Role of Edgar Linton in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

Emily Jane Bronte’s magnum opus Wuthering Heights is one of those canonical works or classics that reward readers at every level of literary sophistication. Emily Bronte remains a figure whose life and personality are largely shrouded in mystery. She was the second and least worldly of a triumvirate of immensely gifted writing sisters who had managed to overcome the change of fortune of their childhood to burst forth, seemingly out of nowhere, with powerful and entirely unconventional works of the imagination. One of Ellis Bell's (Emily Bronte's pen name) greatest strengths as a writer was her willingness to not spell out everything for her readers but to weave her story in such a way as to draw readers inevitably in, capturing them in a mysterious interconnected web. Wuthering Heights is one of those greatest love stories in the English language. Nicholas Marsh remarks:

"...the story of Wuthering Heights is too strong, too powerfully alive, to be contained within the storytellers' frame. ...the story itself - actively breaks the frame through which we read it." (22)

Emily Jane Bronte
(Picture Credit- wikipedia.org)

Edgar Linton plays a crucial role in this greatest love novel. Edgar Linton’s comparatively poor image among readers of Wuthering Heights is probably due mainly to his being remembered as the weakest figure in a famous love triangle. Edgar is described in the novel as a soft, effeminate character completely in the power of his wilful, temperamental wife. He suffers through her rages and illnesses, and when she dies he resigns himself to an isolated life devoted to his daughter. Edgar’s gentle, timorous nature contrasts entirely with vengeful Heathcliff’s passion. His rival destroys his happiness a second time by kidnapping his adolescent daughter, Catherine.

Edgar is a civilised, pleasant young man but weak and easily shocked. He is rightly horrified at Catherine’s treatment of Nelly Dean and he tries to leave Wuthering Heights. Edgar declares his love for a woman whose fundamentally passionate nature he can neither understand nor match. We begin to pity him. From the start of the marriage he is slightly afraid of Catherine’s volatile temper, but it should be noted that the marriage is a relatively successful one. Under normal circumstances Edgar is a good husband. But he cannot complete with the forces of nature, with Heathcliff and the passion roused in Catherine. From now until his death he is one of Heathcliff’s victims. Edgar knows perfectly well how evil Heathcliff is and he tells him so: 

"I have been so forbearing with you, sir, ...your presence is a moral poison that would contaminate the most virtuous: for that cause to prevent worse consequences, I shall deny you..." (Bronte 89)

Edgar appears cowardly weak and ultimately somewhat contemptible. He can plot and try to defend his wife and his sister but he has no chance against Heathcliff whatsoever. He must suffer because Catherine chose him rather than her true love. Edgar will be obliged to nurse his wife while she dies for love of another man. He will have to disown his sister, and when he is prepared to take in her child he will have it snatched away by Heathcliff. Even when Edgar tries to prevent all this happening we discover that Heathcliff has hired the local lawyer before him and has defeated him. His one consolation is the love of his daughter and he dies in her arms. A weak man pitted against impossible odds, Edgar tries to uphold conventional moral values but is destroyed by forces beyond his control.

Edgar is the heir to the estate of Thrushcross Grange and most importantly a foil to Heathcliff, everything about this two men is different and their one common denominator, being their love for Catherine Earnshaw. Edgar's world is one of pampered, comfort and wealth, his home, Thrushcross Grange, is ‘a splendid place carpeted with crimson and crimson covered chairs and tables’ – ‘white ceiling bordered by gold’ – ‘glass drops hanging from silver chains’. The mode of Edgar's dress on his childhood visits to the Heights suggests this rich and pampered lifestyle. He and his sister are smothered in furs, a metaphorical protection against the society which exists within the Heights and its wild and natural surroundings.

In Wuthering Heights, we also notice that Edgar portrayed as a petty and precocious child. His attitude to Heathcliff's first visit to the Grange reflects his sense of superiority, he is petty and sullen and is seen weeping as a result of a quarrel over a little dog. In her recollections, Nelly Dean portrayed Edgar as a weak and soft individual, she recalled that ‘he wanted spirit in general’ and she referred to him as a ‘soft thing.’ Physically and emotionally, he quickly comes under Catherine's spell and is unable to leave the Heights after witnessing a quarrel between Hareton, Nelly and Catherine in which the latter's violent behaviour strikes fear into Edgar. Although he becomes the master of the Grange, the local magistrate, the husband of Catherine and in many eyes, the greatest man in the neighbourhood, is generally cowardly when faced with Heathcliff, so much so that Catherine refers to him as a ‘sucking leveret.’

Another significant characteristic of Edgar's character is his fear of Catherine's temper, and in the light of this, his willingness to cater to her every whim. His wife’s interests are paramount for him. For example, despite knowing what is inevitable, he offers Heathcliff hospitality on his return as a ‘gentleman’ because he wants to please Catherine. Edgar Linton’s fear is again evident as he gives in to Catherine's request that two tables be set up in the dining room rather than have Heathcliff eat in the servant's quarters which is what Edgar would have liked. Catherine states:

"I have such faith in Linton's love that I believe I might kill him and he wouldn't wish to retaliate." (Bronte 76)

One of the few occasions on which Edgar proves to be decisive is when he warns Isabella that he will have nothing to do with her if she marries Heathcliff - this is a threat that he maintained till the end. Edgar is naive in believing that Cathy could grow up at the Grange without discovering the existence of the Heights. There is much to admire despite naivety in the character of Edgar Linton. Much of this is associated with his civilised living, gentle nature and pleasant manner. 

According to eminent literary critic Harold Bloom, in this novel:

"Bronte thus allows the love affair of the second generation to be played out as a muted and happy version of the first." (32-33)

(Picture Credit- Bloom's Literary Criticism)

In the story, we can see the love affair of Catherine, first with Heathcliff and then with Edgar Linton. We also see the same kind of love affair among the youths of second generation, where the daughter of Catherine marries with the son of her first lover Heathcliff. Edgar’s devotion to Catherine during her illness is an admirable aspect of his character. His willingness to take responsibility for young Linton after Isabella's death shows his generous nature particularly as Heathcliff, who he hates, is the boy's father. He is willing to allow Cathy marry Linton if it would allow her to be consoled after his own death.

To conclude, we can definitely say that Edgar Linton has more right than Heathcliff to be called the hero of Wuthering Heights. He is very loyal to his love Catherine. His love and devotion to her is beyond question. Edgar, like Heathcliff, is affected by Catherine's death and looks forward to a reunion with her after his own death, however the intervening 17 years for Edgar are marked by resignation rather than torment as was the case with Heathcliff. The mark of Edgar Linton is evident throughout this greatest love novel.

Works Cited:

1. Bloom, Harold. Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism, 2008. Print.

2. Marsh, Nicholas. Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights. London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1999. Print.

3. Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. eds. William M. Sale, Jr and Richard J. Dunn. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1990. Print.

4. Coote, Stephen. Wuthering Heights (Penguin Study Notes). London: Penguin, 1984. Print.

University of North Bengal,

Siliguri