1. Introduction

1.1 Research background

Emily Bronte (1818-1848) was born in Thornton,Yorkshire,the north of England.She was one of the prominent Bronte sisters who were fascinated in writing novels and poems in 19^th Century.Unlike Charlotte, Emily had no bosom friends. She wrote a few letters and was interested in mysticism.She was introverted and not good at expressing herself,but her inner heart was filled with passion.With independent and adamant characteristics,she never restrained from traditional ideology. Turbulent and violent, the society was full of tragedy to the extent that workers faced unemployment whereas a multitude of children were tortured to death. Emily became more irritated and impulsive so she expressed her feelings in the fictional world Wuthering Heights.In addition,she created 193 poems and was regarded as a genius woman writer in England.What#8217;s more,Emily Bronte was considered as the great writer who enjoyed the same popularity as Shakespeare.

Wuthering Heights,a renowned novel full of painstaking emotions with a story of drastic love and revenge.It is a distinguished and exclusive fiction of Emily Bronte,which is of great significance in England.However,the first time Wuthering Heights came out in 1847and it is regarded as the most peculiar novel, for the majority think that it is different from those sentimental works at that age.To some extent, it displaces the bleak sentiment and melancholy with strong love, brutal hatred and unmerciful revenge.So this novel doesn#8217;t get immediate success as Charlotte's Jane Eyre. It was not until 1850 when Wuthering Heights receives a second printing with an introduction by Emily#8217;s sister Charlotte that it attracts a wide readership and gains highly affirmation and warm welcome.Today,it is still widely regarded as one of the immortal novels of English literature.

1.2 Need for the study

The distinctive character of the heroine---Katherine reflects the social status of the women and the plight they face.Katherine#8217;s struggle to the cruel society and her pursuit for freedom present the growth of feminism.We can see Katherine#8217;s irritation and endeavor in this book, which admonish those who pursuing for freedom should not be afraid of any obstacle before them.Instead,they are supposed to spare no effort to resist the reality and struggle for their own happiness.Also, this novel lays a solid foundation for the whole feminism consciousness in the western society.Her choice in marriage reflects women#8217;s predicament and helplessness. Also, her death reflects that her pursuit for happiness is a fiasco. Although they don#8217;t have enough ability to resist men, women in such a man-oriented society take a step to get rid of patriarchy and liberate themselves and fight for equality. Thus, their spirit are worthy of being learned.Though written in Victorian epoch, the novel still manifests its great value for us to study female problems in the contemporary society.

1.3. Literature review

In all ages,many versions of this novel have been printed. The novel was firstly released in 1939 and directed by William Wyler. Gradually, nine other films are reproduced. The recent one was recopied in 2011 and directed by Andre Arnold. What#8217;s more, it was translated by Yang Yi and Fang Ping in 1980 and 1986 and other writers from 1994 to 2011.

A large amount of scholars show great interest in the analysis of love and hatred of Healthcliff. Wei Enwen(1999)makes a profound analysis of it, reflecting the edgy class struggle in English society and criticizing the inequality,hypocrisy and snobbery that exist in the bourgeois society.Xue Limin(2006)depicts a complicated emotional processing from love to hatred and then back to love,illustrating that love is unconquerable and love can conquest everything besides hatred.Ren Jingjing(2011)presents that hatred is the root that distort man#8217;s nature, however cruel it is,it can not annihilate love,because love can dissolve hatred.

Some scholars focus on the themes of Wuthering Heights.Wang Xiurui (2013) reveals that Emily#8217;s perspective of binary opposition offers readers another angel to understand the novel.Maugham (1948) in Atlantic Magazine harbors the idea that what impresses him most is love, misery, attachment, cruelty and persistence, and these can#8217;t be seen in other works.Ma Na(2005)says, the superiority of this novel is that if we can have mutual respect and lenience,we will have a better society.