On the surface Wuthering Heights presents two characters, Heathcliff and Cathy, who grow up together as children and continue to share an intimate bond throughout the course of the novel, developing a powerful dependence on each other to fulfil all their needs. And yet defining the mysterious nature of this bond is almost as impossible as knowing where young Heathcliff came from in the first place. Whether or not this partnership is founded upon sibling-like affection or romantic love is certainly questionable, and makes an intriguing issue to explore.
Incest in Wuthering Heights: Heathcliff and Cathy – Brother and Sister?
Let’s begin with the facts. Young Heathcliff, an abandoned gypsy boy, joins the Earnshaw family at the story’s beginning. There is no relation, no association and no relationship at this moment, but an entirely blank canvas of plot of character development.
As the novel divulges, facts gradually demote and complications undoubtedly arise. Heathcliff and Cathy, thrust upon one another into the rather isolated surroundings of the Heights, become inseparable playmates. Fuelled by their rejection of society and religion and dissatisfaction of Hindley’s treatment they undeniably cling onto each other, each providing the other with some form of inner satisfaction.
In modern terms, a superficial glancing at the facts would imply that Heathcliff and Cathy are step-siblings, a concept which now adamantly refuses the idea of romantic intertwinement. Victorian society may relax such terms, if only to justify any incestuous relationship – it was in fact quite common back then for blood-related cousins to marry one another.
Incestuous Love in Wuthering Heights: The Physical Bond Between Heathcliff and Cathy
Frustratingly – whether it was meant to bother or purely calm the nerves of Victorian readers – Emily Brontë never cements Heathcliff and Cathy’s physical relationship. They do not (without close scrutiny and a little imagination) actually do anything. Yet the sexual tension and physical effect each character has upon the other is still tantalisingly apparent.
Even as children, the reader may choose to observe the hint of sexual reference to Cathy ‘lay[ing] her head in his [Heathcliff’s] lap’. Heathcliff’s ferocious jealousy following Cathy’s integration into the Linton family – most fiercely towards Edward – spurs a desperate urge to improve his physical appearance; why would such a drastic action be undertook if no presence of or hope for a physical attraction were evident?
There is also the physical behaviour of each character in response to the other. For instance, Heathcliff’s aggravation of no longer receiving Cathy’s undivided attention arguably makes him more violent. Her death triggers a disturbing outburst of violence upon himself. Cathy chooses instead to internalise her frustration by starving herself – behaviour that Heathcliff then mirrors after her death and debatably causes his own.
As a modern reader, consider the notion of Heathcliff and Cathy brother and sister by blood: do their physical reactions and behaviour shock you?
Incestuous Love in Wuthering Heights: The Emotional Bond Between Heathcliff and Cathy
The emotional bond between Heathcliff and Cathy is irrefutable. Constructed firmly at childhood, the characters carry each other’s emotional burdens and patterns of reactions into adulthood, shaping their own.
Both Heathcliff and Cathy feed on one another’s emotions. Heathcliff, especially, seems wholly emotionally dependent on Cathy. He relies upon her for emotional stability and satisfaction. It is perhaps for this reason that Cathy cannot ever give him enough, and he can never fully receive it.
Incestuous Love in Wuthering Heights: The Spiritual Bond Between Heathcliff and Cathy
Facing the adversities and oppressions of the real world, Cathy and Heathcliff transfer their relationship into the realms of the spiritual, which boasts unlimited freedom.
Cathy’s famous cry of “I am Heathcliff”, further stimulated by repetitive references to herself and Heathcliff as one entity, – a strange echo of the marriage vows – suggests an attempt to validate their bond. Their love – however it is in nature – becomes their religion; their indestructible faith. And as their beliefs swell out of control, one simply cannot exist without the other; both characters trust that the only way they can receive what they want from each other is through death and the afterlife.
What makes the speculation of incest in Wuthering Heights so intriguing and difficult to fathom may be due to the realisation that not even the characters, the curious Heathcliff and Cathy, can distinguish their partnership. Throughout the novel both seem confused and angry, do not know how to think or act and struggle with what it is that they actually want from each other. This idea becomes more vivid when Catherine (who arguably has more knowledge of differentiating between relationships) decides to marry Linton, despite her supposed intentions to raise Heathcliff to power. It can also be debated whether what they have is love at all; rather just complete dependence and obsession, even addiction – a control of needs which could be considered by readers and characters alike as love.
For some readers, the idea of Heathcliff and Cathy – even though they are not true blood relations, performing in a physical act may be cringing. For others, the novel might the most fervent and fulfilling love story ever told. Either way, the nature of their relationship alone makes this timeless classic an unforgettable read.
Source:
‘Wuthering Heights’ (1847) by Emily Brontë, Published by Oxford University Press in 1976
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