Wuthering Heights Heathcliff Character Analysis

“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte centers on an obsessive love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff and the repercussions that echo throughout their families. Heathcliff enters the lives of the Earnshaws as an unwelcome surprise by way of the patriarch. Taken in as a young child, he is despised and treated harshly by all living at Wuthering Heights with exception of Catherine and Mr. Earnshaw. Catherine and Heathcliff's union, forged and strengthened in adolescence, is the critical juncture of the story. Heathcliff’s origin is a mystery and he is treated as an unworthy outsider further complicating his relationship with Catherine. The twisted tale of Wuthering Heights rests solely on the arrival of Heathcliff into the lives of the Earnshaws.
At the beginning of Volume I, Heathcliff can be seen as a protagonist. His initial presence created resentment between Hindley and Heathcliff as Mr. Earnshaw

His actions and choices have a direct influence on the lives of every character in the story. The unhealthy obsession between Heathcliff and Catherine is the root from which all the turmoil and suffering stem from in Volume II. All personal relationships that Heathcliff has had in his life, with exception of Catherine, are one-sided and self-serving. He does not seem to have the capacity to care for anyone other than Catherine. Heathcliff has no redeemable qualities which could be attributed to the abuse he suffered as a child. He was never accepted as part of the family which is indicated by the fact that he never received the Earnshaw surname. In essence, the Earnshaw family created the monster within Heathcliff. Their poor treatment and abuse of him exacerbated any natural tendency for malice. The Earnshaw and Linton families are only rectified by the death of Heathcliff. His death signifies a reunification of he and Catherine and the renewal of the Earnshaw and Linton