parental love and guidance made his life a difficult one. Heathcliff was an unwanted child who brought turmoil to a previously happy household. “So from the very beginning, he bred bad feelings in the house.”(42) Instead of rising from his poor position, he degenerated into an evil beast. When Catherine had begun to spend more time at Thrushcross Grange with the Linton’s, Heathcliff lost his self-respect and dignity. “If he were careless and uncared for before Catherine’s absence, he had been ten times more so since.”(56) Heathcliff’s character is truly tragic because his mean disposition is a result of not getting the love that everyone deserves.The old adage that “It is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all,” is not true in Hindley’s case. The path to his demise began when Heathcliff moved into Wuthering Heights. In Hindley’s eyes, Heathcliff took his place in the family. He saw Heathcliff as “a usurper of his father’s affections and his privileges.”(42) The young vagabond was quieter and gentler so he became a favourite of Mr. Earnshaw. Hindley’s luck took a turn for the worst when his wife, Frances, died. When she passed away, a part of himself died too. His common sense and rationality slowly disintegrated into ashes. “The servants could not bear his tyrannical and evil conduct long.”(68) He soon turned to alcohol for salvation, but his drinking habits only made him worse. Soon enough, Hindley was “degrading himself past redemption, and became daily more notable for savage sullenness and ferocity.”(68) Losing both his father’s and his wife’s love changed Hindley into a spiteful man who was full of hatred.Love can be a splendid thing, but passionate feelings can also turn people into hateful creatures. For Catherine, too much love was her undoing. In HeathcliffR...
