A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FEMALE CHARACTERS
IN WUTHERING HEIGHTS
Abstract: Wuthering Heights is Emily Bronte’s only novel and has gained a worldwide reputation in literature. By describing the life of Catherine and her daughter-- Cathy, the author introduced her point of view on woman’s attitude towards love and their pursuit of self-realization. Catherine and Cathy have some similarities in their roles and figures. However, since they are two totally different individuals, Cathy and Catherine have extremely distinctive differences in growing environment, personality, self-realization and their love and marriage. This article will do a comparative study of Catherine and Cathy, analyzing from the following angles, like their personalities, growing environment, love and their ways of pursuing self-realization. The main purpose of my dissertation is to help the readers to have a more profound understanding of the two female characters and author’s views of life embodied in the novel.
Key Words: Catherine and Cathy; similarities; differences; self-realization; attitude towards love and marriage
《呼啸山庄》中女性人物比较研究
摘 要：《呼啸山庄》是19世纪英国女作家艾米莉·勃朗特的传世之作，也是她唯一的一部小说。小说通过对凯瑟琳母女的描写展现了作者对维多利亚时期女性的自我追求和女性爱情婚姻观的独特见解。凯瑟琳母女在角色，人物形象方面有某些相似之处。然而因为她们是两个不同的个体，凯茜在生长环境，性格方面与其母亲有极大的差异，两人的爱情婚姻及自我追求也不尽相同。本文将从凯瑟琳母女的比较研究入手，从性格，生长环境，爱情和自我追求等方面对两代女主人公进行剖析，以期更深地了解作者的写作意图。
关键词： 凯瑟琳母女；相似之处；不同之处；自我追求；爱情婚姻观
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. Similarities 2
1.1 Role in the novel 2
1.2 Dual personality 4
1.3 Consciousness of rebelling the male-dominated society 5
2. Differences 5
2.1 Wuthering Heights vs. Thrushcross Grange 6
2.2 Selfishness vs. Virtue 8
2.3 Intense love vs. Sensible love 9
2.4 Pursuing the self-realization, the wrong way vs. the right way 12
2.4.1 The tragedy of Catherine’s pursuit of self-realization 12
2.4.1.1 Self-lost 12
2.4.1.2 Self-awareness 13
2.4.1.3 Self-destroy 13
2.4.2 The success of Cathy’s pursuit of self-realization 14
2.4.2.1 Self-inhibition 14
2.4.2.2 Self-rebelling 15
2.4.2.3 Self-change 15
3. Conclusion 16
Bibliography 20
