1. CA 04
Compare and contrast the authors’ presentation of the theme of love in “Wuthering Heights” and
“The Mill on the Floss.”
Once Mother Theresa stated that the hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than
the hunger for bread. George Eliot and Emily Bronte have proved this statement through their
novels, “The Mill on the Floss” and “Wuthering Heights”. Yet they have presented the theme of love
differently.
It is very significant that the setting of these two novels is much more similar. Both Maggie
who is the female protagonist of “The Mill on the Floss” and Catherine who is the female protagonist
of “Wuthering Heights” have a brother and two lovers. The childhood friend becomes the first lover.
Catherine selects Edgar instead of Heathcliff by considering the social status and the luxurious life
that she receives after the marriage. Similarly, Maggie selects Stephen instead of Philip in order to
lead a comfortable married life. In this respect, both female characters have kept aside their true
love for a materialistic life.
Even though both authors have emphasized the theme of love with a similar setting, Emily
Bronte has provided much prominence to it. Throughout her novel, she has described the intense
love between Catherine and Heathcliff. Catherine’s love towards Heathcliff is declared as, “he’s
more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same“(Bronte, 81).
These lines prove Aristotle’s aphorism, “love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.”
After the death, their souls are united by proving the other fact that even the death cannot separate
the true love. This kind of intense love cannot observe between Maggie and Philip. Maggie even
does not declare her love toward Philip as Catherin does. Some critics cite that Maggie’s and Philip’s
love is mainly based on the sympathy and camaraderie. In this regard, according to Robert
Sternberge’s theory of love, Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s love can be described as a consummate love
which consists of intimacy, passion and commitment. Yet Maggie and Philip cannot be placed under
the category of consummate lovers as their love is not intense as Catherine’s and Heathcliff’s.
Yet George Eliot has given more emphasis on brotherly love than Emily Bronte. From the
outset of the novel, Eliot has built up a strong relationship between Tom and Maggie and has
maintained it until the story ends by stating that “In their death, they were not divided” (Eliot, 535).
Yet Bronte has not developed such a severe relationship between Catherine and Hindley.
According to my point of view, more than love, George Eliot has concerned the theme of life.
She has used Maggie’s relationships to discuss the human nature. In this respect, for George Eliot,
love is mere a tool that can be used to analyze human nature and social life which is full of obstacles
yet continuously flowing.
Works Cited
“The Triangular Theory of Love.”, maudlin tales. Wordspress, 03 April 2012. Web. 08 May 2014.
Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. London: Penguin Group. 1994. Print.
Dissanayake, Chandana. “The Mill on the Floss.” Sabaragamuwa University. Belihul Oya. 06 May
2014. Lecture.
Dissanayake, Chandana. “Wuthering Heights.” Sabaragamuwa University. Belihul Oya. 10 March
2014. Lecture.
Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss. London: Penguin Group. 1994. Print.
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