Heathcliff was undoubtedly handsome, moody, sexy, and all that.

[raccoon]

And he was also a jerk. I refer to the Heathcliff in WUTHERING HEIGHTS, not the cat.

Granted, he was wronged by the Earnshaws, by Hindley's treatment of him as a servant and denying him an education, also by Cathy's marrying Edgar Linton. But why take it out on the younger generation? They didn't do anything to Heathcliff.

[meegbear]

1. But Kate Bush was good to him

[JackintheGreen]

2. I never got the impression

that he was sexy/handsome. I always gathered that it was more of a brooding, bad-boy thing that drives the girls crazy. (Of course, I never thought Darcy was supposed to be particularly attractive either, then I reread P&P last year and realized how wrong I'd been all these years). But anyway...

Imagine if it was written in the last 25 years. Heathcliff was so damaged by his treatment by the Earnshaws that he would have become a broody, serial killer. THAT'S why he took it out on the younger generation. The psychic damage was too much, and he was too unstable to begin with, to overcome his earlier adversity. Plus, have you ever been to the moors? They can do odd things to a man.

That's my take, anyway.

[raccoon]

3. Maybe I thought of him as handsome because I saw the Laurence

Olivier version of WUTHERING HEIGHTS.

"Imagine if it was written in the last 25 years. Heathcliff was so damaged by his treatment by the Earnshaws that he would have become a broody, serial killer. "

Nowadays, that's how it would turn out. LOL.

[pitohui]

10. i thought the same as jack

i'm pretty sure the original heathcliff was not "handsome," he was a bit freakish although perhaps more so in childhood of course

[hedgehog]

4. I was astounded years later to realize that Heathcliff fits the

prototype of an abusive personality. When I was in high school, no one had the vocabulary to address this or recognize it for what it was. It goes to show how carefully Bronte observed the people around her. There must have been a real Heathcliff in the neighborhood.

[raccoon]

6. You said it. Are you a counselor, by any chance? nt

[hedgehog]

7. No , actually I trained as a mechanical engineer!

[raccoon]

8. And what does it say about our society that many people have

read the book and think it's a romance that lasted beyond the grave...and don't think about that abuse?

[monarch]

5. The Brontes certainly were an interesting family.

Having named two dogs Charlotte and Emily (Ava and Zsa didn't fit them), I began rereading them and am amazed at what truly wonderful writers they were.

[MamaBear]

9. Heathcliff would be unable to sustain a relationship, imo,

because having suffered abandonment (he was an orphan wandering the streets of Liverpool), upon abandonment (the death of his savior Mr. Earnshaw), upon abandonment (Cathy's marriage to Edgar Linton), it would be a miracle if the man was able to trust anybody. That he would take out his revenge on the youngsters was Bronte's vivid imagination at work, perhaps.

I have known families where old grievances were carried to the grave and beyond; this one seems to just be enhanced for the literary value.

It's still a great read; I read it every five years or so.

[raccoon]

11. Yeah, it is a great read. I still read it here and there in spite of

the things I mentioned.