Wuthering Heights has well earned its place among the many classic masterpieces in this world, and the very reason why that is so is because Emily Bronte came up with a notion that others would more likely believe was incomprehensible: the idea of the burning passions of vengeance sometimes becoming more formidable than the flames of romance.
One of the most common questions in the world is why the idea of revenge is so thrilling to some people. Odysseus, through a well-executed scheme, done away with his wife's vile suitors upon returning home in his magnificent Odyssey. Edmond Dantes, through the agonizing years he spent in the imprisonment of Chateau d'If, quietly schemed his escape and vengeance he would take on those who wrongly imprisoned him without crime, later to become the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. Romeo Montague, to avenge the silent remains of his good-humored friend Mercutio, slaughtered Tybalt in a fit of what he believed to be righteous anger, only to prove himself wrong soon after, forced to flee, then return to lie down in eternal slumber alongside his lover, where rivaling families find the tragic couple, Romeo and Juliet, silenced by death.
The romantic story between Heathcliff and Catherine is one revered by many, being described as one with unparalleled passion between two kindred souls. One would normally expect both of them to ultimately be joined in marriage. However, as joined as the two may have been, anger-stricken Heathcliff felt far more bound to another passion altogether, and that was vengeance, a passion so strong that he would even go so far as to bring Catherine unparalleled grief when he marries Isabella in response to Cathy's marriage to Edgar.
Naturally, people would believe that the heart of Heathcliff is a twisted, malicious one. However, the way he acts is not so far as any ordinary human would normally feel, by internal nature at least. There is a reason why people feel a need to "get even" when they feel like someone has wronged them, and that is because that in every human heart, there lies a Garden of Eden of malice within each and every one of them. The fruit tastes wonderful, and yet it has a negative effect on the soul.
Of course, no one could (supposedly) take it to the extremes that Heathcliff did. However, perhaps the entire purpose Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights was to provide an exaggerated, complex view of the pleasures of vengeance.
No matter how much people wish to deny it, as with any other dark quality about themselves, it's there, and only those with the strongest of wills have the soul to resist the allure of retaliatory malice.
After all, why do you suppose entertainment such as Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, and Princess Bride is so popular nowadays?
