WH - Cathy Linton quotes

“wouldn’t let me go to the end of the garden wall”

she lives a constricted lie at WH, a fate which is established from the very start of the novel

“now am i old enough to go to Penistone crags? constant question…” chapter 18

has a thirst for adventure and excitement like her mother, a life of isolation at Thrushcross Grange with her father does not fulfil her wishes

“he is my cousin” chapter 18

using an exclamatory sentence her feelings of upper class prejudice and superiority result in feelings of repulsion upon realising that Hareton is her cousin

“made a pet of her little cousin” chapter 19

she views Linton as a younger brother or animal rather than as her equal. her feelings for him are purely platonic and even maternal not romantic, making their subsequent marriage even more uncomfortable

“i love Edgar better than myself” chapter 22

selfless love, use of hyperbole ‘better’ alludes to previous language used by her mother “Heathcliff is more myself than i am”, the extreme and deep emotions Cathy Earnshaw felt have been passed on to her daughter

“the Grange is not a prison, Ellen, and you are not my jailer” chapter 23

use of the metaphor as the Grange as a ‘prison’ for Cathy Earnshaw it did become an ‘enclosed’ liminal space. in some respect Cathy Linton is trapped there due to her father’s restrictive parental love which prevents her from a relationship with Linton or even Hareton while Edgar is still alive

“Linton wanted to lie in an ecstasy of peace, whereas Cathy wanted to sparkle and dance in a glorious jubilee” chapter 24

they are wholly incompatible, Linton longs for calm tranquility shows through the verb ‘lie’ which demonstrates his passive and lazy attitudes towards life. Cathy’s desires are juxtaposing and comparatively chaotic - she wants to ‘dance’ in a ‘jubilee’, craving for excitement

“oh you dunce! laughing heartily at Hareton’s failure” chapter 24

she appears like Isabelle who scorned Heathcliff, her amusement at Hareton’s inability is demonstrated through the exclamatory sentence and the adverb ‘heartily’

“she gives Hareton a ‘cut with her whip’” chapter 24

the verb ‘cut’ conveys her careless brutality towards Hareton, this is a reconditioning of the ‘whip’, Cathy Earnshaw asked her father for in Chapter 4 - like her mother she has a cruel and spiteful streak

“i’ll not get up, and i’ll not take my eyes from your face, till you look back at me!” chapter 27

she stands up to Heathcliff, the multi-casual sentence can show her linguistic dominance, refusing to be silenced by him

“have you never loved anybody, in all your life, uncle?” chapter 27

rouses painful memories for Heathcliff of Cathy with her rhetorical questions

“Catherine’s face was just like the landscape - shadows and sunshine flitting over it in rapid succession” chapter 27

use of elemental and natural imagery to describe Cathy’s emotions, use of the verb ‘flitting’ describes how rapidly they changed - she has a volatile mental state, emblematic of the chaotic life she has led since her father died

“Catherine’s despair was as silent as her father’s joy” chapter 28

her emotions directly juxtapose to her fathers, while he beckons death seeing it as an end to suffering she dreads it, his death will leave her isolated and vulnerable

“the more hurt she gets, the more venomous she gets” chapter 30

like Heathcliff, her pain often materialises through spite and bitter invectives to other character

“she’s as poor as you or i: poorer” chapter 30

without Edgar, she is left penniless and vulnerable, emphasising female dependence on men during the Victorian era, due to the closeting inheritance laws

“oh! i’m tired - i’m stalled, Hareton!” chapter 31

use of equestrian imagery with the verb ‘stalled’, her entrapment takes a verbal toll on her discourse, shown through the fragmented speech where short exclamatory sentences and dashes are used, creating an injunction on the flow of her speech

“I’ve most of them written on my brain and printed in my heart, and you cannot deprive me of those” chapter 31

despite her entrapment and sadness, she is a potent and transgressive force against Heathcliff. he cannot fully degrade her as he did Hareton, she has beliefs in own her mind which he cannot undo. use of the metaphors of books being ‘written’ on her ‘brain’ and ‘heart’ shows her internal strength which is invincible to Heathcliff’s cruelty

“she’s a beauty, it is true; but not an angel” chapter 31

when the narration shifts to Lockwood’s POV the reader perhaps gets a more realistic representation of Cathy, as Nelly is obviously biased in her favour, she thinks that no one could ‘not love her’

“a voice, as sweet as a silver bell” chapter 32

now reconciled and in love with Hareton she appears much happier, as demonstrated by this simile, having her lyrical and elated qualities returned

“she was tired of living; her life was useless” chapter 32

her physical and moral entrapment while living at WH takes a toll on her mental health. feminist POV, she feels this due to being a woman, who cannot own property or do anything meaningful without having a husband

“i thought i had cured you of laughing” chapter 33

despite Heathcliff’s cruelty, Cathy and Hareton cause each other irrepressible happiness

“i’m the only person to blame” chapter 33

is selfless now, she takes the blame instead of Hareton, showing great character development from where she previously renounced Hareton

“your love will make him an outcast, and a beggar” chapter 33

Heathcliff warns him of the potentially destructive aspect of love between herself and Hareton, having experienced a similar relationship with her mother Cathy Earnshaw. shows Heathcliff’s bitter and twisted attitudes towards love after Cathy Earnshaw’s death. use of direct address shows Heathcliff attempting to place blame for his failed love, upon her and also her dead mother

“their eyes are precisely similar, and they are those of Catherine Earnshaw” chapter 33

in Heathcliff’s mind, Cathy and Hareton have the eyes of Cathy Earnshaw, another reason for his hatred of their relationship, together they act as a constant reminder of his lost love