2. Literature Review

In the past few years, many studies have been done and published on the only novel of Wuthering Heights of Emily Bronte, who has been widely regarded as one of the American’s controversial contemporary novelists. It also has aroused lots of researchers’ interests, and gets more and more attention from the literature circle both at home and abroad. Many critics adopt different methods to study the novel from different aspects and to draw different conclusions. So Emily and her works seem to be an endless puzzle to researchers.

     Some critics and scholars have concentrated on Wuthering Heights from different aspects. For example, Janet.C.James writes Cliff’s Notes on Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, which intends to help the readers understand the subject better. The book resolves some problems that confuse everyone especially the social roots of Heathciff’s revenge, and helps us understand better about the plot of the novel. Another critic Hardy Barbara concentrates on the contents of Wuthering Heights and analyze the passionate and unique love through the process and reasons of Heathcliff’s changes, which help us to catch the meaning of the book better. Other critics read Wuthering Heights from different themes, such as the theme of revenge, theme of love, theme of humanity and female consciousness. Pu Ruoqian compares the love between Heathcliff and Catherine in Wuthering Heights with the love in Greek myth, putting forward that love between Heathcliff and Catherine is the reappearance of the oldest love. Dong Junfeng views that Catherine’s relationship with Heathcliff and Edger shows the predicament of the female characters and even the survival crisis of human beings.     

In my opinion, Heathcliff is a figure full of tragedy and he also suffers a lot. His befalling is worthy to be pitiful. This paper, therefore, attempts to make a general survey into the recurrence of humanity, analyzing the reasons resulting in the change, and focusing on the humanity of Heathcliff rather than his beastliness.

3. The Loss of Humanity in Heathcliff  

3.1 A Cloudy, Cruel, Mad and Evil Man 

     Emily describes Heathcliff as a cloudy, cruel, mad and evil man. In the article, Catherine promises to marry Linton because of her ignorance, stupidity, vanity; But she betrays the pure love eventually. It is admitted that Catherine’s original purpose is to help Heathcliff and to make her brother has no right to interfere. However, after Heathcliff’s leaving, she eventually marries Katherine Linton, for she cannot afford the burden of reality, and the exposure of her own ideal personality finally led to their destruction. Catherine ruined not only her youth, love and life, but also ruined her love for Heathcliff. Her love for Linton is confined to a shallow, narrow level, like green leaves in forest, for time will make its color changeable, and her love for Heathcliff is more deeper, like the eternal rock, not as smooth as jade, but it is necessary. It is tantamount to lack of spiritual death. “He used pine restraint to subdue himself, so Hindley didn’t lose his life” (Bronte, 1985: 168). As far as I’m concerned, they love each other deeply, but what they have done is pitiful because of the different ways they express.   

The thing Catherine done indeed harms Heathcliff, and let him to travel in the distant places. But during the process, when Linton marries Catherine, this love has become hatred, and irreversible desire. Even after the old Earnshaw's death, Hindley let Heathcliff become a servant as the adopted son, to abuse him by all sorts of measures; Heathcliff carries the past, just because Catherine stands in his heart and supports him. This is the reason he doesn’t complain. But Catherine’s foolish actions let him into the hell and feels hopeless. So three years later, Heathcliff began to revenge. First he uses Hindley’s weaknesses, to seek Wuthering Heights, in order to retaliate against Linton, and cheat his sister. A few years later, he makes tragedy between the next generations. He arrests Cathy in house and forces her to marry his dying son, and torture his son Hadley like what that Hindley has ever tortured him.