[打卡]阅读打卡第35天 (Dec 29, 2021) - Wuthering Heights

Progress: pg. 78

Reflections:

Love is such a delicate, perplexing, complicated… and intriguing set of human emotions… The young lady Catherine, with her stubbornness and self-indulgence, finally brought an end to her own love story. Miss Catherine, answering yes to Mr Linton’s request to marry, was attracted to Mr Linton “because he is handsome, and young, and cheerful, and rich”, and because Mr Linton loved her. At the same time, she confessed that Heathcliff was always in her mind.

“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it…” “My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rock beneath – a source of little visible delight, but necessary”.

Despite her clear feelings and inclinations toward Heathcliff, she refused to marry Heathcliff, “it would degrade me to marry Heathcliff”. Upon hearing those words, there went Heathcliff, there she was left in distraught.

Considering the story was set in the 1800s, I am on the side that the obstacles were too great to overcome. If they were married, they would live like beggars. However, was it any better that her lover was gone? As she put it, the meaning of her existence was gone?

Linking it back to our modern society, love is no different. When a multitude of factors are pitted against love, reality often wins. Yet here is where the sadness breeds. When an essential human desire is not fulfilled, the heart and soul ache. Hence, all these tragedies and depression.. Personally, love is too complicated to understand.

On a side note, I marvel at the advance of our medicine over the past 200 years. In the story, Miss Katherine’s sister in law died not long after giving birth to Hareton. Also, the old Mr and Mrs Linton died after catching fever from nursing Catherine. Fever would actually kill people 200 years back (infection, advancing to septic shock?), which would be unheard of in our modern society. I’m glad that I live in the 21st century, which allows me the luxury of modern medicine.

Goal for tomorrow: 30 pages.