Possession and Obsession (WH Quotes) Flashcards
(11 cards)
‘I am Heathcliff’ - Cathy
Iconic declaration shows extent of her identification with him
It’s an obsessive fusion of identity
Unusual position of female power
Implies ownership of his soul as much of his of hers
This obliteration of individual boundaries is central the the novel’s portrayal of obsessive love
‘You are always in my mind; not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being’ - Heathcliff
Cathy inhabits his consciousness as an inseparable extension of himself
He does not idealise with her but incorporates her into his very existence
This kind of love doesn’t uplift - it consumes
‘She’s mine, and I want her! - Heathcliff
Reveals the possessive undercurrent of his passion
Love is framed here in terms of ownership rather than mutual affection
The use of ‘mine’ emphasises his desire to control and claim Cathy, showing how obsession warps emotional connection
‘I’ll have her in my arms again! If she be cold, I’ll think it is the north wind that chills me; and if she be motionless, it is sleep’ - Heathcliff
His obsession extends even to Cathy’s corpse
His refusal to accept her death, and desire to hold her body, highlights his pathological need to possess her - even beyond the grave
Reflects how love is rooted in control, denial and a refusal to let go
‘He wanted all to himself. He didn’t love me as Edgar did’ - Cathy (about Heathcliff)
She recognises his love as possessive rather than nurturing
Unlike Edgar, H seeks complete control
This distinction points to Bronte’s critique of obsessive love, which becomes more about domination than connection
‘Be with me always- take any form- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!’ - Heathcliff
His plea encapsulates the extremity of his obsession
He would prefer madness or haunting over Cathy’s absence
This desperation shows how love, when driven by obsession, erases rationality and craves even suffering over solitude
‘I seek no revenge on you. That’s not the plan. The tyrant grinds down his slaves and they don’t turn against him; they crush those beneath them’ - Heathcliff
Though not overtly about romantic love, shows H’s obsessive need for control in relationships, including Isabella
His dominance over her is an extension of his inability to possess Cathy
His romantic obsession metastasises into emotional tyranny
‘You loved me- then what right had you leave me?’ - Heathcliff
He treats love as a contract of ownership: if she loved him, she had no right to make her own decisions or to die
This shows how love and control are intertwined in his mind - he cannot conceive of love without total possession
‘I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it back to me’ - Isabella
Her lament reveals how H views love as a means of control and vengeance
His treatment of her reflects his broader pattern of using love to possess, punish, and overpower
Her suffering underlies the costs of obsessive attachment to someone incapable of genuine tenderness
‘I’ll make her repent for her ever having looked beyond me!’ - Heathcliff (about Cathy)
His possessive fury after Cathy marries Edgar reveals that he views her as having betrayed him not emotionally, but territorially
His revenge is rooted in the idea that she was his - and daring to ‘look beyond’ him was a violation of that claim
‘I cannot live without my soul!’ - Heathcliff
While romantic on the surface it also reveals the obsessive core of his love
By equating Cathy with his soul, he shows he cannot separate himself from her
It’s not about her autonomy, but about what she represents for him - his identity, his obsession
