Thesis Statement: Although both pairs of lovers in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Catherine and Heathcliff, as well as Cathy and Linton, possess a strong bond that is rooted in passionate love for one another, the relationships between them contrast greatly due to their starkly different backgrounds which shape their beliefs about love.
Write a thesis statement about Wuthering Heights comparing and contrasting Catherine and Heathcliff’s love to Cathy and Linton’s love.
Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights tells the story of two very different yet interconnected love stories — between Catherine and Heathcliff on one side, and Cathy and Linton on the other. Both couples suffer from deep heartache after being separated by death or social obligations. Despite this shared experience of mourning the loss of each other’s presence in life, their conceptions of love differ vastly due to their divergent upbringings. While Catherine has grown up at Wuthering Heights with no knowledge of societal norms or expectations concerning romantic relationships, her daughter Cathy has been raised in Thrushcross Grange by Edgar Linton to follow certain rules regarding matters such as courtship and marriage.
Catherine’s relationship with Heathcliff is a feverish one when compared to that of Cathy’s relationship with Linton; she loves him fiercely without any sense of limits or boundaries. She sees her connection to Heathcliff as something divine rather than merely natural — it is an obsession that binds them together regardless of class restrictions placed upon them by society. Meanwhile, Cathy views her relationship with Linton more pragmatically; while they share a strong bond despite his weaknesses due to illness and lackadaisical demeanor, she never allows herself complete devotion nor does she seek out the same level intensity found previously between her mother and father figures. It serves an entirely practical purpose — allowing her access into higher social classes under protection of marriage rather than boundless passion like what exists between Heathcliff and Catherine.
Although both pairs possess a strong bond rooted in passionate love for one another, it is clear that there are marked distinctions between their respective relationships due largely to differing postulations on romance held by each couple based upon conditions they were brought up within at Wuthering Heights or Thrushcross Grange respectively . Ultimately, it can be said that no matter how intense either pair’s romantic sentiments may be for each other , the power dynamic will always be determined depending upon who holds privilege over whom – whether through class standing or some other form external influence – ultimately shaping these characters’ understandings concerning what true love should look like .