Let’s begin by looking at the ways in which Heathcliff is the Other. First and foremost, his origin is a mystery. I’d prefer not to speculate about where he may have literally come from; if we stick to the text, Heathcliff’s otherness is still defined. When Mr. Earnshaw brings him home, he says to Mrs. Earnshaw, “See here, wife, I was never so beaten with anything in my life; but you must e’en take it as a gift of God; though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil” (26). This not only foreshadows Heathcliff’s character as an adult, but it suggests that Heathcliff has come from elsewhere—he is not the same as the Earnshaw children. And the other children, Nelly and Hindley specifically, treat him as Other. Nelly tells Lockwood, “Hindly hated him, and to say the truth I did the same; and we plagued him and went on with him shamefully, for I wasn’t reasonable enough to feel my injustice, and the mistress never put in a word on his behalf, when she saw him wronged” (27). Even Mrs. Earnshaw’s reaction to Heathcliff designates him as the Other. He is misunderstood, and Hindley, Nelly, and Mrs. Earnshaw don’t care to understand him. He is despised simply because he is perceived as Other.
Although Catherine does not treat Heathcliff as other at first, her opinion of him does change slightly once she meets the Lintons. When she sees Heathcliff for the first time upon returning to Wuthering Heights, she exclaims, “Why how very black and cross you look! [. . .] If you wash your face and brush your hair it will be all right. But you are so dirty!” which separates Heathcliff from herself the way he was separated from the other Earnshaws at the beginning (38-9). She now sees him as Other. The events in Chapter VII demonstrate how Heathcliff is a liminal being. He remains on the threshold of Other and known. Catherine, who once accepted him, now sees him as different. Following this interaction, however, Heathcliff announces to Nelly that he is “going to be good” and wants her to help him clean himself up (40). Despite his efforts, Mrs. Linton still does not want her children to be around him, so Hindley locks Heathcliff in the attic, which incites Heathcliff to vow revenge against Hindley.
Following Heathcliff’s return to Wuthering Heights, his liminal nature becomes even more pronounced. His relationship to the Other is strengthened because no one seems to know what he did while he was gone. The mystery surrounding him grows further, making him more unknown, more Other. When Heathcliff surprises Nelly, Catherine, and Edgar at the Grange, Nelly is astounded to see how much of a gentleman Heathcliff has become, but she still notes that, “A half-civilized ferocity lurked yet in the depressed brows, and his eyes full of black fire” (70). There is still something about Heathcliff that is Other even though his outward appearance is “civilized” making him liminal—on the threshold of monstrosity. Of course, following this description at his return, the nature of what Heathcliff is truly capable of is revealed. He is a villainous man, capable of extreme cruelties, especially with regard to Isabella.
The important thing to note is that no matter how sadistically Heathcliff behaves towards other characters, it is difficult to ignore that much of what he does is out of true, heartfelt love for Catherine, which makes him partially sympathetic. The critical debate over whether or not Heathcliff is the hero of villain of the novel is also part of what makes him a liminal being. In many ways, the Byronic hero can be read as monstrous because he or she is seen as Other. Even if the reader sees his love for Catherine as an obsession, it is difficult to see his feelings toward her as completely negative. Heathcliff is always on the threshold of the wholly monstrous and the wholly admirable.
Works Cited
Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. 1847. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc., 1996
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