The main theme connecting the two books I think, is that of obsession. Also, I think that this obsession theme goes further than jsut Wuthering Heights and Twilight. It seems to be there in every vampire novel/movie/whathaveyou. Humans have a certain obsession with vampires and vice versa.
Heathcliff has an obsession with Catherine that transcends her death and goes on to punish everyone connected to her...Hareton, Linton, and Edgar.
In Twilight, Edward also shows this obsession although it is very different from Heathcliff's obsession. Edward's main concern in life is keeping Bella safe. He does whatever he can to do this, sometimes sacrificing his family, and almost always sacrificing himself.
In both of the books, the obsession seems to win out over love. In Twlight, Edward knows that he is no good for Bella but his obsession/love for her wins out over this notion.
Same for Wuthering Heights, one would think that because Heathcliff loves Catherine so much he would want to do right by her daughter, young Catherine. But no...Heathcliff can see nothing besides his deep need to get revenge on Catherine in any way, shape, or form possible.
In Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer uses a number of quotes to compare the relationship Bella has with both Jacob and Edward to the relationships that Catherine has with both Edgar and Heathcliff. Bella and Catherine both have two great loves.
I agree with you when you say, "The main theme connecting the two books (Twilight and Wuthering Heights) I think, is that of obsession." I too made that same connection. However I do want the point out that I feel the obsessions are in different ways. I think that in Twilight their obsession is Wuthering Heights Cathy and Healthcliff's obsession was to hurt everyone around them and make everyone miserable because they made the decision not to be together. I just think that the whole relationship in Wuthering Heights was a complete mess. I do not know about you but I had a tough time getting through the novel because of all of this chaos. I could not stand Catherine and Heathcliff and at the end I could not stand Linton. The only characters that I liked and respected throughout the whole novel were Nelly Dean and Mr. Lockwood. The revenge that you speak of in your blog is so overpowering that it just upsets me. I do not know how Heathcliff could be so revengeful even though he knew Catherine really loved him. After Catherine said that it would put a shame on herself if she married him, Heathcliff should have just went away knowing they would never be together.
ReplyDeleteI like how you found the connection between these two books written so far apart. But now thinking back at I can see the angle of obsession. When you are obessed with someone or something that is all you see. I think that in Twilight Edward was obsessed with keeping Bella safe because everyone could tell how special she was, that her blood was very rich. I also think curosity on the part of Edward drove him to obsess over Bella because he couldn't get a read on her. Which I think is true with Heathcliff and Catherine, its like he thought he knew her but because of their friendship as kids despite Heathcliffs appearance and upbringing. I think that Heathcliff was obsessed to figure out why Catherine had changed so much and why did she marry Edgar and not him. I really believe that Heathcliff acted so vengeful because he was fueled with the emotions of love and hatred at the same time. When you're in love it does make you do crazy thing. I really like how you pulled those two books together.
ReplyDeleteI agree that obsession is a very common theme in vampire novels, and regular novels as well. I think it's just taking love too far, and in most cases it seems this turns out badly.
ReplyDeleteFor example, Heathcliff is obsessed with Catherine and getting revenge on her for marrying Linton. This makes Heathcliff have sort of a pathetic existence, never really being happy with life at all.
Now, I'm not trying to offend anyone with this next part. This is just my opinion.
Now, I enjoy Twilight too, but I feel that since the books were targeted to a young adult audience, that is the only reason why the obsession in this book worked out well, and they ended up together.
Actually, come to think about it, bad things do happen. Edward leaves and they are both unhappy.