Revenge is the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. In the novel ‘Wuthering Heights’, the author, Emily Brontë explores the idea of the immense influence revenge can have on one’s personality and actions, and the miserable future it leads to. Wuthering Heights is a gothic novel featuring passion, love, cruelty, supernatural elements and a dark atmosphere. In the novel, Emily Brontë proves that eternal revenge is a hard and damaging way of living one’s life without happiness, and that the only way to be truly happy is to forgive. Paragraph 1 When one reads the novel, the first character to be associated with revenge, despite the fact that it is appearing among all characters, is Heathcliff. Heathcliff is an orphan who is brought to Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw. He is a powerful, dark, brutal and cruel man and is frequently referred to as being evil. …show more content…
These generations mirror each other in many ways, but the approach to forgiveness is different. Cathy and Hareton, two characters from the second generation, are the first ones to learn how to forgive each other. Cathy has in the past treated Hareton badly by making fun of his inability to read, like in this quote “Is he all as he should be?” asked Miss Cathy seriously, “or is he simple… not right? I’ve questioned him twice now, and each time he looked so stupid I think he does not understand me; I can hardly understand him, I’m sure!” (pg. 203). Despite Cathy’s insults, Hareton is willing to forgive her and offer a friendship between them. Cathy is willing to forgive the way Hareton behaved earlier, and a relationship develops between them. This changed attitude towards revenge and forgiveness that leads to their relationship gives the novel a happy ending, and ultimately forgiveness is the only element, which allows peace to be restored at Wuthering Heights. Paragraph