Wuthering Heights Group

Question:

goodpokemon1981
goodpokemon1981
Student
High School - 12th Grade

Is Heathcliff a hero or a villain?

One critic stated that Wuthering Heights is "truly a novel without a hero or heroine." What do you think of this statement? Is Heathcliff a hero or a villain?

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Posted by goodpokemon1981 on Sunday August 31, 2008 at 7:52 AM and tagged with characters, heathcliff, hero, villain, wuthering heights.

Answers:


  1. podunc Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    Heathcliff is a hero in the broadest sense of the word because he is the chief character or protagonist of the novel. He is not, however, a hero in the strictly tragic sense like Hamlet or in the exalted sense of a noble war hero. He probably most resembles an archetype known as the "Byronic hero," who became a literary fixture during the Romantic era. This hero is not necessarily likeable, noble, or kind. Rather, he is a tortured wanderer who tends to think mostly of himself. This hero was modeled after Lord Byron, and one famous Byronic hero is Victor Frankenstein.

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    Posted by podunc on Monday September 15, 2008 at 5:10 PM