Where do your sympathies lie? |
 Mar 8 2009, 09:53 PM
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#1
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Exclusive distributor of The Dungbomb Protection Kit  Posts: 2,642 Joined: 10:52pm March 5, 2007    |
The characters in Wuthering Heights often prompt strong emotional reactions in the reader. Which character did you sympathize with the most? Why? Which character did you not sympathize with? What influenced your impressions?
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Mar 9 2009, 07:30 PM
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#2
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Visual Aids of Swoonworthiness Person  Posts: 3,067 Joined: 8:49pm December 9, 2006 Location: Lost in a Good Book somewhere in Minneapolis |
Wow - that is tough, Pyxis. I voted for Ellen Dean (Nelly) because I found her to be the only one with a scrap of common sense even though as a servant she is unable to exercise it often. Lockwood and Catherine the second were also contenders.
Hindley won my vote for the least sympathetic character, but Heathcliff and Catherine the first ran close on his heels. --------------------  siggy & avatar by theonlysong |
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Mar 9 2009, 09:11 PM
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#3
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Exclusive distributor of The Dungbomb Protection Kit Posts: 2,642 Joined: 10:52pm March 5, 2007 |
I picked Edgar as the one I most sympathize with...the poor man gets almost no credit for his love of Catherine because he is overshadowed by Heathcliff. He may be a bit too protective of his daughter, but his willingness to forgive his sister and take care of her child speaks volumes about the kind of man he was.
As for the least sympathetic character, I picked Linton. It was tough to choose between him and Heathcliff (who I loathe), but Linton won my vote because of his deceptive nature. Heathcliff seemed to be up front about his cruelty, but Linton lied to Catherine to protect his own little hide, and then spent his time wishing he could abuse her as his father did. What a snake. |
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Mar 11 2009, 06:15 PM
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#4
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The Talking Mirror in Room 7 Posts: 1,782 Joined: 3:56am August 14, 2006 Location: The greenhouse, trying to keep warm without fire, waiting for someone to squeeze! |
I think I sympathise most with Hareton, because of his insecurities and his childhood - living with his father when he was a broken man, then beng brought up by Heathcliff who just wanted revenge for the way he was treated whilst growing up - talk about born into a bad situation! And yet he still loves Heathcliff like a father and feels so little resentment towards him, I just think he's a ray of light amongst the rest of characters.
For the character I sympathise with least, it's a toughie, but I'd have to say Catherine the first. I just find her character so unbelieveably selfish, I can't stand her! -------------------- Voldemort and Luna! are too cool for shoes...
A proud member of *S.Q.U.E.E* and *M.A.F.I.A* and a proud Huffinclaw!  Coming soon... |
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Mar 12 2009, 10:58 PM
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#5
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Luring Muggles into Knockturn-Alley Posts: 5,323 Joined: 1:37am January 29, 2005 Location: In the south where no Dementor can find me |
I sympathize mostly with Cathy II, she has a good heart, a talent for forgiveness and is verry intelligent. My choise is closeley followed by Hareton. I think it's 50:50
The one I disliked most is Linton, he is a hypocrit, a nasty spoiled boy,... playing to his advantages, having no heart or feelings for others, he is to weak to act in a fisical way, so he is archiving his ends beeing tricky and cunning. The next is Hindley, who has no heart also. He drinks and gambles and is mean to people. He is not interested in leaving his son any money or property. He gambles and want's to show off, and has never go over the jelously that his father loved Heathcliff also. He want's to demonstrate that he is better than Heathcliff at all costs. Heathcliff was a much better father to Hareton than he. Speaking of Heathcliff: I have him a bit in between, he wants to be realy bad, but his heart and emotions win over him and bring out a bit of a his good nature. A bit like Snape, most people thought that he was bad but it turned out that he was protecting Harry. Heathcliff died leaving everything to Hareton |
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Mar 14 2009, 05:31 AM
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#6
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One Half of the DDD  Posts: 8,957 Joined: 5:31pm August 30, 2006 Location: Siriusly Dreaming Somewhere |
I felt the most sympathy for Hareton because he really was very much Heathcliff's pawn. He probably didn't remember his father's drunken abuse of him but if left to Nelly's care he might have grown up reasonable comfort and happiness. Instead he's punished by Heathcliff for his father's actions. He's deprived of love, comfort and the guidance that will lead to him being someone who's company would be wanted by others. By sheer luck Catherine Linton is a much kinder person than Heathcliff accounted for and Hareton is saved giving us the only happy point in the book.
My least sympathies went to Isabella because she had all the warnings anyone should ever need. Catherine told her what Heathcliff's character was really like, even Heathcliff had made no pretence of love for her but she had "obstinately ... persisted in forming a fabulous notion of [his] character, and acting on the false impressions she cherished". She watched him hang her pet dog and heard him say that he would "wish that [he] had the hanging of every being belonging to her" and yet she still loved him. Even if she did believe that the exception he indicated meant her, how could she love someone who blatantly declared that he would like to hang everyone she cared about? No, Isabella went into her relationship with Heathcliff with all the information she needed about his true character and chose to ignore it all, her unhappiness was the product of her own actions unlike so many others in the story. --------------------  March's Book Nook: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge/Skellig by David Almond "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" |
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Mar 17 2009, 04:22 PM
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#7
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Luring Muggles into Knockturn-Alley Posts: 5,323 Joined: 1:37am January 29, 2005 Location: In the south where no Dementor can find me |
QUOTE(Dreamteam @ Mar 14 2009, 11:31 AM)  My least sympathies went to Isabella because she had all the warnings anyone should ever need. No, Isabella went into her relationship with Heathcliff with all the information she needed about his true character and chose to ignore it all, her unhappiness was the product of her own actions unlike so many others in the story. Ahh Isabella, I know a lot of Isabellas, having great illusions of violent or humilating men, and refusing to believe anything bad from them. She was like a ship drownig herself with raised flaggs, during the tempestous torments. I think that this is a result of a very strict, limited, conservative, victorian stile of education,... she has to contain herself so much and when somebody appears and scratches on the surface of the forbidden emotions, she just can't contain herself anymore and the dikes breaks down. I would blame the represive rules in societies and religions of how a woman should "behave" |
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