that her reasons for love transcend the earthly and temporal – they reside in the magnetism of two souls. Although Kolodny’s theory may explain most modes of love, love could be more spiritual than he presumes. Rather than love being valuing a relationship, love could be an involuntary pull of the soul. Under this assumption, strange phenomena such as loving someone with whom one has never had a relationship and unrequited love could thus be explained – phenomena that Kolodny’s theory cannot fully account for. Furthermore, consider an infant child who seems to possess familial love for his mother the moment he comes into existence. The child cannot possibly value his relationship with his mother, they have no ongoing history, and yet the child exhibits signs of love despite missing Kolodny’s historical requirement. While these two notions about love could be compatible – intimate love could be a magnetic pull between souls and the valuing of that relationship – Kolodny only addresses the latter. While the relationship theory of love provides a plausible framework for why we love, it does not provide a fully comprehensive one – there are simply too many instances of strange phenomena regarding love that do not fit with Kolodny’s theory. For Heathcliff, Catherine, and countless lovers throughout history, love is more than just valuing a relationship – it is a metaphysical union for which the reasons are yet to be understood. Before attempting to find the reasons for which human beings love, perhaps we should ask if love can be understood rationally, spiritually, or both.
Wuthering Heights and the love between Catherine and Heathcliff will linger throughout time, piercing the souls of thousands who have, like them, suffered and rejoiced at the hands of erotic passion.