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Emily Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights combines legends, myths, and notions of romance, but it is also full of villains, dastardly acts, betrayal and revenge. Criticism of the work often centers around the characters of Heathcliff and Catherine1 and their perceived feelings for one another, thwarted by fate, chance, and bad decisions.2 Many scholars point fingers at Heathcliff as being the ultimate "villain" of the story3; I, however, believe that the term "villain" is controversial, and this term can apply to all of the characters, not just Heathcliff-at least in the context of the world where the story takes place. In general, the villain can be a character who wishes evil things to happen and who helps to make these evil things happen. The villain may also be the dark side of human nature, the opposite of the hero, or what the hero could become if s/he ever fails. If we indeed have no heroes in Wuthering Heights, then the characters in the novel must all have a dark side (which may or may not be obvious), or be outright malicious in their intentions through their actions.
The novel has no "good" characters-even the Lintons, whom Nelly our narrator describes as virtuous, have cruel intentions as they are introduced fighting over a dog, and they repeatedly exhibit passive behaviors where action is called for. For the inhabitants of the moors, villainy is linked with identity, but the characters of Wuthering Heights tend to defy definition and boundaries. Villainy is ascribed to "otherness" and that which is not understood; because of misunderstandings and biased attitudes of most characters, readers form negative opinions and assume villainy before evil deeds are performed. Villainy in the novel therefore stems, at least in part, from social condemnation of certain characters early on in the novel.
Heathcliff often receives most of the criticism for being the most definitive villain in the novel; however, I believe he merely is placed in this position through the Nelly/Lockwood narration frame, which causes him to appear to exceed the villainy of other characters.4 Overall, I believe Heathcliff gets too much blame from critics for being devilish. In no way do I intend to excuse his behaviors- particularly in the second half of the novel-nor do...