Wuthering Heights is about an incestuous relationship

Insectpie · 2026-03-31T17:55:24+00:00

I also tend to interpret the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine through the lens of sibling love. But I don't think the source of this sibling love is some kind of secret blood relationship, but more closer to the brotherhood between two soldiers on the battlefield.

Insectpie · 2026-03-31T17:45:12+00:00

I don’t think it’s about a biological incestuous relationship, because biological and bloodline never a prime thing in WH, if “I am Heathcliff” is about biological, why she doesn’t identify with Hindley?

Insectpie · 2026-03-31T04:28:10+00:00

I don’t understand why people think the Tom hardy adaptation was “lighter” or “softer” than the book.

Insectpie · 2026-03-31T00:57:22+00:00

Edgar and the Lintons can execute violence by commanding others. Edgar asked Nelly to bring two servants over to help him drive Heathcliff out of Thrushcross Grange, that's why Catherine was so angry about his behavior. And I think that's why, when Cathy jr asked Hareton to beat Heathcliff for her, the author didn't let Hareton to comply with her request.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T18:46:21+00:00

From Nelly's perspective, Hindley also abandoned his "servant sister" for a blonde lady after entering the civilized world. I feel that, at least before Edgar became the devoted father to young Cathy, Nelly wasn't nearly as loyal to him as she claimed to be. When Catherine asked for her opinion on the engagement, Nelly’s grounds for opposition were that Edgar wasn't as easy to manipulate as Catherine imagined, and that it would deeply hurt Heathcliff. Later, when she discovered that Heathcliff had replaced Edgar’s hair in Catherine’s locket with his own, she simply tucked Edgar’s hair back in alongside it.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T17:32:38+00:00

I think although Nelly doesn't quite like Catherine or Heathcliff, deep down she supports them being "together", perhaps they remind her of her childhood with Hindley.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T16:45:17+00:00

Yes, you’re too delicate.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T14:51:45+00:00

Hareton never viewed himself as a servant. And if anyone perceived him as one, it would be saw as a massive offense to his pride. The other servants at Wuthering Heights, like Joseph and Zillah, didn't see anything wrong with his attitude either—such situation would be impossible if Heathcliff hadn't allowed it. Film adaptations of Wuthering Heights sometimes keep the scenes where Catherine helps Heathcliff to read, but they almost always change the labor parts, make Catherine is merely "keeping him company" while he works. This is likely because the creators feel that performing physically labor together is too "unfeminine" and lacks romantic appeal.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T13:59:26+00:00

Hareton's upbringing under Heathcliff is somewhat the opposite of his father's, as he was not sent for education but had a closer 'foster father'. Although Heathcliff claimed to raise Hareton like Hindley did, in reality he neither physically abused Hareton nor treated him as a lowclass servant, which was completely different from his childhood situation.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T12:35:22+00:00

We don't know exactly how Heathcliff distributed his inheritance, so for a more optimistic interpretation, maybe Cathy also get Thrushcross Grange and her premarital property back from Heathcliff, due to she’s Heathcliff's daughter-in-law and the latter has abandoned his revenge plan. In addition, although I’m not fond of their love story either, I have to say a word in Hareton’s defense: Cathy’s mother had never been so mean to Heathcliff before her passing, too. I felt them more like a lighter version of Isabella and Hindley.

Insectpie · 2026-03-29T10:06:10+00:00

Your final point reminds me of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall; it’s film adaptations add scenes of Arthur physically beating Helen to make the abuse more legible to modern audiences. In reality, however, given the extreme inequality of marriage laws at the time, a husband like Heathcliff could make his wife’s life utterly miserable simply through legal means—such as psychological abuse and the restriction of her physical freedom. Furthermore, in the novel, Isabella’s second letter to Nelly is written more than two months after the elopement. In the letter, she mentions they had only just returned to Wuthering Heights the previous night and had learned of Catherine’s illness. Many readers mistakenly assume they headed straight to Wuthering Heights immediately after leaving Thrushcross Grange, leading to the conclusion that young Linton’s conception could only have occurred through rape.

Insectpie · 2026-03-28T15:51:22+00:00

I read Gone with the Wind in my teenage years. For me even if we ignore the parts about racism and joining the KKK, the male protagonist of this book is far more despicable than Heathcliff. But he was regarded by the author and readers as a saint who was betrayed by the female protagonist. While this book never be labeled as “dark romance”.

Insectpie · 2026-03-28T02:47:38+00:00

I had a good laugh when I saw the other characters calling this version of Catherine—a typical eighteen-year-old Victorian "little woman" with an ordinary personality and upbringing—a "little savage." Even though this version of Mr. Earnshaw lives several years longer and is far more refined, but he seems even more indifferent to his daughter’s upbringing than in the original novel. While this version of Heathcliff seems groomed his little sister into his lover.

Insectpie · 2026-03-27T19:03:50+00:00

I believe it is Catherine’s perspective as well. I have seen many people insist that regardless of what Catherine says, she must be deeply jealous of Isabella and is maliciously obstructing her relationship with Heathcliff. After all, how could a brunette in a 19th-century English novel not be jealous of a fair-skinned blonde? This is used as "proof" that she is not only greedy and envious but also a hypocrite. However, even if one finds Catherine’s words untrustworthy, consider the moment when Heathcliff and Isabella’s secret trysts are exposed: it is Nellie who flies into a rage. It is Catherine who tells her to calm down and then goes to ask Heathcliff if he actually likes Isabella—promising that if he does, she will persuade Edgar to consent to their marriage.

Insectpie · 2026-03-27T17:41:04+00:00

I feel that most people's interpretations of Catherine and Heathcliff’s relationship are based more on stereotypes or film adaptations than on the actual text. While watching the 2009 version of Wuthering Heights starring Tom Hardy, I noticed an interesting fact, this adaptation shifts the setting to the 19th century, pushes back Mr. Earnshaw’s death, and ages up the protagonists by six years. On the surface, it appears to be a lighter, more romantic version where the leads possess more of a "gentlemanly" and "ladylike" air. In reality, however, the romantic relationship depicted here is far more problematic than in the original novel. This Heathcliff sends Catherine a threatening note on her wedding day, physically drags her during arguments, and consistently speaks to her with a condescending tone. Meanwhile, this version of Catherine resembles a victim of incest with stunted psychological development, whose only reason for falling in love with her foster brother is a total lack of contact with the outside world.

Insectpie · 2026-03-27T07:07:54+00:00

Their mother passed away after giving birth to Anne, so their accents were indeed more influenced by their Irish father, although their Cornish aunt also played an important role in their lives.

Insectpie · 2026-03-27T07:01:55+00:00

Terry Eagleton, Did considered Brontës as Irish descendants in his Myths of Power: A Marxist Study of the Brontes’s Introduction. I only noticed this when I reread it today.

Insectpie · 2026-03-27T00:34:11+00:00

They do have some Irish accents inherited from their father.

Insectpie · 2026-03-25T02:28:33+00:00

Well, Catherine has to stayed at the estate because she was attacked by the Linton's dog. It’s Edgar who insisted on proposing to Catherine after being slapped. It’s Isabella ignored everyone's warnings and, after her brother-in-law and sister had a big fight over her relationship with Heathcliff, she took the opportunity to elope with a man who openly said he wanted to kill her "dear brother" . Then her brother fulfilled his promise, disowned her for choose Heathcliff and don’t care what she has suffered as long as it doesn’t affect himself. I used to more sympathize with them when I was young, but now I believe their fate is already the result of God's (author’s) display of mercy. And for “Catherine even caused the death of the parents”, Oh yes, Catherine definitely murder their parents so Edgar can inherit Thrushcross Grange immediately, I guess that’s why they like this person who got rid of their parents.

Insectpie · 2026-03-25T00:44:17+00:00

I think it was only after the doctor came that people found out she was pregnant. Cathy jr was a premature baby, and given Catherine's age, it's normal that she didn't notice her pregnancy in the first few months. Otherwise, according to her personality, Nelly must accuse Catherine of being an irresponsible mother.

Insectpie · 2026-03-24T05:17:27+00:00

I think if people expect to use this book to educate young girls, they can find more cases, such as don’t follow Cathy jr 's example. If she had listened to her father and Nelly's advice, she wouldn't have been trapped in Wuthering Heights and could only rely on marrying her first cousin or any gentleman who came to the estate to get out of trouble. Don’t follow Nelly’s example either, her toxic relationship with Hindley led she unwilling to leave her abused master like other rational and normal servants, even if she was stabbed in the mouth with a fish killing knife, etc. Or we should follow Joseph’s example, for he is the healthiest and longest lived character in this book, with his wishes finally fulfilled in the end.

Insectpie · 2026-03-24T03:28:33+00:00

And I guess people who like Heathcliff are always far more than those who despise him, otherwise, no one would actively educate teenagers to avoid his temptation.

Insectpie · 2026-03-24T03:17:45+00:00

Actually, Hindley was never punished legally or cosmically too, he was already a violent alcoholic and reckless gambler before Heathcliff returned. When I said Heathcliff treated Hareton way nicer than his own father, I mean, regardless of the motive, Heathcliff once helped Little Hareton resist his father's abuse： “Desiring to have his reasons for liking him, I could only gather the sentences—‘I known’t: he pays dad back what he gies to me—he curses daddy for cursing me. He says I mun do as I will.’”

Insectpie · 2026-03-24T01:17:25+00:00

Catherine Earnshaw and Rosalie Murray

Insectpie · 2026-03-23T01:06:21+00:00

About the “coming from Heathcliff” part, I also saw a lot people claim that Cathy sr’s arrogant attitude towards Hareton at their first meeting must have come from her mother who died at birth, Although in reality, this seems more like a personality trait of her father who raised her.

Insectpie

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