Character Profiles’ Criteria
Parameters:
1)Characters conflict with/ related to ...
Self, others, environment, destiny
2)Characters either submit or rebel to changes
3)Narrators’ tone- attitude towards him/her
Self conflict
• She falls drastically in love with Heathcliff although she knows that her
brother Edgar Linton will cut all ties with her
• She runs away from Wuthering heights because she realizes that she has a
failed marriage
• She also wants a future for her child which is another reason for running
away
• She feels guilty for not heeding her brother’s advice. (she writes a letter to
Nelly Dean) “[Isabella] abandoned them under a delusion,' [Heathcliff]
answered; 'picturing in me a hero of romance, and expecting unlimited
indulgences from my chivalrous devotion. ”
Conflict with others
• Edgar cuts off all ties with her as soon as she elopes with Heathcliff
• She marries Heathcliff under a wrong impression and finds out that he has
married her only as means of revenge. He abuses her verbally and
physically
• She dislikes Catherine for warning her that she should not marry Heathcliff
Relation to Enviroment
• “I bounded, leaped, and flew down the steep road; then, quitting its
windings, shot direct across the moor, rolling over banks, and wading
through marshes: precipitating myself, in fact, towards the beacon-light of
the Grange. And far rather would I be condemned to a perpetual dwelling
in the infernal regions than, even for one night, abide beneath the roof of
Wuthering Heights again.”
This is the mention of Nature in Wuthering heights relating to Isabella
when she runs away from Wuthering Heights to Thushcross Grange .
Relation to her Aspirations and Destiny
• Purpose
She is used as a means of revenge and tyranny by Heathcliff
• Aspirations
She runs away from Heathcliff for the betterment of her unborn child. She
wants a bright future for her child and feels that in Wuthering heights
Heathcliff will prove as a source of hindrance.
• Self- actualization
Isabella goes through two processes of self actualization, one when she
realizes that she wants to marry Heathcliff cutting off all ties with her
family. Second when she realizes that she made a mistake in following her
heart. She realizes her marriage is failing and that she is in danger if she
continues her realtionship with Heathcliff.
Change
Isabella does not submit to the conflicts she goes through:
• Although she has a conflict with her brother she follows her heart and
marrys Heathcliff.
• She does not listen to Catherine’s and Edgar’s warnings and advice.
• She courageously decides upon taking action of running away from
Heathcliff although she knows this will cause more conflicts between the
residents of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange
• She contradicts herself when she decides to run away from Heathcliff
when in the first place she marrys him with her own will.
Narrator’s Opinion on Isabella
• “She was at that time a charming young lady of eighteen; infantile in
manners, though it possessed of keen wit, keen feelings, and a keen
temper, too, if irritated.”
• Nelly mostly speaks of Isabella as a character who has made a foolish
mistake but has realized it.
• Her tone when speaking of Isabella is of pity and sympathy in regard to the
way she is treated at the Heights- based on situations
Reliabilty of Narrator
• Nelly is a reliable narrator as she works
in the Grange where Isabella resides.
• Nelly is positive towards Isabella-her
attitude is kind and caring.
• Considers her to be spirited, foolish, not
afraid to rebel against change
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