The Characters of Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights :: Wuthering Heights Essays

The Characters of Wuthering Heights  At first glance, Wuthering Height shows us conflict between a landlord, Heathcliff, and Mr. Lockwood. Heathcliff, wholeness of the novels main characters, is portrayed as an uncompromising, sadistic bully, and produces a desire in Lockwoods character to find out more about his past. Bronte uses Lockwoods character to pull in her main narrator, Nelly Dean. Nelly was a first-hand witness to Heathcliffs story and so proceeds to relate the history, as she remembers it, to Lockwood. It appears very soon, after the start of the story, that Nelly Dean is the protagonist. She appears more than happy to agitate the conflict, which goes a long way in keeping the story interesting and moving right along. Wuthering Heights is set in the remote moors of Yorkshire (680), on that ignominious hill-top where the earth was hard with a black frost (686). Almost all the characters in this story have a very frosty, antagonistic side to them and Nelly introduc es us to Catherine and Hindley, when they were children, on the eve of Heathcliffs entry into the family. Nelly appears to make this story-telling as straightforward as possible, but her feelings for Heathcliff are not disguisable.When she made the step from playmate to the childrens nursemaid during the rubeola episode, her feelings toward Hindley and Catherine hardened and she softened so much toward Heathcliff that Hindley lost his last ally. Heathcliff was the quietest child that ever nurse watched over. The difference between him and the others forced me to be less partial. Cathy and her sidekick harassed me terribly, he was a uncomplaining as a lamb... (702). Nelly developed alternate feelings for Catherine she put us all past our patience fifty generation and oftener in a day. She was much too fond of Heathcliff. In play she liked, exceedingly to act the little mistress...but I would not bear slapping and ordinance and so I let her know (704). The class distinction, after the measles, became a clear, hard line Nelly, on the servant side with Joseph, and Catherine and Hindley on the side of the owners of servants. This promote hastened Nellys spiteful feelings toward Catherine when Mr. Earnshaw died. Hindley came home with a new bride, and Nelly was physically installed in the servants quarters and Heathcliff was installed with the animals in the stables. In her story up to now Nelly has portrayed herself as a concerned member of the family that has finally been relegated to where she knew she would end up anyway, a servant.