摘 要

艾米丽·勃朗特（1818—1848）的《呼啸山庄》是英国文学史上一部“最独特的小说”。他与同时代作品普遍的伤感主义风格的小说不同，以热烈的爱、暴戾的恨及由之而生的无情的报复来代替沉郁的伤感和愁思。小说中主人公希刺克厉夫鲜明的性格给读者留下了深刻印象。希刺克厉夫从一个本性善良的少年变成一个凶恨残暴的恶魔，其性格的扭曲与所处的环境以及恋人的背叛是分不开的。论文从社会背景、成长环境、阶级意识以及恋人对其的影响来分析希刺克厉夫悲剧性格的形成。

关键词： 悲剧性格 成长环境 背叛 社会背景

1. Introduction

1.1 About Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte (1818-1848) was a British writer and poet in the nineteenth century. The novel Wuthering Heights was the only one in her whole life, but it is so influential that it lays her position in the history of English literature and world literature. She was famous for her harsh as well as profound writing style. Besides the Wuthering Heights, she also created 197 famous poems during her life, such as Old Forbidden Combination, Souvenir and Prisoner. These poems were also familiar to the readers and became her masterpieces.

1.2 About Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights tells us a story of fierce entanglement between love and hate. It records the course of Healthcliff’s change in humanity from distortion to degeneration, in the end to recovery. Through a tragedy of love, this novel showed a picture of life in a deformed society, outlined the human nature that has been distorted by this society, and described the terrible events that the society caused. This novel has extraordinary features, which reflects a kind of sturdy, horrible, cruel, mysterious and unusual aesthetic style. Heathcliff is an orphan adopted by old Earnshaw. Although he feels care and love from Earnshaw, Heathcliff is not happy because Hindley, the son of old Earnshaw, is jealous of his existence. Hindley thinks that Heathcliff stole the love from his father which should belong to him. Due to the extreme differences in status, Heathcliff loses Catherine, the woman he loves. And she marries Hindley. Then, he leaves home. Anger and hatred make his character twisted and violent. When Heathcliff becomes rich, he goes back to the Wuthering Heights and starts his revenge plan. However, he doesn’t feel happy when he finished a series of revenge plan. With the death of his beloved woman Catherine, his revenge plan has become more and more horrible and cruel. But hatred does not accompany him to the end. His beautiful memory with Catherine finally let him give up the revenge plan and arouse his humanity.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Previous studies on Heathcliff

Since the first release of Wuthering Heights in 1847, Heathcliff’s vivid image was popular with a wide range of readers. More and more people are interested in the reasons for the formation of his character.

Through the studies on Heathcliff, I found many of the scholars focused on Heathcliff’s dual personality, and gave different interpretations of his behavior. Liu (2014) makes an analysis of Heathcliff’s changes in human nature. As a member of the lower class in the Wuthering Heights, different kinds of abuse and insults in childhood give him a strong sense of inferiority. All these elements lay the foundation of Heathcliff’s tragic character. In addition, when he grows up, the gap between love and reality makes him realize his humble position, so that his personality goes to extreme. Ma (2015) thinks Heathcliff has a bitter love with Catherine. But Catherine betrays him. Heathcliff choose to leave. Three years later, he comes back. He becomes a demon with an extreme vengeance. Yuan (2013) points out that the role of Heathcliff symbolizes extreme love and extreme hatred in human nature. Love and hatred intertwined is Heathcliff’s personality characteristics. Finally, giving up revenging also shows that love triumphs over everything. Li (2013) states that Heathcliff has a very cruel revenge plan, but he also has the gentle side of love, which is the manifestation of his double personality. The history of his dual personality can be traced back to the formation of his torturous childhood, the abnormal family environment and the pressure from Catherine’s betrayal. Wang (2013) holds the opinion that environment shapes people’s character, and character determines fate. In the growing environment of the warped British capitalist society in the 18th Century, Heathcliff, the protagonist in Wuthering Heights, has been subjected to torture and abuse both physically and mentally, leading to the formation of his paranoid character. Sun (2004) thinks that Heathcliff is a very cruel revenge. Selfishness and stress which come from the social customs and the human environment are the main reasons for his change. Li (2015) analyzes the impact of Catherine’s love on Heathcliff’s personality. The author also points out that Heathcliff’s psychology becomes abnormal and he loses his mental balance when Linton met Catherine. The analysis shows that Heathcliff’s distorted character is shaped by the environment and society. The oppression of the upper class led to his tragic life. Through the journey of love, revenge and death, Ning (2013) analyzes the dual personality of Heathcliff. The author thinks that his character is influenced by his own characteristics and social environment. Qing Wang (2014) compares the first half of Heathcliff’s life with the latter half of his life, the author thinks Heathcliff is unmerciful on the surface but his behavior does not fully reflect the feelings of his inner world, in fact he has been a man who lives a miserable and lonely life since he was born. This is the main factor on his distortion of character. Xie (2013) analyzes the tragedy of Heathcliff’s character from a moral point of view. On one hand, Heathcliff is a crazy, irrational devil who takes revenge on others. On the other hand, he insists on pursuing true love and never succumb to adversity. The evil of society has become the main cause of his dual character. Xiang (2013) compares his various acts of revenge with his love to Catherine; Catherine’s departure is the beginning of his retaliatory career. So the author draws a conclusion: the main reason that causes Heathcliff’s dual character is failure in love. Chen (2009) states that people regard him as a heinous devil, however the root cause of his turning into the devil is Catherine’s betrayal of love. Although the author thinks that Heathcliff is a pervert devil, but the formation of his character is the cause of its class oppression and the influence of money. Jiang (2013) uses the method of psychological analysis to reveal the inevitability of the formation of his personality, which is the reason why he’s going from the extreme of love to the extremes of hate. Mao (2010) analyses Heathcliff’s action of giving up revenging at the last second. Many people think this is the transition from evil to kindness in his character. But the author gives a different interpretation: Heathcliff doesn’t lose human nature; the reason why he gives up revenging is he realizes that his revenges is doomed to failure. Duan (2014) thinks he is also a victim of love and society. It’s the social environment that makes him impossible to get love, there is no way for him to give love to other people, due to those reasons his character goes to the extreme.

2.2 Deficiency of the previous studies

There are some limitations on pervious research. A study of a person’s character should take a multifaceted comprehensive consideration. Like Xiang (2013) believes that love failure is the main cause of Heathcliff’s character crooked. The reason of Heathcliff’s formation of personality should be considered in different factors. Growth environment, social factors, the impact from other people, class factors are all essential factors.

3. Factors Affecting the Formation of Heathcliff’s Tragic Personality

Heathcliff was born in Victorian England. As an orphan, he was adopted by Mr. Earnshaw. Since then, there has been great changes in his life. He was kind and sincere when he joined in this family. Old Earnshaw’s death was a turning point in Heathcliff’s life. After that, he suffers from despairing and becomes violent and ruthless, going on the road to revenge step by step.

3.1 Social environment

Social environment exists before one’s personality, and the personality is formed during the effort to change the environment. Therefore, people say that the environment shapes one’s character. Further, the special environment will inevitably create a special character. The formation of the tragic character of Heathcliff, the protagonist of Wuthering Heights, is inextricably linked with the environment.

3.1.1 Impact of the social conditions

Social environment has imperceptibly influenced Heathcliff’s ideology and personality. In the early days of the Victorian era, the advent of the industrial revolution brought great changes to the economic and social life of Britain. The feudal relations of production, based on private ownership of land, are gradually being replaced by emerging capitalist relations. As commercial capital continues to accumulate, the emerging nobles have replaced the hereditary aristocracy as the upper classes of society and have begun to rule over other classes. As the newly emerging aristocrats deprived all hereditary aristocrats and the middle class of power, the contradictions between them have intensified. At the same time, as the proletariat gradually deteriorates its living environment, they begin to confront the upper class. These social contradictions have led to many destabilizing factors in society.

In the 1940s, Britain’s economy was depressed and people were in pain. Heathcliff lives in such a social environment. He is a beggar in the street in Liverpool, ragged and dirty. Sometimes he is even too hungry to speak. As a member of the lower class, he has encountered all kinds of hardships. In that oppressive society, without a superior family background, Heathcliff can only beg for a living. When he is very young, he begins to feel the pain and despair caused by hunger and cold. The early life of begging has a profound influence on the formation of his personality and on the initial understanding of the world. The seeds of class consciousness is buried early in his young mind.

There is no doubt that “money dominates everything” is a symbol of capitalist society. Heathcliff is in a society of money, where poverty is shameful. No matter how hard-working you are, as long as you are still ragged, you are doomed to suffer shame. The endless humiliation brought by poverty is like a knife, constantly carving and changing the personality of Heathcliff.

3.1.2 Changes in growth environment

Besides the poor social conditions he lives in, the changes in Heathcliff’s growth environment also take a great part in forming his personality. After being adopted by Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff feels brief love and warmth. He does not have to beg for a living in the street and can live a noble life. To some extent, his social status and his life have also improved. At this time, he is obedient. “He seemed a sullen, patient child; hardened, perhaps, to ill-treatment: he would stand Hindley’s blows without winking or shedding a tear, and my pinches moved him only to draw in a breath and open his eyes, as if he had hurt himself by accident and nobody was to blame.” (39; ch. 4). From the words of Nelly, we can see that Heathcliff’s original character is not distorted. He is just an innocent child and will not want to retaliate even if he is treated unfairly.

If things continue to move in this direction, Heathcliff will not embark on the road to vengeance and tragedies will not happen. However, Mr. Earnshaw died. Hindley, the son of Old Earnshaw, is always jealous of Heathcliff’s existence, thinking that Heathcliff steals the love from his father which should belong to him. After Hindley inherits Wuthering Heights, he uses Heathcliff as a servant and not allow him to be educated. The fate of Heathcliff changes again.

Heathcliff has to accept the hone of life under the tyrant Hindley’s rule. Hindley tries his best to belittle him, to torture him, to exploit him. Also he debases Heathcliff to the status of a servant and “rewarded” his whip as well as fist at any time. We say that if children who grow up in encouragement can learn to be confident; and that children who grow up in criticism will learn to condemn; then the child who grows up in whipping, oppression, discrimination and cold eyes can only learn hatred. The harsh environment tempered his tenacity, coldness and superficial patience. Also the environment plants the seeds of hatred in Heathcliff’s heart.

3.1.3 The erosion of class consciousness

Moreover, the erosion of class consciousness is also a very important reason for his personality formation. People’s idea are influenced by class consciousness. People of different classes have different destinies. Hindley, as a member of upper class, looks down upon Heathcliff who is a man in lower class. Linton’s family also despise him. They see him as “strange acquisition my late neighbour made, in his journey to Liverpool — a little Lascar, or an American or Spanish castaway.” (71; ch. 6).

Although Hindley’s oppression of Heathcliff has personal emotional factors, it is much more of the exploitation and oppression to the poor in the capitalist society. As long as Heathcliff has a little money to save himself, he can leave the tyrant, but he is impoverished and cannot survive. He has to endure whipping, and to work like a slave. Therefore, the class oppression represented by Hindley is a major cause of Heathcliff’s tragic character.

At the same time, Catherine returns from Thrushcross Grange and becomes a decent noble lady, which makes Heathcliff feel a distance from his lover. At this time, the class consciousness in his mind is even stronger. He also criticizes the status and education of Linton. He once said, “I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as he will be!” (79; ch. 7).