Brontë provides picture of redemption for evil

illustration by Samuel Hoar

Suffering is a crucial part of the human experience, but oftentimes it seems superfluous. Despite their supposed spiritual benefit, the pain outweighs the result. The evil we experience is even harder when we cannot see its purpose when it ends. Emily Brontë inadvertently tackles this in her novel “Wuthering Heights.”

The novel follows the story of two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and an orphan named Heathcliff. Despite being treated like a slave by Hindley Earnshaw, Heathcliff falls in love with his sister, Catherine Earnshaw, but despite her affection for him, she marries Edgar Linton. The rest of the story depicts the madness and hate that Heathcliff harbors for both of the families. 

When it comes to the purpose of evil and redemption, “Wuthering Heights” has slim pickings. Most of the characters end up dying by the end of the story with nothing more than a slight revelation. The only good that springs from all of the suffering in the story is the marriage between Cathy Linton, the daughter of Edgar and Catherine, and Hareton Earnshaw, the son of Hindley and his wife, Frances. 

In the end, the reader is left a little unsatisfied, with the only truly bright spot being a marriage birthed out of two generations of hate. But we have to accept this as a happy ending. In truth, the union is much more miraculous than it seems. Despite all of the hate that the two families were taught to harbor for each other and the evil they endured at the hands of Heathcliff, two characters overcame their loathing and found happiness in each other. 

This is the crucial point in the evil we face. It isn’t enough to endure suffering; we must overcome it. Finding the solution and the happy ending in the pain is the hardest thing humans must face. But circumventing evil and mending its destruction is the most rewarding thing a person can do. 

Theologically, evil exists for a reason. Summed up in a short sentence, it exists as a result of our fallen nature, continues because we deserve it and serves to display the attributes of God. We learn that from Romans 3:23–24 and 5:20. But that is hardly any solace. We have all heard to count our suffering as joy, but practically it seems impossible. 

Generally, people are not proactive in battling evil. Often we lie in our pain instead of taking real steps to overcome it. This comes from the belief that ultimately, there is no purpose to evil. We have to remember that however dark it seems, God is using your suffering to shape you. Even on the other side, the growth might seem small or disproportionate, but even then, we must trust that God has a plan all along. 

Realistically, not all evil has our desired happy ending attached to the end of it. Suffering exists because evil sometimes wins. But the only way to push through it is to trust that someway, somehow, there will be some bit of redemption in the end. We have heard that God has a purpose, but we must decide if we actually believe it. Happy endings do not present themselves; they are sought after. 

“Wuthering Heights” is admittedly a very tough read. In addition to its slightly outdated language, the content of the story is flat-out dark. Despite what Hollywood has portrayed on the big screen, the story is about human evil, hate and torment caused by love. But if you are willing to endure the grim elements, you will be rewarded with a slight speck of hope, all the sweeter for the evil preceding it. 

“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living,” Brontë wrote. “You said I killed you—haunt me then. The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe—I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”