Heathcliff does everything he can within the law to get young Catherine to marry Linton so that he can finally get revenge on Edgar Linton once he dies. I could imagine how Heathcliff, in his deviant ways, approached Linton to find out the status of his relationship with young Catherine— not because he genuinely cares, rather so he can determine if his plan of obtaining Thrushcross Grange would work itself out or if it was necessary for him to intervene. When he confronts young Catherine about why she ended her correspondence with Linton, Heathcliff tries to blackmail her, informing her that, “I’ve got your letters, and if you give me any pertness, I’ll send them to your father” (page 206). Heathcliff goes on to insist that young Catherine pay Linton a visit because he is dying of a broken heart. Heathcliff even tries to use imaginary role-play to cajole young Catherine into seeing Linton. He says, “Just imagine your father in my place, and Linton in yours; then think how you would value your careless lover, if he refused to stir a step to comfort you, when your father, himself, entreated him; and don’t, from pure stupidity, fall into the same error” (pages 206-207). Heathcliff’s attempts to give young Catherine the guilt trip work, thus expediting the execution of his conniving scheme.
I’ve noticed how Ellen Dean’s feelings toward Heathcliff have flip-flopped throughout the novel. At first, she hates Heathcliff, then begins to like him, and finally is back to working against him. After Heathcliff was christened, Ellen Dean says, “Miss Cathy and he [Heathcliff] were now very thick; but Hindley hated him, and to say the truth I did the same” (page 52). “However,” Ellen Dean says on the next page, “I will say this, he was the quietest child that ever nurse watched over. The difference between him and the others forced me to be less partial: Cathy and her brother harassed me terribly: he was as uncomplaining as a lamb…thus Hindley lost his last ally” (page 53). Moreover, she felt bad for Heathcliff whenever he was abused by Hindley. Ever since Heathcliff’s return from the few years he was gone, though, Ellen Dean hasn’t really like him and tries to prevent his plan from coming to fruition. When advising young Catherine to obey her father’s wishes of not seeing Linton, she says, “I’ll not disguise, but you might kill him [Edgar Linton], if you…cherished a foolish, fanciful affection for the son of a person who would be glad to have him in his grave— and allowed him to discover that you fretted over the separation he has judged it expedient to make” (page 205). Here, Ellen Dean refers in a subtle manner to Heathcliff’s plan to take over Thrushcross Grange. She didn’t need to refer to Heathcliff but, by doing so, she shows her negative bias towards him.
In the end, though, there is nothing Ellen Dean can do to stop Heathcliff, as he finally completes his revenge on those who had wronged him many years before.
I also noticed the same thing about Ellen Dean. Sometimes I would pause in reading and think about the fact that she is telling the story and maybe this is just her view of things. I always wondered if maybe the story would be a little bit different told from someone else perspective. Although not many were alive at the end. I think besides for the law aspects and other things I think Ellen's narration greatly affects the story.
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