Killed before Kill
There
are deaths in deaths.
People
can die before they died. What is the weapon? Negative emotions? Medicine? What
kind of weapon kill people and allow them to stay alive in the same time?
In
Emily Brontë’s Gothic work, Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s
life ended in a mystical way. However, both Catherine and
Heathcliff died prior to their deaths. This new type of “death” certainly
highlights a new scope of the meaning of death to humans, in which death could
not be restrain to a cold body with no pulse.
Prior
to Heathcliff’s return from his departure, Heathcliff killed Catherine. Catherine
states, “[Heathcliff has] killed me-and thriven on it.” (117) How? The cause is
Heathcliff’s departure after Catherine has decided to marry Edgar. To Catherine,
the absence of Heathcliff has a significant impact on her emotional health. The
connotation of death associates with sorrow and loneliness, and its combination
of negative feelings represents Catherine’s feelings toward the departure of
Heathcliff. Not only did Heathcliff left Catherine, he returned with a mature countenance.
To Catherine, Heathcliff’s new outlook appears to Catherine that his life is
flourishing, in contrast to the sorrow Catherine felt. This kind of death
demonstrates how love could serve as a weapon to kill a human being, yet she
can remain alive in another sense. Furthermore, Heathcliff defends the cause
of Catherine’s death was not him, but herself. According to Heathcliff,
Catherine have killed herself by betraying her heart when she chose to marry Edgar.
Ultimately, it is Catherine who chose Edgar, leading to Heathcliff’s departure
and her heartbreak. In a sense, both Catherine and Heathcliff contribute to her
own “death”, and it is the power of true love that grant love its strength to
become a deadly weapon.
On
the other hand, Heathcliff is killed before his death. Toward the end of the
work, Heathcliff states, “It was a strange way of killing: not by inches, but
by a fractions of hairbreadths, to beguile me with the spectre of a hope
through eighteen years!” (280).Heathcliff’s vision of Catherine offers him a
hope to a connection with his love. A connection that could only be felt, but
could not see. Furthermore, Heathcliff emphasizes the length of his beguilement,
in which his hopes has accumulated throughout these years and it becomes an act
of killing. It is the unfulfilled wish that killed Heathcliff. Even though the
cause of Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s “death” is different, both “deaths”reflect
the power of true love, in which it could affect one’s mental state in a negative
way.
The
different types of “death” contrast the traditional view of death. Death cannot
be associated only to grave or deadly weapons. Instead, unfulfilled desires and
the absence of a love one can cause one’s “death”. Altogether, both types of
death evoke despair and loneliness. The love between Catherine and Heathcliff
proves true love would not cease. Death cannot end true love, but love can
serves as a weapon and leads to death. Certainly, love and death are spears
pointed at both ends.
First of, your hook line was amazing! I had to pause and let it sink in. Your use of textual evidence is something rarely seen in blog posts and really added to the authority of your points. The idea of a person, or character in this case, dying spiritually before physically is very eye-opening. When one has lost their purpose in life, they go on existing but not quite "living". Your point of view on the mater is very unique and interesting. I like your comparison of weapons that cause physical death and weapons that cause spiritual or mental death.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post is rather insightful, exploring the difference between physically dying and emotionally or spiritually dying. I was thinking the same thing throughout the novel because although they were not physically dead, Heathcliff and Catherine remain almost as empty shells of human beings without each other. And like you said, they didn't die from an illness, or a weapon of sorts. They died from the absence of sustenance: each other and the love that bound them together. I like your incorporation of quotations and the theme we have been discussing frequently in class- the idea that love is transcendental, even in death. That theme lends itself well to the idea that just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it isn't there. The love, although it is not a physical, tangible thing, can still be felt even after Catherine's death. Kind of a beautiful thing, right?
ReplyDeleteI also made similar connections when discussing death within death while reading the novel. It was strange how someone Catherine truly loved, killed her internally. Much like Cathy, Linton Heathcliff made her feel like death as well. I love how you connected the concept of death in love, love does have the power to kill whether it is emotionally or physically. It's nice to see your own perspective to a particular concept within the novel while justifying Bronte's purpose. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteWow... just wow. This blog post brought up a claim that I actually never thought about before (maybe I'm stupid because it is glaringly obvious). I do believe that death does not simply have to be physical. Someone could be emotionally dead, especially in the case of Catherine and Heathcliff. Both characters were slowly becoming less and less like themselves. The minute Heathcliff expressed that he was done seeking revenge was the moment for me when I thought to myself "He is definitely on his way out". I also love how you attached their "deaths" to the fact that they had such a strong and passionate love for each other. Could you say that Edgar was killed before he died too? Or Linton? Maybe we could possibly find their "deaths".
ReplyDelete