In my opinion, the "hero" in Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte is not a person but an idea, and that idea is death. When I read this novel, what struck me as the conflict was Heathcliff, which of course did not end until he had died. It may sound strange to say that death was the hero in any given book. However, the only things which could have stopped Heathcliff's cruel behavior towards others were either that somehow he would just miraculously change or he would die, and thus bring see whatthe conflict to a close. While Heathcliff was alive, he hurt several of people adn even changed their lives. Catherine Earnshaw would have had a much better chance of living longer if Heathcliff would not have kept visiting her and telling her how he loves her while Catherine was married to Edgar Linton (207). If Heathcliff would not have forced Hareton to stay at Wuthering Heights as a worker, he could have become an educated gentleman. In addition, Heathcliff married Isabella Linton so that he could be mean to her since he could not fight her brother (185). Later, he makes his son live with him instead of letting him get a good education (257). Finally, he forced Catherine Linton to marry Linton in order to get his hands on the Linton fortune (357). I do not think that any abstract ideas fit with Heathcliff's death.
Bronte, Emily, Wuthering Heights. David Daiches. London: Penguin, 1985
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