Petted Things: Wuthering Heights and the Animal

Kreilkamp, Ivan

doi:10.1353/yale.2005.0006

Cited by 65 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…(POH, p. 12) In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff functions in a state prior to the development of the ego, a state not marked by the establishment of a difference between animals and human beings (POH, pp. [11][12][13].…”

Section: Heathcliff's Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kreilkamp states that 'at least since Hogarth's 1751 Four Stages of Cruelty prints -showing the progress of a boy who begins by torturing cats and dogs and ends at the gallows for murder -it had been a truism of English culture that cruelty to animals led to cruelty and violence against human beings'. 13 Although Heathcliff refrains from actually murdering anyone, his desire for killing is implicit. Heathcliff declares, when observing his son and young Catherine together, 'Had I been born where laws are less strict, and tastes less dainty, I should treat myself to a slow vivisection of those two, as an evening's amusement' (WH, p. 206).…”

Section: Heathcliff's Disrespect For Borders and Rulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Heathcliff’s Abject State in Emily Brontë’sWuthering Heights

Lodine-Chaffey¹

2013

Brontë Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Applying Julia Kristeva's theories of abjection reveals both the development of the character of Heathcliff and his actions within Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff exhibits common attributes of abused children, which is exacerbated when the Earnshaw family treats him as a liminal 'Other'. As a result of his abjection, Heathcliff exhibits borderline personality traits. He abuses human beings and animals, and constantly rejects social laws. Longing for fulfilment and connection, Heathcliff becomes enmeshed with Catherine Earnshaw. Unable to separate himself from Catherine, despite her death, Heathcliff increasingly spends his time searching for signs of her absent presence in the natural world. Although he seems to realize his abject state and reject his carefully planned revenge at the end of his life, Heathcliff cannot move away from abjection. Instead, Emily Brontë creates a character who fails to construct a boundary between himself and the Other and exemplifies Kristeva's definition of abjection.

show abstract