Heathcliff As A Gothic Villain In Fred Botting's Wuthering Heights

feature in gothic fictions which is the transgression. What makes Heathcliff a gothic villain is his wild, unreasonable passion. He transcends the normal limits of both revenge and love. Sometimes exaggeration is made for the sake of emphasis; however, exaggeration in Wuthering Heights is fearful because it is presented as something abnormal, something supernatural, something accurately described as obsession. Heathcliff’s love towards Catherine is supernatural, as well his intense desire for revenge is hysterical and transcends logical limits, and finally these two obsessions leads him to madness.
So, firstly, the portrayal of the romantic affair between Heathcliff and Catherine completely demonstrates Emily’s gothic transgression. Fred Botting’s

Heathcliff starts as an innocent, helpless orphan, but when he loses Catherine he changes, there is an evident development in his personality, he dies at the end alone, weak and almost mad . Emily does not give connotation that he deserves that end, on the contrary, we feel pity towards him in spite all of his devilish actions. He is a complex character and arouses a complex feeling in the readers. It is the same with Catherine ; though she is a pretty girl with a wild spirit , she has an arrogant heart and she wants to become an elegant young lady in her community. Moreover, after the time she spends at Thrushcross Grange, her vanity increases and the relationship between her and Heathcliff become complicated. Catherine has dual personalities, which devastates both Heathcliff and her, though she loves Heathcliff, she does not want to marry him; again, she is as complex as Heathcliff himself. Both are victims for many effects, like social conventions, jealousy, misunderstanding and maybe the most important factor id fate.