From BookJive
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| Name: | Catherine Earnshaw |
| Description: | Catherine is said in the book to be pretty, with, as Nelly says, "the bonniest eye" and "the sweetest smile." She has long locks of "beautiful" hair, as Heathcliff describes it, but it is her eyes that can be seen in many characters in the novel. |
Catherine Earnshaw, or Catherine Linton, is the principal female character in Emily Bronte's novel Wuthering Heights. Born Catherine Earnshaw, and originally residing in Wuthering Heights, Catherine - or Cathy, as she is known in her childhood - is Hindley Earnshaw's sister and the foster sister of Heathcliff. The love between Catherine and Heathcliff forms the basis of Wuthering Heights' plot. She struggles in her decisions in the novel, to be true to her own heart and soul and be with Heathcliff, or make a good marriage and marry Edgar Linton, which is displayed by the names she writes on her books; 'Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Linton, Catherine Heathcliff.' She is regarded as the main romantic heroine in the novel, although she dies half-way through the story.
Story
Catherine Earnshaw is the younger sister of Hindley in the book, and is born and raised at Wuthering Heights. She becomes the foster sister of the orphan Heathcliff at the age of six, and the two become close companions. They are separated when Hindley becomes jealous of his father's affection towards Heathcliff, and reduces Heathcliff to a servant-boy status after Mr. Earnshaw's death. Catherine and Heathcliff's determined spirit towards one another does not part them, but rather they get into mischief while spying at Thrushcross Grange, the fancy home of the wealthy Linton family. When a dog from the Grange attacks Cathy at her intrusion, the Lintons aid her by keeping her at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks. This visit allows Catherine to become a lady- unlike the rude, wild, childish girl she was with Heathcliff- and allows her to form an intimate friendship with Edgar and Isabella Linton, the two children residing at the Grange. Catherine's change is visible at her return to Wuthering Heights at Christmas time. Heathcliff remains devoted to her, which forms a sort of romantic triangle in the story between Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar Linton.
Cathy's most famous scene is the memorable declaration of her feelings that she passionately gives notice of to Nelly Dean, the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights and the novel's sole narrator. She takes care not to disguise her passion for Heathcliff, insisting that "his and mine are the same," yet she also proclaims that she will marry Edgar Linton because of the fact that were she and her true soul mate to wed, they would be beggars. Heathcliff, however, does not know of these things, and embarks on a mysterious, three-year absence after hearing Cathy say that it would "degrade her to marry him."
This decision can be regarded as the event that set off Heathcliff's revenge on the Lintons. Heathcliff returns, finding Catherine married to Edgar and living at Thrushcross Grange, and pursues his revenge, seducing Isabella Linton in order to gain control of Thrushcross Grange at Edgar's death, and trapping her in an abusive, terrifying marriage. Catherine begins a state of psychological insanity, although it is partly based on her desire to provoke her husband and "break his heart" because of the pain she feels. It then becomes apparent, however, that she refuses to eat, never leaves her chamber, and has fallen prey to countless illusions and declarations of madness.
Heathcliff and Catherine share one final meeting, about half-way through the story, which is aided reluctantly by Nelly, who helped form the secret meeting because of the fact that Edgar banished Heathcliff from the Grange. The lovers pour out their passions to one another, but when Edgar walks unexpectedly through the door to the chamber, Catherine experiences a state of shock and faints. She dies a mere couple of hours after giving birth to a daughter, also named Cathy, whose generation forms the basis of the second half of the story.
Catherine does have a spirit that lives throughout the whole novel. Her ghost haunts Heathcliff up until his mysterious death, and an iconic scene in Wuthering Heights is that in which Lockwood, the first narrator in the book, sees her ghost as a little girl lost on the moors, put together in a very eerie, gothic fashion. Heathcliff goes to great lengths of desperation to glimpse his lost love once more, and dies on Catherine's bed, with the window open, which is a symbol of Catherine's enduring power throughout the course of the story.
Description
Catherine is said in the book to be pretty, with, as Nelly says, "the bonniest eye" and "the sweetest smile." She has long locks of "beautiful" hair, as Heathcliff describes it, but it is her eyes that can be seen in many characters in the novel. The "Earnshaw eyes" belong not only to Catherine, but also to her brother Hindley, and her nephew Hareton. Her daughter Cathy inherited only two things from the mother, as we are told by Nelly, and they were those particular eyes, as well as an expression that makes her seem "haughty." Catherine is strong-willed, wild, passionate, mischievous, and as a child is a bit spoiled. As seen in her remarkable change of appearance after a five-week stay at Thrushcross Grange, she is anything but a lady while roaming the moors with Heathcliff. Nelly counters that she "didn't love" Catherine, perhaps because of her waywardness throughout the book, and during her final illness she has "a bloodless lip" and is very frail. A rather odd point- as well as one that adds to the gothic sense of Wuthering Heights- is that her lifeless body looks very angelic, divine, and gorgeous. Nelly Dean tells Lockwood in the story that "no angel in heaven looked as beautiful as her," and that her countenance resembled "perfect peace."
