Wuthering Hareton Jessica Fatzinger 12th Grade

In Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, the characters around Hareton treat him like a background character, even though he is a main character in the book. From his family to people he just met, everyone pushes Hareton around, making him mold to the people in his ever-changing community. Catherine’s treatment of Hareton is a prime example of his emotional feebleness. Catherine’s control over the two characters’ relationship shows how Hareton is an object in her possession. Their relationship begins with Hareton constantly attempting to impress Catherine, despite her constant teasing towards him, then Catherine befriends Hareton solely to fix her loneliness, and lastly, Catherine functions as Hareton’s owner once they commit to a romantic relationship.

Catherine controls Hareton because her constant bullying towards him does not stop him from continually attempting to impress her. During one of Catherine’s walks with Ms. Dean, she sees Heathcliff with Linton and Hareton. Heathcliff encouraged Linton and Hareton to walk around with Catherine while he talks with Ms. Dean. Catherine soon catches on to Linton’s habit of teasing Hareton’s stupidity right in front of him. She told Linton she “questioned [Hareton] twice, and each time...