Comparison Paper:
Wuthering Heights & Their Eyes Were Watching God
Love is only accomplished when a strong willed person is truly positive that they are with the right person, both Wuthering Heights and Their Eyes Were Watching God come to that conclusion. In both the novels the theme that love is better far from the opinion of society is accomplished by Catherine Earnshaw and Janie Crawford’s portrayal of the difference between a strong willed woman, and a weak willed woman. Wuthering Heights and Their Eyes Were Watching God’s characters Catherine Earnshaw and Janie Crawford experience the deceiving views on love by society, but they experience it differently, because of their difference in character. Where Catherine wasn’t able to be with the one she truly loved, Janie overcame society’s views and was able to be with the one she loved.
Every love story has a beginning. In the beginning of Wuthering Heights Catherine is in love with Heathcliff, but a visit to the Linton House changes her view on with whom she should be with. Catherine’s character starts off knowing what love is, and knowing that Heathcliff is it, but later denies him because she wants to comply with society. In the book there is a scene where you clearly learn that Catherine is well aware of her feelings toward Heathcliff and her feelings toward good social status, (Linton). She is speaking with Nelly and confesses to her that she loves Heathcliff, but she will never amount to anything if she lives how Heathcliff lives, and therefore she chooses Linton. With this we begin to see that the theme that love is better far from society’s opinion is beginning to unroll in Catherine’s life. Her passionate love for Heathcliff is paused so that she can have a “good” life according to society, which later brings her unhappiness. Bronte begins to show how weak willed Catherine is and how she is easily persuaded to give up what she loves.
Janie’s love story begins differently. Janie begins not knowing what love felt like. She was led to believe that love came after you married. She soon found out that this wasn’t true. Even though Janie did not feel the same passionate love for someone, like Catherine did, she longed for it and thought she could achieve it the way society did; marrying someone for safety, not love. Her first husband was enough to show Janie that the view her society had on love was not what she wanted for her life. In the novel we can see when Janie comes to this conclusion because she goes to ask her grandmother, “why don’t I love him yet?” Her love toward him couldn’t grow but she was called foolish because she was married and stable with man that could protect her. Unlike Catherine, Janie learned she couldn’t marry someone for stability after she was forced into society’s love story. Hurston begins to reveal Janie’s strong will to obtain what she wants, true love.
Even though Catherine was in love with Heathcliff, she married Linton because of society’s expectations. She lived her life along his side never knowing how it could’ve been if she would have chosen differently. She is never truly happy with Linton and it shows once Heathcliff returns from his long absence from Wuthering Heights. Catherine has always been a “wishy-washy” character, (she goes back and forth, knowing what she wants, but too afraid to take it), and it hinders her well-being. When Heathcliff was gone, she was “okay” with Linton, but once Heathcliff came back, all the passion that the two could not deny each returned, but since society didn’t see it right that she should be with him, she played with the emotions of both men because she could not live without one or the other. This shows how Bronte feels about how strong a woman’s character should be. Without having a strong will, a woman can easily be persuaded into something she does not agree with because she is afraid of disapproval.
Hurston on the other hand wanted to prove that a woman can have a strong will and pursue what she knows she deserves. Janie had a total of three marriages, which she had in pursuit of what she wanted to experience, love. Her first two marriages failed; both because they were social marriages (done in pursuit of social happiness instead of true love). Her last one, with Tea Cake, finally proved to Janie that love was possible, and it could be found in anyone, it was just a matter of finding that one. Hurston contradicted what Bronte portrayed with Catherine in Wuthering Heights with Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Women who are strong willed like Janie go in pursuit of what they want, not what society wants, and achieve happiness, unlike Catherine whose weak willed character made her lose her love, which caused her to lose her life.
The way both novels end are different, but they both add to the theme that love is only accomplished when you follow your heart. Catherine’s choice to marry Linton over Heathcliff brings misfortune not just upon her, but upon everyone around her. Catherine suffers internally because she longs for the one she loves, but her family suffers Heathcliff’s wrath which is brought about because of Catherine’s decision. Catherine is never truly happy, she got to experience what love felt like in the beginning, but traded it off for something that isn’t so important. Bronte’s decision to leave Catherine unhappy helps engrave the theme that love should be accomplished according to a person’s feelings as opposed to a person’s want for social stability and approval. There would be no point in her novel if Bronte allowed Catherine to live, “happily ever after,” the theme would be lost.
Janie starts off not knowing what love is, but she has a desire to find out. It’s sometimes hard to search for something when you don’t know exactly what you’re searching for. Janie knew that there was something more to love than just safety and stability, unlike Catherine, who got the opportunity to know love and experience it but still chose to live by society’s rule. When Janie finds Tea Cake, she begins to realize that she was right, and that she had found someone who made her happy, someone who completed her. Hurston wanted to show that women shouldn’t have to settle for less because they don’t know what they should have. Hurston also wanted to prove that without a strong will, a woman will find it hard to do things because they want to, not because they have to.
Bronte and Hurston both wanted to prove that love was something free from society’s opinion and all about the way a person felt. Even though they used completely different characters to portray it, their point is understood both ways. Bronte’s romantic love story with a weak willed female character, and a terrible twist that none of the characters could escape brings the reader to see what terrible, twisted things may happen because of a weak willed woman’s decision to ignore her love. Hurston’s way of creating three different situations a woman might encounter in search for love helps us embrace the theme that a strong willed woman does not take society’s easy way out, she finds it better to keep going and follow her heart. Even though Catherine and Janie’s experience with love were different from the beginning to the end of the novels, the reader comes to the same conclusion in the end, being weak and settling for society’s view on love causes unhappiness in not just women, but in any person in search of true love.
Wuthering Heights & Their Eyes Were Watching God
Love is only accomplished when a strong willed person is truly positive that they are with the right person, both Wuthering Heights and Their Eyes Were Watching God come to that conclusion. In both the novels the theme that love is better far from the opinion of society is accomplished by Catherine Earnshaw and Janie Crawford’s portrayal of the difference between a strong willed woman, and a weak willed woman. Wuthering Heights and Their Eyes Were Watching God’s characters Catherine Earnshaw and Janie Crawford experience the deceiving views on love by society, but they experience it differently, because of their difference in character. Where Catherine wasn’t able to be with the one she truly loved, Janie overcame society’s views and was able to be with the one she loved.
Every love story has a beginning. In the beginning of Wuthering Heights Catherine is in love with Heathcliff, but a visit to the Linton House changes her view on with whom she should be with. Catherine’s character starts off knowing what love is, and knowing that Heathcliff is it, but later denies him because she wants to comply with society. In the book there is a scene where you clearly learn that Catherine is well aware of her feelings toward Heathcliff and her feelings toward good social status, (Linton). She is speaking with Nelly and confesses to her that she loves Heathcliff, but she will never amount to anything if she lives how Heathcliff lives, and therefore she chooses Linton. With this we begin to see that the theme that love is better far from society’s opinion is beginning to unroll in Catherine’s life. Her passionate love for Heathcliff is paused so that she can have a “good” life according to society, which later brings her unhappiness. Bronte begins to show how weak willed Catherine is and how she is easily persuaded to give up what she loves.
Janie’s love story begins differently. Janie begins not knowing what love felt like. She was led to believe that love came after you married. She soon found out that this wasn’t true. Even though Janie did not feel the same passionate love for someone, like Catherine did, she longed for it and thought she could achieve it the way society did; marrying someone for safety, not love. Her first husband was enough to show Janie that the view her society had on love was not what she wanted for her life. In the novel we can see when Janie comes to this conclusion because she goes to ask her grandmother, “why don’t I love him yet?” Her love toward him couldn’t grow but she was called foolish because she was married and stable with man that could protect her. Unlike Catherine, Janie learned she couldn’t marry someone for stability after she was forced into society’s love story. Hurston begins to reveal Janie’s strong will to obtain what she wants, true love.
Even though Catherine was in love with Heathcliff, she married Linton because of society’s expectations. She lived her life along his side never knowing how it could’ve been if she would have chosen differently. She is never truly happy with Linton and it shows once Heathcliff returns from his long absence from Wuthering Heights. Catherine has always been a “wishy-washy” character, (she goes back and forth, knowing what she wants, but too afraid to take it), and it hinders her well-being. When Heathcliff was gone, she was “okay” with Linton, but once Heathcliff came back, all the passion that the two could not deny each returned, but since society didn’t see it right that she should be with him, she played with the emotions of both men because she could not live without one or the other. This shows how Bronte feels about how strong a woman’s character should be. Without having a strong will, a woman can easily be persuaded into something she does not agree with because she is afraid of disapproval.
Hurston on the other hand wanted to prove that a woman can have a strong will and pursue what she knows she deserves. Janie had a total of three marriages, which she had in pursuit of what she wanted to experience, love. Her first two marriages failed; both because they were social marriages (done in pursuit of social happiness instead of true love). Her last one, with Tea Cake, finally proved to Janie that love was possible, and it could be found in anyone, it was just a matter of finding that one. Hurston contradicted what Bronte portrayed with Catherine in Wuthering Heights with Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Women who are strong willed like Janie go in pursuit of what they want, not what society wants, and achieve happiness, unlike Catherine whose weak willed character made her lose her love, which caused her to lose her life.
The way both novels end are different, but they both add to the theme that love is only accomplished when you follow your heart. Catherine’s choice to marry Linton over Heathcliff brings misfortune not just upon her, but upon everyone around her. Catherine suffers internally because she longs for the one she loves, but her family suffers Heathcliff’s wrath which is brought about because of Catherine’s decision. Catherine is never truly happy, she got to experience what love felt like in the beginning, but traded it off for something that isn’t so important. Bronte’s decision to leave Catherine unhappy helps engrave the theme that love should be accomplished according to a person’s feelings as opposed to a person’s want for social stability and approval. There would be no point in her novel if Bronte allowed Catherine to live, “happily ever after,” the theme would be lost.
Janie starts off not knowing what love is, but she has a desire to find out. It’s sometimes hard to search for something when you don’t know exactly what you’re searching for. Janie knew that there was something more to love than just safety and stability, unlike Catherine, who got the opportunity to know love and experience it but still chose to live by society’s rule. When Janie finds Tea Cake, she begins to realize that she was right, and that she had found someone who made her happy, someone who completed her. Hurston wanted to show that women shouldn’t have to settle for less because they don’t know what they should have. Hurston also wanted to prove that without a strong will, a woman will find it hard to do things because they want to, not because they have to.
Bronte and Hurston both wanted to prove that love was something free from society’s opinion and all about the way a person felt. Even though they used completely different characters to portray it, their point is understood both ways. Bronte’s romantic love story with a weak willed female character, and a terrible twist that none of the characters could escape brings the reader to see what terrible, twisted things may happen because of a weak willed woman’s decision to ignore her love. Hurston’s way of creating three different situations a woman might encounter in search for love helps us embrace the theme that a strong willed woman does not take society’s easy way out, she finds it better to keep going and follow her heart. Even though Catherine and Janie’s experience with love were different from the beginning to the end of the novels, the reader comes to the same conclusion in the end, being weak and settling for society’s view on love causes unhappiness in not just women, but in any person in search of true love.
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