Truly
a Romance?
Bronte in Wuthering Heights sets up
the plot of her story as a romance between Heathcliffe and Catherine. They are
a pair that in life never got the chance to share that love, but in death
walked hand-in-hand in spirit. The story itself was deemed one of the greatest
romances in literature. In my opinion, this wouldn't even be categorized into a
romance genre. The relationship between the two characters is far from that of
what many girls would dream up in their minds about an ideal romance.
I feel
that today we are surrounded by movies and book plots that play out the “ideal”
of a fantasy love story that we want for ourselves. Full of cheesy words and
lame, we see two people fall in love in the cutest of ways. Wuthering Heights
sets up a love that is bitter and revengeful at times, filled with arguments and
hurt. Although we acknowledge that the two love each other, we never see this
love in their actions toward one another. We never see Heathcliffe dance in an
empty parking lot with Catherine or bring her red rose and a card. I guess the
relationships I conjure up in my own mind are more built on friendship and
happiness. I feel that the expectation for our relationships have changed since
the times when Wuthering Heights was written. We want more from a relationship.
For
example in other stories written today such as the Notebook by Nicholas Sparks,
the main characters Noah and Allie share more of the typical “storybook”
romance, one that develops instantaneously and is filled with passion and
happiness. We don’t see this kind of progression or inclination in the
relationship between Heathcliffe and Catherine. Also in all the stories about
love, we enjoy the characters to be together throughout their lives, and until
death the two are never truly together. This takes the satisfaction away that a
reader normally feels when reading a romance.
