In a way, I'm not sure if I would put some of the characters in Hell. For example, Catherine and Heathcliff. They are so evil maybe they would enjoy Hell. It's like how Catherine thought Thrushcross Grange was her Hell while Wuthering Heights was her Heaven. If these two were placed in Hell and in the same level, wouldn't they enjoy that because no matter what they are going through, they would see eachother? Their relationship was so messed up and violent they would find satisfaction in just being in the same place. I mean Heathcliff wanted to be haunted by Catherine..that's pretty creepy.. if he wanted that, then I would think he would like being in Hell.
I kind of agree with that. It's like Milton's line "The mind can make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven." and both Heathcliffe and Catherine are strong and stubborn enough to do just that. Besides isn't Catherine and Heathclifffe's hell simply being seperated from each other.
I don't even like to parallel Dante with Bronte's work. (Ha, Dante and Bronte rhyme...)
When I read Wuthering Heights, I don't think anything of Heaven and Hell. They go to church on Sundays, but the only real spiritual aspect in the novel is the supposed ghosts.
Knowing this, and reading the novel without ANY religious bias, is there a Heaven and Hell for them? (Understand I don't mean in our world today I'm just speculating about the story)
With the ghosts in the book I can't wrap my mind about placing any of the characters in Hell. To me, upon death they are either at peace or unrest. There is no afterlife, there is no gray area. What do you think? Can we paint a picture of Hell for the characters or is that not applicable because of the story?
Sunflash, I love your comment. I think that's what's so intriguing about Wuthering Heights--and the last line--are Heathcliff and Cathy at peace? Would they even want to be at peace?
I don't feel that Heathcliff or Cathy's soul will ever be at peace in the restful termanology of the word. I can however see their spirits being at peace now that they are able to be with one another even if it is in a different form. In fact I would like to think that they are still at peace wandering along the moors or haunting Wuthering Heights, two of the things they loved to do the most.
hakuna, i wouldnt say wuthering heights is catherine's heaven. i found the moors were both catherine's and heathcliff's heaven... it was their escape from society where they could be who they pleased to be
now, with the actual question, there are mutiple interpretations one could say heathcliff belongs in the violence levels due to his treat of isabella where another could say he should be in the incontinence levels for the wrath he puts on cathy 1 and 2. i just believe heathcliff is the devil, it would only be fair to give him hell but cathy not be there
I don't believe they will ever truly be at peace. The story ended with Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar all next to each other in their graves. It seems that they will always be there, neither one finding peace. As Heathcliff left Catherine after seeing her dead body, he replaced the hair in the locket with his. Nelly entered, noticing the hair on the floor and put it in the locket, intertwining Edgar and Heathcliff symbolically to Catherine in the after life.
I would say yes. Look at Heatcliff. His unrest in life distraught him so much that he lost the will to live. He wants to be at peace, and so does Cathy; it just so happens they never see peace. I would even argue they don't even have peace with each other or in the moors. To me, it more seems like they only experienced peace as children. They weren't perfect, by any means, but they were still able to feel happiness. Once Linton enters the scene peacefulness fades away...
Heathcliff fights and yearns for how it used to be. In everything he does, he tries to bring back the past, when he felt equal to Cathy. But he doesn't realize the past is the past, and even if they were together it wouldn't be like when they were children, blissful and no worries on them.
So what I'm saying is they want peace, they just don't experience it at all after the first third of the book.
In some way Catherine and Heathcliff have already existed in hell in their own lives. These two are obviously meant to be with eachother, but for some reason fate has destined them to be alone. They have both felt exruciating pain throughout their lifetime. Heathcliff was even so delirious from his torment that he thought he saw Catherine in his later life. Catherine became deeply depressed everytime she was without Heathcliff, so I don't really think life after death would be any worse then what they have already experienced. After Catherine and Heathcliff died they were to be together for eternity. They would most definetely go to hell, but they would be together, so any type of hell would be pointless. The only hell worthy of such people would be one apart from eachother.
Jason Dorn (2nd hour) wonders, as do I, in what level of Dante's Inferno would you place the various characters of Wuthering Heights?
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In a way, I'm not sure if I would put some of the characters in Hell. For example, Catherine and Heathcliff. They are so evil maybe they would enjoy Hell. It's like how Catherine thought Thrushcross Grange was her Hell while Wuthering Heights was her Heaven. If these two were placed in Hell and in the same level, wouldn't they enjoy that because no matter what they are going through, they would see eachother? Their relationship was so messed up and violent they would find satisfaction in just being in the same place. I mean Heathcliff wanted to be haunted by Catherine..that's pretty creepy.. if he wanted that, then I would think he would like being in Hell.
I kind of agree with that. It's like Milton's line "The mind can make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven." and both Heathcliffe and Catherine are strong and stubborn enough to do just that.
Besides isn't Catherine and Heathclifffe's hell simply being seperated from each other.
I don't even like to parallel Dante with Bronte's work. (Ha, Dante and Bronte rhyme...)
When I read Wuthering Heights, I don't think anything of Heaven and Hell. They go to church on Sundays, but the only real spiritual aspect in the novel is the supposed ghosts.
Knowing this, and reading the novel without ANY religious bias, is there a Heaven and Hell for them? (Understand I don't mean in our world today I'm just speculating about the story)
With the ghosts in the book I can't wrap my mind about placing any of the characters in Hell. To me, upon death they are either at peace or unrest. There is no afterlife, there is no gray area. What do you think? Can we paint a picture of Hell for the characters or is that not applicable because of the story?
Sunflash, I love your comment. I think that's what's so intriguing about Wuthering Heights--and the last line--are Heathcliff and Cathy at peace? Would they even want to be at peace?
I don't feel that Heathcliff or Cathy's soul will ever be at peace in the restful termanology of the word. I can however see their spirits being at peace now that they are able to be with one another even if it is in a different form. In fact I would like to think that they are still at peace wandering along the moors or haunting Wuthering Heights, two of the things they loved to do the most.
hakuna, i wouldnt say wuthering heights is catherine's heaven. i found the moors were both catherine's and heathcliff's heaven... it was their escape from society where they could be who they pleased to be
now, with the actual question, there are mutiple interpretations
one could say heathcliff belongs in the violence levels due to his treat of isabella where another could say he should be in the incontinence levels for the wrath he puts on cathy 1 and 2.
i just believe heathcliff is the devil, it would only be fair to give him hell but cathy not be there
I don't believe they will ever truly be at peace. The story ended with Heathcliff, Catherine, and Edgar all next to each other in their graves. It seems that they will always be there, neither one finding peace. As Heathcliff left Catherine after seeing her dead body, he replaced the hair in the locket with his. Nelly entered, noticing the hair on the floor and put it in the locket, intertwining Edgar and Heathcliff symbolically to Catherine in the after life.
"do they even want to be at peace?"
I would say yes. Look at Heatcliff. His unrest in life distraught him so much that he lost the will to live. He wants to be at peace, and so does Cathy; it just so happens they never see peace. I would even argue they don't even have peace with each other or in the moors. To me, it more seems like they only experienced peace as children. They weren't perfect, by any means, but they were still able to feel happiness. Once Linton enters the scene peacefulness fades away...
Heathcliff fights and yearns for how it used to be. In everything he does, he tries to bring back the past, when he felt equal to Cathy. But he doesn't realize the past is the past, and even if they were together it wouldn't be like when they were children, blissful and no worries on them.
So what I'm saying is they want peace, they just don't experience it at all after the first third of the book.
In some way Catherine and Heathcliff have already existed in hell in their own lives. These two are obviously meant to be with eachother, but for some reason fate has destined them to be alone. They have both felt exruciating pain throughout their lifetime. Heathcliff was even so delirious from his torment that he thought he saw Catherine in his later life. Catherine became deeply depressed everytime she was without Heathcliff, so I don't really think life after death would be any worse then what they have already experienced. After Catherine and Heathcliff died they were to be together for eternity. They would most definetely go to hell, but they would be together, so any type of hell would be pointless. The only hell worthy of such people would be one apart from eachother.
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