FREE ESSAY ON HEATHCLIFF'S OBSESSION

HEATHCLIFF'S OBSESSION

Heathcliff's Obsession 
Throughout Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff's personality could be defined as dark,
menacing, and brooding. He is a dangerous character, with rapidly changing moods, capable
of deep-seeded hatred, and incapable, it seems, of any kind of forgiveness or compromise.
In the first 33 chapters, the text clearly establishes Heathcliff as an untamed,
volatile, wild man and establishes his great love of Catherine and her usage of him as
the source of his ill humour and resentment towards many other characters. However, there
are certain tensions, contradictions, and ambiguities present in Chapter 34 that
establish the true intensity Heathcliff's feelings towards Catherine; feelings so intense
that they border on a jealous obsession. 
Chapter 34 begins with a tension in regard to Heathcliff's disposition. Since
Heathcliff's countenance has seldom expressed anything but a sullen disposition,
certainly nothing even remotely resembling joy, it comes as somewhat of a surprise when
in the last chapter, young Cathy, upon seeing Heathcliff, reports that he looks, almost
bright and cheerful -- No, almost nothing -- very much excited, and wild and glad (276)!
This is entirely unlike the Heathcliff that has been established up until this point.
Even Nelly, who is well-accustomed to Heathcliff's personality and dark moods is taken
aback by the sudden change, so uncharacteristic of his usual temper --...anxious to
ascertain the truth of her statement, for to see the master looking glad would not be an
everyday spectacle, I framed an excuse to go in (276). Since Catherine has previously
almost always been the cause of such wild mood fluctuations, it stands to reason that she
has somehow inspired this wild and frightening joy in him as well. 
During the final days of his life, Heathcliff's curious behaviour continues. He refuses
to eat, absents himself from the company of Cathy, Hareton, or Nelly, disappears
inexplicably for long intervals of time and refuses to explain his absences. Most
disturbing, his strange excitement continues, causing discomfort to all those around him,
especially Nelly. When Nelly asks him where he was the night before his he began to
exhibit this odd elation, he tells her, Last night, I was on the threshold of hell.
To-day I am within sight of my heaven -- I have my eyes on it -- hardly three feet to
sever me (278)! His statement is ambiguous--it does little to explain his sudden change
of humour and little to satisfy Nelly's curiosity and wonder at his state. Joy in most
characters in Wuthering Heights is an uplifting state associated with happiness and
delighted exhilaration. However in Heathcliff, as Nelly observes, it is a horrible,
frightening thing. In Heathcliff, the mood arouses wariness and fear in others and
indicates some inner change so dramatic that its cause is almost unthinkable. 
Heathcliff offers no coherent explanation for his sudden change of state and the text
offers no concrete solution as to what could have caused his dark exhilaration. Thus, the
question of his condition is left largely unanswered as Heathcliff continues to exhibit
such uncharacteristic behaviour, inspiring all the more uneasiness in Nelly, especially.
He frightens her greatly several times with his agitated state. Once, upon encountering
him in his room, Nelly tells Mr. Lockwood, I cannot express what a terrible start I got,
by the momentary view! Those deep black eyes! That smile, and ghastly paleness! It
appeared to me, not Mr. Heathcliff, but a goblin; and, in my terror, I let the candle
bend towards the wall, and it left me in darkness (278). 
Even Nelly, who has never before, even after many, many years of acquaintance to
Heathcliff, shown any intimidation or fear of him despite his blatant displays of
brutality, is shaken and haunted by his strange appearance and his agitated condition. So
shocking is his countenance that she even asks herself if he is a ghoul or a vampire.
Since he is not willing to divulge entirely what it is that is causing him such
excitement, Nelly, and all of Bronte's audience, are left to ponder for themselves what
could effect such a change. 
Of course, the only thing previously that has caused Heathcliff to fluctuate so wildly in
his moods and to hover between such dramatically varying temperaments is Catherine.
Nelly, having been witness to Heathcliff's fits of passion and rages in regard to
Catherine before is shrewd enough to credit his appearance and strange condition to her
former mistress, even though she has been dead for many years. Heathcliff has previously
professed the misery Catherine's death has caused him and stated his desire to be close
to her -- his anticipation to meet her when he dies. 
When Nelly attempts to serve Heathcliff food in the last chapter she finds Heathcliff
watching some invisible apparition with rapt attention. Though Nelly admonishes him for
his refusal to eat and his poor condition, he never moves his eyes from whatever it is he
sees -- one may assume it is vision of Catherine, since his expression is a conflicting
one of both pleasure and pain, in exquisite extremes...(280). Little else could arouse
such extreme emotion in Heathcliff, and nothing else, it seems, could make them apparent
on his face. Apparently Heathcliff, seeing himself near death, and despite their present
separation, feels himself as near to Catherine as he can possibly be given the fact that
he is still alive. And given this relative proximity, his mood has been heightened to a
delirious agitation at the prospect of seeing her again. 
With this anticipation, the text introduces another contradiction. Heathcliff assumes
that he will be united again with Catherine in eternal bliss when he dies. Given this
belief, Heathcliff apparently believes that Catherine is in heaven. He has admitted to
Nelly numerous times that he is an evil man, merciless, and bent on revenge towards his
enemies, even if it means hurting those who have never wronged him--young Edgar Linton,
and young Cathy, in particular. Heathcliff realizes that he is filled with hate and
vengeance and makes no excuse for his behaviour. Yet, since he imagines himself being
reunited with Catherine after his death, he apparently feels that he will go to heaven
when he dies. This is a curious contradiction coming from a man who recognizes his evil
and makes no attempt to reform himself. Maybe Heathcliff holds no beliefs concerning
heaven or hell, but in the last chapter, he tells Nelly how close his soul is to bliss,
which seems to indicate that he does believe in something following death. 
When Heathcliff does finally die, the cause of his death is never really ascertained. His
countenance in death is almost a smile, at the same time a sneer, according to Nelly--a
look of life-like exultation. His countenance doesn't suggest which end he met--the sneer
he wears in death is close to his normal expression in life. It must be assumed that his
obsession with Catherine, his desperate yearning to be with her, and his longing for
death was what ultimately killed him. 
That such a longing could actually kill Heathcliff suggests that perhaps what he was
experiencing was more than love. It seems unlikely that love would inspire in Heathcliff
such rage and anger as consumed his life for the many years following Catherine's death.
That love alone could cause his physical decline and death seems unlikely as well.
Heathcliff's condition indicates that what he felt towards Catherine was more than
love--it was more like a violent obsession, fuelled by a mad jealousy and hatred of
anyone who dared to stand between himself and her. 
The text in the last chapter introduces several contradictions and tensions, but also
resolves them, in a subtle way. Heathcliff's strange behaviour and mysterious death,
according to the text, seems ultimately to be the result of his mad obsession with
Catherine, and his inability to function rationally without her. The text implicates
Heathcliff as nearly a madman--seeing apparitions, rambling almost incoherently about his
approaching death, shunning food or anything else that might keep him alive. Heathcliff
went beyond what was reasonable and rational in his love for Catherine--his behaviour, as
illustrated in the last chapter was erratic, and his death disturbing--all indications
that Heathcliff was wildly obsessed with Catherine, a premise which does much to resolve
many of the complexities in Chapter 34. Bronte does an excellent job of introducing
complexities and tensions within the text and then resolving them subtlety and
exquisitely through Nelly's narration and observations and through Heathcliff's wild
moods and unpredictable actions.