The Byronic hero

The Byronic hero—so named because it evolved primarily due to Lord Byron’s writing in the nineteenth century—is one of the most prominent literary character types of the Romantic period. First appearing in his autobiographical epic, Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, the Byronic hero is a faulted character who is typically isolated from society as a wanderer, or is in exile of some kind: whether the social separation is imposed upon him by some external force or it is self-imposed. The character rejects the moral codes of society and because of this, he is often unrepentant by society's standards. Due to these qualities, the Byronic hero is often a figure of cruelty as well as fascination. One of the most discernible of these tragic heroes is Manfred, who is depicted wandering over distant and barren mountaintops, guilt-ridden his relationship with the late Astarte—its details, unspoken. It is believed that the myth of Byron’s own personality as well as his poetry—specifically Manfred—served as inspiration for the character of Heathcliff in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Although Heathcliff has been widely sanctioned in the realm of literature as the quintessential Byronic hero of Bronte’s novel, his identity is intrinsically consolidated with that of Catherine’s, thus rendering her the Byronic heroine. Both characters use each other to transgress societal conventions of their time: Heathcliff contravenes racial and socioeconomic standards, while Catherine contravenes the gender norm. To go even further, their consanguinity mirrors that of Manfred and Astarte, for their love lies between that of kinship and that of romance. Heathcliff encompasses all characteristics of the Byronic hero, especially that of Manfred: from his personality traits to his isolated position in society. In the beginning of the novel, their similarities are explicitly aligned; after Lockwood is haunted by Catherine’s bloody wraith, Heathcliff pleads for her to come back to him: “Cathy, do come. Oh do—once more! Oh! My heart’s darling, hear me this time—Catherine, at last!” (23) This passage is analogous the one spoken in Act 2, Scene 4 of Byron’s Manfred, as Manfred begins his longing plea for his beloved Astarte with the words “Hear me, hear me—”(Byron, 2.4). Both Heathcliff and Manfred are characters of darkness—racially and morally “other” in relation to those surrounding them in their respective texts. Throughout Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff exudes deep-rooted passion that he masks by an odious demeanor. The first sense of his isolation comes from his physical description: “a dark-skinned gypsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman, that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire: rather slovenly... an erect and handsome figure—and rather morose” (5). Similarly, in terms of his attitude, he is often compared with some type of evil, demonic figure. Despite the fact that he has been brought into Wuthering Heights as one of the Earnshaw children, due to his racial difference, he has experienced belittlement and ostracism throughout his life. His abusive relationship with Hindley renders him misanthropic from an early age, yet Heathcliff is able to use it in learning how to manipulate others for his own benefit—a quality that becomes of use to him later in the novel. As Wuthering Heights progresses, so does Heathcliff’s rise to power, which is driven solely by his seeking for revenge. Heathcliff is the embodiment of higher classes’ anxieties: the threat of both literal and figurative contamination to society. From childhood, Heathcliff has been able to use Mr. Earnshaw’s favoritism for him against Hindley: their sibling rivalry disrupting the estate’s domestic discourse. When Mr. Earnshaw dies, however, Hindley is forced to return home to Wuthering Heights with his new wife, Frances. In an attempt to confine and dehumanize Heathcliff, Hindley forces him into servitude; although Heathcliff endures it, he plots how he can “paint the house-front with Hindley’s blood” (38). After the death of Frances, Hindley embarks on a downward spiral consisting of drunkenness and gambling. After three years pass, Hindley’s condition worsens; the paradigm has overturned, as he has become completely dependent on the money that the newly reformed Heathcliff supports him with. Therefore, the estate of Wuthering Heights and all of the Earnshaw’s assets now belong to Heathcliff. He continues to relinquish even more wealth by marrying Isabella Linton, to ensure his right to neighboring Thrushcross Grange. It is here where both social and gender normative realms flourish, where Heathcliff he was once banned due to his “wickedness” (40). At the end of the novel, Heathcliff has displaced the gentry. As class has overwritten race, social convention has been completely shattered; Heathcliff stands over the broken pieces of the discourse as the Byronic hero. As Heathcliff’s identity as the Byronic hero engenders in Wuthering Heights, the symbiotic relationship he has with Catherine renders her own identity as the Byronic heroine as well. Even though Nelly’s narration seeks to contain Catherine, her capriciousness causes her to breach the confines of the gender normative realm. From the earliest depictions of her adolescence, Catherine is by definition a wild-child: her general attitude is tempestuous, as she is driven by impulses that cause her to act against social conventions. Her characterization is similar to Heathcliff’s, as Bronte frequently ascribes Catherine animalistic qualities. She expresses her visceral desires to partake in forbidden activities alongside Heathcliff, yet is expected to conform to fit society’s model of what a lady truly is; however, her willingness to fulfill the duties of becoming this model proves to have fatal consequences. Several months after Hindley’s return, Catherine and Heathcliff make an excursion to Thrushcross Grange to spy on the Linton family; as mentioned previously, Thrushcross Grange estate is a representation of social realism. Their plan goes awry, as the Linton’s dog catches them and bites Catherine. When Mrs. Linton takes her into the house to be treated, Heathcliff is defamed as a “frightful thing” and a “gipsy” and is consequently sent home (39, 40). Catherine remains at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks, completely separated from her other-half, Heathcliff; this proves to have ruinous consequences on their relationship. Upon her return to Wuthering Heights, she has become a newly gendered version of herself: Instead of a wild, hatless little savage jumping into the house, and rushing to squeeze us all breathless, there alighted from a handsome black pony a very dignified person with brown ringlets falling from the cover of a feathered beaver, and a long cloth habit which she was obliged to hold up with both hands that she might sail in. (41). Instead of feeling excitement for being reunited with Heathcliff, Catherine can only see their inherent differences, proclaiming: “ How black and cross you look! How funny and grim...you looked odd. If you were to your face and brush your hair, it will be all right. But you are so dirty” (42). Although Heathcliff is wounded from Catherine’s remark, he does not allow his true feelings to be shown, thus he storms out. Catherine goes to Heathcliff later in the chapter to make restitution for her actions, but a rift has still formed between once conjoined couple. In Chapter VIII, the evidence Catherine’s double-life—similar to that of Manfred’s— becomes explicit; when she spends her time with Edgar Linton, she abides to the lessons she learned at Thrushcross Grange, while when she is with Heathcliff, she acts unchanged. As Heathcliff criticizes her for the time she spends with Edgar, Catherine retorts by calling him dull and uneducated. At that moment, Edgar enters and Heathcliff, once again, storms out in a rage. In an effort to be alone with Edgar, Catherine then asks Nelly to leave the room; she refuses, since she has been instructed by Hindley to act as a chaperone in Edgar’s presence. Catherine then lashes out in her inbred volatile manner: “She stamped her foot, wavered a moment, and then irresistibly impelled by the naughty spirit within her, slapped [Nelly] on the cheek a stinging blow that filled both eyes with water” (56). Although Catherine appears to have undergone the physical changes necessary to become a lady, her true actions cannot be tamed; the gendering has come undone. Edgar’s proposal to Catherine is a major turning point in the plot; during her discussion with Nelly of whether she should accept his proposal, she states that if she were to marry Heathcliff, it would “degrade her” (63) due to his social status. Overhearing this, Heathcliff is shamed: his decision to leave Wuthering Heights has been consolidated. However, he is not present when Catherine claims that her love for him is eternal: My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I’m well aware, as winter changes the trees—my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath—a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly I am Heathcliff—he’s always, always in my mind—not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself—but, as my own being—so, don’t talk of our separation again—it is impracticable. (64). Also in this section, Catherine foreshadows her fate, stating that “If [she] were in heaven...[she] should be extremely miserable” (63). If Heathcliff does not belong in heaven, neither does Catherine; he is inherently “wicked” and she will not be separated from him again. Here, death is illustrated as the assertive will that she will obtain her desired life. About three years after Heathcliff leaves, Catherine and Linton marry and take up residence at Thrushcross Grange. In Chapter X, Heathcliff makes his return to Wuthering Heights. His reunion with Catherine is seemingly joyous at first, but is quickly diminished as he exhibits malignant behavior against his new love interest, Isabella Linton. Their relationship, however, is completely feigned; Heathcliff only pursues Isabella out of spite for both Catherine and Linton. Unsurprisingly, Catherine’s behavior also regresses in Chapter XII, as she becomes hysterical and obsessed with death. She stops eating, locks herself in her room, and longs for her childhood out on the moor. Nelly’s narration also undergoes a major tonal shift in this section; throughout Wuthering Heights, she has remained fairly reliable and unbiased as a narrator, yet she refers to Catherine as spoiled, haughty and thoughtless. Over the course of Catherine’s deteriorating health, she learns that she is pregnant. In Chapter XV, she claims that she knows she is going to die, yet her spirit will not rest until she is once again reunited with Heathcliff. On her deathbed, Heathcliff ends up visiting Thrushcross Grange. Catherine is overwhelmed with remorse, claiming that she cannot imagine dying without him, thus she begs for his forgiveness: “If I’ve done wrong, I’m dying for it. It is enough! You left me too; but I won’t upbraid you! I forgive you. Forgive me!” (126). He responds, “It is hard to forgive, and to look at those eyes, and feel those wasted hands...I forgive what you have done to me. I love my murderer—but yours! How can I?” (126). In this excerpt, Heathcliff brings to light how Catherine’s preoccupation with upholding this gendered image has ultimately caused her demise. That night, Heathcliff waits in the garden upon the arrival of news concerning Catherine’s health, but it is in vain; Catherine has died in childbirth and in turn, Heathcliff has figuratively died as well. Both Heathcliff and Catherine can be viewed through the lens of the Byronic hero, as they breach the definitions of the social norm. Heathcliff was able to subvert both class and racial standards in order to reap his own wealth, while Catherine—although she did infract on the “rules” of the gender standard—was ultimately brought to her death by following the narrative of femininity. The fate of their love proved to be as hopeless as Manfred’s own, yet in death the conjoined couple is reunited on the moor. Even though the moor is a place where no true life can be cultivated, it is the place where their sense of self was dissolved, and their love blossomed; the passion that lies in their hearts remains unaffected by any external contingency. Please Rate This Answer! Avg. Count