Abstract

Wuthering Heights, as one of the greatest novels of English literature, has always been controversial especially for the main character, Heathcliff. His love and resent attracts readers deeply, which also makes him become one of the most complicated characters in the history of English history. On the one hand, he carries the crazy revenge plan just like a cruel devil. On the other hand, just like a pure angle, he loves Catherine with all his pure heart and soul. This kind of love motivates him to struggle for a better future. In the transformation of kindness and evil, the social environment plays a key role.

Therefore, my dissertation is going to study the dual character of Heathcliff from three aspects. Firstly, to discover the dual character of Heathcliff, my dissertation is going to analyze the potential characters of Heathcliff from the aspects of the description of physical appearance, action and language, psychological activities and some other detailed descriptions. Secondly, the origins of Heathcliff's dual character will be researched from the aspects of social background, Heathcliff's growing experience, the betrayal of Catherine and his own inner world. Thirdly, the loss and return of humanity is going to be discussed. In order to prove that Heathcliff’s human nature is lost, changes of personality characteristics as well as the disasters he brings to his enemies and the next generation will be listed. Besides, to discover the return of Heathcliff’s human nature, the dissertation is going to focus on the ending of story. It is going to analyze the changes of Heathcliff’s attitude towards little Catherine and Hareton so that the causes of the return of humanity can be obtained. At last, it can be proved that Heathcliff’s change comes not from the outer world but from his inner world.

Key words: Heathcliff; dual character;  hate and love;  causes of personality development

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

2.1. Overseas research status-2

2.2. Domestic research status-4

3. The Dual Characteristics of Heathcliff-5

3.1 Devil avenger-6

3.2 Kind angel-7

3.3 Loss of humanity-9

3.4 Return of humanity-10

4. Causes of Personality Development-11

4.1 Social background-11

4.2 Love to Catherine-13

4.3 Internal subjective factors-14

5. Conclusion-15

References-17