The Theme of Revenge in “Wuthering Heights”

Abstract

Considered the age for the growth of novels, the Victorian Era saw the emergence of new themes in literary writing, while novelists wrote more about the “condition of England” during the time caused by the predominance of Industrialisation and utilitarianism, focus was more on the characterization and later on intellectualism. The theme which got the least attention during this period was revenge. Being one of the oldest topics in English Literature, revenge in Victorian novels ceased to be the driving force. In this plethora of novels been written during the time, Emily Bronte created her only work “Wuthering Heights” that explored the theme of revenge. This paper aims to analyse the theme of revenge asportrayed in the novel and how the impulse of revenge drove Heathcliff to manipulate the lives of practically all the characters in the novel, but especially the second generation.