been put into the same situation his father placed Heathcliff into at his age; Hareton grew into “a gentler version of his oppressor and foster father, Heathcliff. Though Heathcliff does his best to make Hareton a tool of his revenge against the first Catherine’s brother Hindley Earnshaw, he succeeds instead in creating a reproduction of himself”(Woodford, 3). Even though Heathcliff realizes the parallelism between he and Hareton, he still “Brutalizes Hareton, as he was brutalized by Hindley, by cutting him off from ordinary humanity and denying him an education. He is even more monstrous then Hindley, however, because he realizes what he is doing”(Shapiro, 5). While living under Heathcliff, Hareton develops a defensive attitude as protection against embarrassment. Nelly remarked, “I perceived he was very sensitive to suspected slights, and had obviously a dim notion of his inferiority” (Bronte, 161). This inferiority sprung mostly from his inability to read, especially when confronted about it directly. “Hareton stared up, and scratched his head like a true clown. ‘It’s some damnable writing,’ he answered. ‘I cannot read it.’ ‘Can’t read it?’ cried Catherine. ‘I can read it…It’s English…but I want to know, why is it there’”(162). Already embarrassing situations were made worse by the constant taunting of Linton. In regard to Linton and Hareton’s relationship, Nelly remarked, “Hareton is not bad-natured, though he’s rough- they’re sure to part, one swearing, the other crying”(156). Despite all of the hostility and negativity surrounding him, Hareton manages to transcend his situation and find happiness with Cathy. They “eventually come to love with patience and understanding, but only after Heathcliff’s influence is removed”(Bell, 3). Heathcliff’s inf...
