Mastermind or Crybaby?

Savage. Cruel. Brutal. These words have all been used by critics to characterize Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s actions throughout the novel have made it famous for its dark villain, who’s maniacal obsession on getting revenge on those who have wronged him and incredibly in depth plans make him the model villain. Though he does seem to be an incredible villain, others can see that Heathcliff is weak minded, and his plans could be easily thwarted if certain things were to happen (through chapter 25). 

It is easy to see that Heathcliff is the definition of a villain at a first glance. He has very in depth, intergenerational plans that not only cause the ruin of his enemies, but also ruins their bloodline for years to come, as shown by his treatment to Hareton and his plans to ruin Mr. Linton’s family line with Linton and Cathy’s marriage. His savage treatment of his wife and to Hindley are also wrapped in his deep plan, as he makes their lives miserable and inevitably causes both of their deaths. To top it all off, he has a gross, evil henchman in Joseph who seems to be characterized so that everyone hates him. Heathcliff’s villainy is clear, yet, by looking deeper, one can see that he is really quite pathetic and everything just happens to go his way. 

Although it is not shown at first, Heathcliff is really just a crybaby who isn’t getting his way. His motives for his revenge are all based around his “true love” Catherine, whose love is questionable at best. Although they did have quite an emotional moment as she was dying, she was in a delirious state of mind, so she was reverted to her childish ways with him. Even if she really loves him, it should not mean anything to him, as her idea of love is obviously messed up, as she marries a man specifically for societal gain. On top of Heathcliff’s terrible motives for his revenge, he also has holes in his plan caused by his distress, and if the other characters in the novel weren’t so cowardly or self-centered, these holes would have been jumped upon. For starters, Heathcliff should have been killed by Hindley’s hands the night before Isabella leaves, but he is so weak he gets pummeled despite having two weapons. After this, in his pitiful state of sadness, he lets his wife run away, which could have completely ruined his chance to get back at Mr. Linton, however later it happens to work out for him when his wife dies at an incredibly young age, and he gets custody of his son. In his new plan involving Linton and Cathy’s reunion, he could have been stopped by Nelly if she were less trusting and self-centered, but she stupidly trusts Cathy and gives her equipment to directly disobey her father, and on top of this, when she goes to Wuthering Heights to retrieve her, she decides not to tell Mr. Linton as to not harm her own reputation. Not only this, but Nelly continued to not tell Mr. Linton as Cathy continued to go against the rule of no contact with Linton. The relationship between them, which is incredibly annoying, could have been avoided entirely had it not been for Nelly’s idiocracy and selfishness. Without the relationship, Heathcliff would have no way of continuing to ruin the family of Mr. Linton, proving that he is not a villainous mastermind, only a weak man who just so happens to be getting his way continuously.