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What Is Heathcliff's Motivation In Wuthering Heights

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Character motivation reveals a lot about a character as a person. A character’s intentions show their morals and beliefs. Revenge is getting back at someone for what they have done. Revenge is Heathcliff's motivation in Wuthering Heights. His entire life is centered around it. In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, the reader can see the theme of revenge through the unraveling of Heathcliff's vindictive character, his marriage to Isabella and purchasing of Wuthering Heights, and the corrupting of his generation's offspring.
In the novel, the author slowly reveals Heathcliff’s vindictive character by displaying situations where he acts with a twisted response. Lockwood is attacked by Heathcliff’s dogs at the beginning of the book. Heathcliff responds by saying, “They won’t meddle with persons who touch nothing.” (page 4) This shows how he believes that people get what they deserve. It also shows how twisted he is, because Lockwood was hurt, and Heathcliff did not seem to care at all. Later on in the novel, Hindley’s wife, Frances, dies. While he is consumed in grief, Heathcliff offers him a way out of this sadness by pouring him a drink. This shows how he does …show more content…

The true first step to his plan, is when he buys Wuthering Heights. Hindley stays with the house, so Heathcliff now owns the person he is most determined to bring revenge upon. This also gets him closer to the Grange, which he ultimately wanted too. While talking with Catherine, he asks, “She’s her brother’s heir, is she not?” (page 78) After finding out this information, he uses Isabella’s infatuation with him to marry her and get revenge on Edgar. He did this, because he makes fun of him for trying to be like the other kids earlier in the novel. This also got him more money making him more superior. After these steps were completed, he was ready to carry on his revenge on the next

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