Discussion Points by Steph 3 "Is there anything to Bella's..

**Jenny** · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:19 pm Post subject:

Wow, you're right. Edgar was so compliant. It made me insane. He let Cathy walk all over him and everyone else. What in the world did he see in her? I guess she was charismatic and energetic but ugh, she was so selfish and conceited and oblivious to it.

Edward definately was too compliant with Bella sometimes. I'm glad they learned to compromise. But in the end again, Edward was giving in too much. He needs to learn that it doesn't have to be all or nothing.
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**DarlaG** · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:24 pm Post subject:

**cometomama** · Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject:

**Jenny** · Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:36 am Post subject:

Hey don't worry I'm not ragging on our Edward. Who could find fault with him. Love, love, love him.
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**CaliCat** · Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 9:00 am Post subject:

Alright...I finally finished Wuthering Heights today while my daughter had her ice skating lesson....So I get to participate in the discussions! (Boy am I late!) So here's my 2 cents!

I think they Bella really was 100% right about their love being the only redeeming quality. When I first started reading the book, I asked myself that question and was positive the answer was absolutely not. They are horrible vile creatures, who have only evil in their hearts...

But when Cathy died, and Heathcliff was grieving for her...I started crying! I couldn't understand why I'd feel bad for this horrible man, but I realized that his sorrow showed me that he was human...and the one and only thing that he ever loved had left him...It broke my heart.

And Cathy really had her moments...As horrible as she could be, Edgar loved her, so he must've seen something about her that was good. He is just too nice to fall in love with pure evil.

I really felt so horrible for poor Edgar. He was the nicest character in the entire book, and he really got such a bad deal in all of it...In the end, he loses his wife, sister, nephew and daughter...And you know, he still remains a good man...If anything, I'd say it's a love story to me because Edgar had so much love!
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**lynds** · Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:16 pm Post subject:

I kind of agree with Bella. I'm still not sure C&H's kind of love could be considered a "redeeming" quality. They didn't know how to love properly ever, even in the end. It was a selfish, consuming, misguided kind of love. It is a good example of what not to do with your life.

I too feel bad for Linton, but he let it all happen. He got a clear view of Cathy's true temperment and he still went and married her. Love is blind I guess.

I don't think Cathy was ever good to Linton. I think she was content with him for a while because her life was easy and she felt she had done well for herself, but the second Heathcliff came back she totally turned on Linton and didn't seem to care for him at all.

I don't think there is any comparison between Bella and Cathy and if Bella thinks there is then it is her poor self esteem shining through. It may seem she is selfish in her relationships with both Edward and Jacob at times, but if you look deeply she is trying to do what is right. She really does care about both of them. I don't think Cathy cared much about anyone but herself. She pretends to care about Heathcliff, but not enough in my opinion.
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vnfan · Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:00 pm Post subject:

I've had the (mis)fortune of teaching the book in lit classes. Nearly every person has a love/hate reaction to the book. One thing, though, that pops up even for those who dislike it is the utter inevitability of the love or at least the connection between Heathcliffe and Cathy. They are utterly aware of each other, feeling each other's pain, breathing as one person. In many ways, this shows an aspect of the way Bella loves both men. She is a satellite in orbit around Edward. Without him, she can't breathe. But when Jacob hurts, she hurts.

Yes, I think that Bella would also have the tendency to compare herself to Cathy, since she is struggling with the self-loathing of having two men in love with her. She's not the kind of girl to get a charge out of that. It seems to strike her that for that to have happened, she has done something wrong.

I also wonder if the end might appeal to her: the legend of the two ghosts wandering the moors for eternity. Much like what she wants with Edward.

I would disagree with Bella that anything in that book can truly be called love. Love is patient, kind, etc. Heathcliffe is destructive and cruel. Cathy is selfish and manipulative. I think that if you want to look at it as a foil, I would have to say that some people view WH as a representation of a wild passionate love, but that it is not at all any form of love. It would be much better described as the blackest, most twisted misrepresentation of what some people expect as love, to their great misfortune. In that way, I suppose it could serve as a foil.

I often hear Heathcliffe touted as some sort of dark Byronic hero, like an anti-hero. But he's so villainous to me. I can't like him. WH seems to me the work of an author who had a very unfavorable view of love and passion, yet craved it at the same time. The world she has created is a world that destroys everyone in it. For me, that's not romantic, even if they destroy themselves because of love. It's the antithesis of what love truly is.

Bella needs to read Jane Eyre or something to balance her out. Or better yet, Persuasion, from Jane Austen. WH always makes me gloomy.

**multitaskmom** · Volturi Mom Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 824 Location: Boise

I think that Bella appreciates the book because it is so full of emotion. She has been living life (up until Forks) by just going. Trying not to rock any boats, to keep her mom happy, to keep her dad happy, etc. She has never been a part of any really big emotional thing. Her love for her parents is pretty strong, but not passionate. And I don't think, even with all of her passions, that Renee even showed Bella passion...Renee is just too flighty and jumps from whim to whim. So Bella is trying to come to terms with the big emotions and dramatic events that now surround her. I think she is drawn to the passion of the crazy love and the deranged hate of Wuthering Heights because it offers a tutorial (of sorts) to her. I think she is hoping to figure it out. Here's hoping she really does... Smile

!
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**Annie** · Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:08 am Post subject:

sheep · Newborn Joined: 19 Apr 2008 Posts: 13

I, on the opposite, san't bring myself to hate Heathcliff. I totally see him as an anti-hero and his pain really hurt me. True, he was evil, but still. His love/obsession for Cathy and vice versa is enough a redeeming quality for me to sympathize him. I guess I like dark men. I cried a lot.

prprincesa32 · Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:38 am Post subject: