Written in 1846, Wuthering Heights tells the tale of wicked lovers Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff and the destructive path their romance leaves behind them. Their story highlights the capacity humans have to love themselves and others as well as their ability to hate. It also depicts how hatred and revenge can cause people to do terrible things. Emily Bronte 's novel illustrates just how selfish and cruel humans can be, even to the ones they love.
Throughout the novel, you see several examples of various forms of love. However, a common theme among the different lovers is that nobody can seem to put their love for someone above themselves. Nearly every character commits at least one entirely selfish act that only has a positive effect on
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She refuses to give up Edgar for Heathcliff because he can offer her much than she believes his opponent ever could and she refuses to give up Heathcliff because she still loves him. She is too selfish to choose one man, instead keeping them both to fulfill all of her needs while hurting both of her lovers in the process. Catherine 's capacity to love herself continuously overpowered her ability to truly love those around her.
Heathcliff is another extremely selfish character in the novel. His selfishness however, isn 't fueled by self-love but rather his ability to passionately hate those who cross him and his strong desire for revenge. Heathcliff has the capacity to love, in fact he loves Catherine more than anything else, but her betrayal and his rough childhood destroyed what little hope he had of becoming a good, honest human. After Catherine and Edgar 's marriage, Heathcliff is hurt and bitter. In order to get back at them, Heathcliff decides to pursue Edgar 's little sister Isabella. He is able to easily convince Isabella to marry him, but he really sees her as nothing more than a tool he can use to upset Catherine and Edgar. Heathcliff has no regards for other people 's feelings because he