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Nelly : ''I think that's the worst motive you've given yet for being the wife of young Linton.''
Catherine : ''It is not,' retorted she; 'it is the best! The others were the satisfaction of my whims: and
for Edgar's sake, too, to satisfy him. This is for the sake of one who comprehends in his person my
feelings to Edgar and myself. I cannot express it; but surely you and everybody have a notion that
there is or should be an existence of yours beyond you. What were the use of my creation, if I were
entirely contained here? My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I
watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished,
and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the
universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it. Whatever our souls are
made of, his and mine are the same —My love for Linton, my husband, is like the foliage in the
woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff
resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am
Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a
pleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don't talk of our separation again: it is impracticable;
and—'
A few clues to help you …..
Cathy's speech is more than a confession of love. They are spiritual twins, they complement each
other, the bond / connection between them is indestructible; this symbiotic relationship leads to the
idea that Cathy and Heathcliff are doubles of each other. She speaks of Heathcliff as if she and he
were one and the same person. What if Cathy and Heathcliff were the two sides of the same coin ?
Cathy is Heathcliff and Heathcliff is Cathy. Notice how Cathy is oddly dissociated when she speaks
of herself ––she describes herself using the same terms and syntax she would use to describe
another person. In the novel, Cathy suffers from an identity crisis. What if Heathcliff was more than
Cathy's soulmate ( âme sœur)? Literary critics argue that Heathcliff represents the dark, impulsive
side of herself that Cathy seeks to repress to match social expectations. What do you think ?
Heathcliff vient juste d' apprendre la mort de Cathy. Il est éperdu de douleur et inconsolable car
Cathy et lui ne peuvent vivre l' un sans l' autre
'' O, ma chère Cathy, sois toujours avec moi… prends n’importe quelle forme… rends-moi fou!
mais ne me laisse pas dans cet abîme où je ne puis te trouver. Oh! Dieu! c’est indicible! je ne peux
pas vivre sans ma vie! je ne peux pas vivre sans mon âme! Il frappa de la tête contre le tronc
noueux; puis, levant les yeux, se mit à hurler, non comme un homme, mais comme une bête
sauvage frappée à mort de coups de couteaux et d’épieux. J’aperçus plusieurs taches de sang sur
l’écorce; sa main et son front en étaient maculés; la scène dont j’étais témoin n’était sans doute que
la répétition de scènes analogues qui avaient eu lieu pendant la nuit. Je ne puis dire que ma
compassion en fut excitée: j’en fus plutôt épouvantée. Pourtant, j’hésitais à le quitter ainsi. Mais, à
l’instant qu’il se ressaisit assez pour s’apercevoir que je l’observais, il m’ordonna d’une voix
tonnante de partir, et j’obéis. Il n’était pas en mon pouvoir de le calmer ni de le consoler
Heathcliff has just learned of Cathy's death. He is overwhelmed by grief and disconsolate
because Cathy and he can't live without each other.
'' O my dear Cathy, be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me
in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I can not live without my life! I
can not live without my soul!' He dashed his head against the knotted trunk; and, lifting up his
eyes, howled, not like a man, but like a savage beast being goaded to death with knives and spears. I
observed several splashes of blood about the bark of the tree, and his hand and forehead were both
stained; probably the scene I witnessed was a repetition of others acted during the night. It hardly
moved my compassion - it appalled me: still, I felt reluctant to quit him so. But the moment he
recollected himself enough to notice me watching, he thundered a command for me to go, and I
obeyed. He was beyond my skill to quiet or console.