Catherine and Heathcliff are the epitome of partners in the story of Wuthering Heights. On the whole, readers over the years have deemed them soul mates and have even gone so far as to describe their love as a life force necessary for them both to achieve true happiness. But was it?
Catherine is impulsive, spoiled, and often self-centered. She throws temper tantrums and has the capacity to be cruel. A wild child, if you will.
Heathcliff, on the other hand, is anything but spoiled. In him, we see that like Catherine, he can be cruel and unyielding, but where does that cruelty come from. Catherine exhibits cruelty when she doesn't get what she wants, but it often seems that Heathcliff's cruelty comes from a deeper place, a place of frustration and the knowledge he cannot give Catherine what she wants, and that when he finally can....... she belongs to someone else. Thus, Heathcliff's actions are often born of revenge. Even his marriage and abuse of Isabella are a form of revenge. To marry someone you do not love because it will hurt the one you love and the man she married is a form of vengeance. To abuse her is cruelty at its worst....... it's why so many of the people who'd like to see Heathcliff as some type of romantic hero, should in my opinion look again.