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Heathcliff is a fictional character in Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. [1] Owing to the novel's enduring fame and popularity, he is often regarded as an archetype of the tortured antihero whose all-consuming rage, jealousy and anger destroy both him and those around him; in short, the Byronic hero .
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Heathcliff is the conflicted villain/hero of the novel. Mr. Earnshaw finds him on the street and brings him home to Wuthering Heights, where he and Catherine become soul mates. He is the ultimate outsider, with his dark "gypsy" looks and mysterious background.
Date of death: April 1802 (aged about 37) Place of death: Wuthering Heights. Physical description: thick, low brows; black hair and whiskers; athletic. Notes: In the novel, he was named "Heathcliff" after a son of Mr Earnshaw who died in childhood.
- Emily Brontë
- 1847
- Heathcliff. An orphan brought to live at Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff falls into an intense, unbreakable love with Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine.
- Catherine. The daughter of Mr. Earnshaw and his wife, Catherine falls powerfully in love with Heathcliff, the orphan Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool.
- Edgar Linton. Well-bred but rather spoiled as a boy, Edgar Linton grows into a tender, constant, but cowardly man. He is almost the ideal gentleman: Catherine accurately describes him as “handsome,” “pleasant to be with,” “cheerful,” and “rich.”
- Nelly Dean. Nelly Dean (known formally as Ellen Dean) serves as the chief narrator of Wuthering Heights. A sensible, intelligent, and compassionate woman, she grew up essentially alongside Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw and is deeply involved in the story she tells.
Having been abused by Hindley for most of his childhood, Heathcliff is the classic victim-turned-perpetrator. His rage is tied to the revenge he so passionately seeks, but he also undertakes small "extracurricular" acts of violence, like hanging Isabella Linton's dog.
Heathcliff is the protagonist of Wuthering Heights. The action of the plot begins when he is brought into the Earnshaw household as a mysterious young child. His presence informs the events of the novel and affects the decisions of all the other characters.
