Volume 1 - Chapter 7 (Forgiveness)
‘For shame, Heathcliff!’ said I. ‘It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.’ - (Tone, Connotative Language, Juxtaposition)
This line occurs as Heathcliff speaks out in his desire for revenge against Hindley for his mistreatment of Heathcliff as a child.
As such, the text implicitly condones the Christian values which Nelly espouses.
‘For shame, Heathcliff!’ said I. ‘It is for God to punish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.’ - (Tone, Connotative Language, Juxtaposition)
This line occurs as Heathcliff speaks out in his desire for revenge against Hindley for his mistreatment of Heathcliff as a child.
- In response, Nelly speaks for conventional Christian morality, such that God may punish people for their wicked ways and that people should not take it upon themselves to do so, that God is the provider of justice. In particular, this is indicated through her tone, in that she begins with 'For shame, Heathcliff', indicating her disappointment at his thirst for revenge and lack of forgiveness.
- Additionally,
she goes on to tell Heathcliff, using strong language, and the connotative 'wicked,' that he should discover how to forgive, as she
does many times throughout the novel, echoing Christian values of
forgiveness and acceptance. She is telling Heathcliff that Hindley will be
taken to account, but not by him, and therefore he should find it in himself to
forgive Hindley for his unsavoury actions.
- We are encouraged to agree with Nelly's view as the moral voice, juxtaposed to Heathcliff and his vengeful actions.
As such, the text implicitly condones the Christian values which Nelly espouses.
Volume 2 - Chapter 2 (Importance of Nature)
'The place of Catherine's interment, to the surprise of the villagers, was neither in the chapel, under the carved monument of the Lintons, nor yet by the tombs of her own relations, outside. It was dug on a green slope, in a corner of the kirkyard, where the wall is so low that heath and bilberry plants have climbed over it from the moor; and peat mould almost buries it. Her husband lies in the same spot, now; and they have each a simple headstone above, and a plain grey block at their feet, to mark the graves.' - (Descriptive Language, Symbolism, Binary Opposition)
This narration by Nelly to Lockwood highlights Brontë's authorial comment pertaining to the superiority of God's creation.
Hence Brontë comments that the Church's ability to lead Christianity is greatly inferior to what people can conclude for themselves based on their appreciation of the natural world of God.
'The place of Catherine's interment, to the surprise of the villagers, was neither in the chapel, under the carved monument of the Lintons, nor yet by the tombs of her own relations, outside. It was dug on a green slope, in a corner of the kirkyard, where the wall is so low that heath and bilberry plants have climbed over it from the moor; and peat mould almost buries it. Her husband lies in the same spot, now; and they have each a simple headstone above, and a plain grey block at their feet, to mark the graves.' - (Descriptive Language, Symbolism, Binary Opposition)
This narration by Nelly to Lockwood highlights Brontë's authorial comment pertaining to the superiority of God's creation.
- This is primarily achieved through her use of vivid descriptive language to describe the natural burial place of Cathy and Edgar, particularly the words 'green,' 'heath and bilberry plants,' and 'moor.'
- The symbolism of bilberries being related to falsehood reflects how Catherine and Edgar's love was built upon false premises, and that their deaths and sadness should never have been brought about, hence implying how the natural world of God's creation is much more fitting and inherently linked to individuals than an artificial Church construct could ever be.
- As well as this, Brontë constructs a binary opposition between the Church and the green slope as a burial ground through the graves being, "to the surprise of the villagers, [neither] in the chapel…dug on a green slope." The religious denotation of the chapel suggests that while the green slope may also have religious significance, it is in a different form to that of the chapel, specifically, more comparable to the Romantic notion of a religious experience than to the Puritan viewpoint.
Hence Brontë comments that the Church's ability to lead Christianity is greatly inferior to what people can conclude for themselves based on their appreciation of the natural world of God.