Wuthering Heights Suffering Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

"Nay, you'll not drive me off again. You were really sorry for me, were you? Well, there was cause. I've fought through a bitter life since I last heard your voice; and you must forgive me, for I struggled only for you!" (10.60)

At least all of his suffering has meaning. This confession is one of Heathcliff's most romantic, in a twisted sense, because everything he does is for Catherine.

Quote #5

"And I like her too ill to attempt it," said he, "except in a very ghoulish fashion. You'd hear of odd things if I lived alone with that mawkish, waxen face: the most ordinary would be painting on its white the colours of the rainbow, and turning the blue eyes black, every day or two: they detestably resemble Linton's." (10.121)

Heathcliff is fantasizing about physically abusing his wife. What's really disturbing is how poetically he describes his desire to hurt her. His choice of words suggests that he has really given some thought to what he wants to do.

Quote #6

"And, Nelly, say to Edgar, if you see him again to-night, that I'm in danger of being seriously ill. I wish it may prove true. He has startled and distressed me shockingly! I want to frighten him." (11.80)

Because Edgar will never suffer as much as Catherine would like, she will never love him as much as he would like. Edgar's cool-headedness is one of the qualities that sets him apart from Heathcliff.