Wuthering Heights

How does Heathcliff discover that Isabella is attracted to him? Why does he pursue the relationship? How does Edgar feel about his sister’s attraction to Heathcliff? Why?

How does Heathcliff discover that Isabella is attracted to him? Why does he pursue the relationship? How does Edgar feel about his sister’s attraction to Heathcliff? Why?

Asked by
Last updated by Aslan
Answers 1
Add Yours
Best Answer

In the following weeks, Heathcliff often visited the Grange. Edgar Linton's sister, Isabella, a "charming young lady of eighteen" (101) became infatuated with Heathcliff, to her brother's dismay. Isabella got angry at Catherine for keeping Heathcliff to herself, and Catherine warned her that Heathcliff was a very bad person to fall in love with and that Isabella was no match for him:

"I never say to him to let this or that enemy alone, because it would be ungenerous or cruel to harm them, I say ­ "Let them alone, because I should hate them to be wronged"; and he'd crush you, like a sparrow's egg, Isabella, if he found you a troublesome charge."

Catherine teased Isabella by telling Heathcliff in her presence that Isabella loved him. Humiliated, Isabella tried to run away, but Catherine held her. Isabella scratched Catherine's arm and managed to escape, and Heathcliff, alone with Catherine, expressed interest in marrying Isabella for her money and to enrage Edgar. He said he would beat Isabella if they were married because of her "mawkish, waxen face" (106). Edgar thinks that Heathcliff, "a runaway servant" (96), should be entertained in the kitchen, not the parlor. Catherine jokes that she will have two tables laid, one for the gentry (Edgar and Isabella) and one for the lower classes (herself and Heathcliff). Likewise, she and Heathcliff both call the narrator Nelly, while Edgar coldly calls her Ellen.

Source(s)

http://www.gradesaver.com/wuthering-heights/study-guide/summary-chapters-6-10