In Emily Bronte's famous novel Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is unquestionably an evil character. He commits countless atrocious acts, yet Bronte assures us that one cannot help but feel sympathy towards him. One of the reasons the book is considered a study in psychology is the way Bronte makes the reader justify and accept Heathcliff's cruelty. The author's virtuoso manipulation of conflicting emotions is what gives Wuthering Heights' simple plot and characters their intensity and intrigue. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayHeathcliff is first introduced as "a dirty, ragged, black-haired child" (Bronte 34) whom Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool. Earnshaw names the boy after his deceased son, but the other family members call him "it". The reader cannot help but pity Heathcliff because of Bronte's description of how he "endured Hindley's blows without flinching or shedding a tear" (Bronte 35). The reader also thinks less of the other children due to their cruelty, which only serves to amplify sympathy for Heathcliff. As Heathcliff ages, he and Catherine become friends; but after Catherine becomes friends with the Lintons, Heathcliff feels unworthy of her. Young Heathcliff at one point naively asks Nelly to "Make me decent" because "I'll become good" (Bronte 52), before a dinner with the Lintons. The reader also loves young Heathcliff for his desires; as Van Ghent points out, the reader desires "the handsome dark boy to be enlightened, made angelic and happy, by the beautiful golden girl" (165). Heathcliff believes that he "must want Edgar Linton's large blue eyes and even forehead" (Bronte 53) to fit in with others and thus secure Catherine's affection. To the reader's dismay, Heathcliff fails in this attempt to be correct and, after hearing Catherine say that she could never marry him, disappears for about a year. What Heathcliff hears, however, is not the full story; Catherine goes on to describe how much she loves Heathcliff and how she cannot live without him. The reader cannot help but feel sorry for Heathcliff's misfortune due to his recklessness, a flaw in his character that is not his fault. A year later, when Heathcliff returns from his journey to an unknown place, he is a changed man. “The Transformation of Heathcliff” (Bronte 90) wins the reader's respect with the militant and barely polite impression it leaves on the characters in the book. It is at this point that it becomes apparent how cruel Heathcliff truly is. However, incredibly, Bronte manages to at least partially keep Heathcliff in favor of the reader. When Edgar becomes angry at Catherine's affection for the outsider, he hits Heathcliff, and even Catherine laughs at him, calling him a "milk hare" (Bronte 110). Bronte does this intentionally to highlight Heathcliff's strength of character in contrast to Edgar's weakness. The reader cannot help but imagine that his victims are weak and deserve to suffer, despite the fact that his cruelty "bewilders and confuses the ethical sense" (Van Ghent 164). The contrasting reactions that Wuthering Heights evokes in the reader make it both a philosophically and psychologically engaging work. When Heathcliff rejects and despises Isabella, it is as if he is mocking the audience by exposing their "bookish expectations of him" (Oates 5); the audience is shocked that he would laugh at her innocent infatuation with him, given his own rejection by Catherine. The reader sympathizes., 1953. 153-170.