Throughout chapters 12 and 13, the reader gathers the impression that Isabella's initial elopement and consequential marriage to Heathcliff is rather falsified and lacking in any love or passion.
As is the case with the majority of the novel, these chapters are narrated to us by Nelly, who makes for an excellent narrator due to her ordinariness. Catherine is a very awkward and irritating character, but Nelly is so resolutely unsympathetic with her that our exasperation with her is deflected. She also forces the reader to evaluate every event for himself, as her judgement cannot be trusted. Through observations and a verbatim epistle from Isabella, Nelly reveals to the reader how Heathcliff manipulates Isabella, and finds a way into her affections. .
In chapter 10, Isabella first tells Catherine of her love for Heathcliff, which is "more than ever [Catherine] loved Edgar." And despite both Catherine and Nelly doing their best to dissuade her, Isabella stubbornly refuses to accept that Heathcliff really is a "fierce, pitiless, wolfish man.".
Catherine then informs Heathcliff of Isabella's feelings, and his response is rather brutal. He refers to her as a "creature," showing how insignificant she is to him. He then says that he would "wrench [her nails] off her fingers if they ever menaced [him]." And then as if the reader needed further convincing of his abhorrence of Isabella, Heathcliff comments that he likes her "too ill to attempt" living with her, in a "very ghoulish fashion". And so it is surprising that Heathcliff defies Catherine's order, that he "must" leave Isabella alone.
The true motivation behind Heathcliff's behaviour is suggested to the reader before Heathcliff actually admits it himself. In chapter 10, he clarifies with Catherine that Isabella is Edgar's heir, and Nelly suspected that he often "recalled" this fact during "the course of the evening.
Isabella was born in the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres on April 22, 1451. ... Through her life Isabella did many great things for the Catholic faith. ... Many disputes and negotiations took place for Isabella's hand in marriage. ... Isabella had a great part in the conquest of Granada in 1492. ... Isabella died in 1504 leaving behind a great legacy, never to be outdone. ...
Isabella was born in the town of Madrigal de las Altas Torres on April 22, 1451. ... Through her life Isabella did many great things for the Catholic faith. ... Many disputes and negotiations took place for Isabella's hand in marriage. ... Isabella had a great part in the conquest of Granada in 1492. ... Isabella died in 1504 leaving behind a great legacy, never to be outdone. ...
Catherine Earnshaw and Isabella Linton are a part of these dissimilar homes and lead different lives through their childhood, marriages, and motherhood. ... The two women find themselves wishing to escape their constricted lives as they venture on their next journey, marriage. ... Catherine's marriage to Linton is based off of not for her love for Edgar, but for her love for Heathcliff. ... Isabella never receives a loving marriage because of Heathcliff's love for Catherine. ... While these marriages are not blissful, they result in pregnancies for both women. ...
When Nelly asks Edgar to "rescue" Isabella from elopement, he refuses to do so. It turns out that Heathcliff is only using Isabella to anger Edgar. This leads to the mistreatment of Isabella and thus, she's stuck in a miserable marriage. ... When Edgar found out about Isabella and Heathcliff's marriage, he refused to retrieve her and said, "Hereafter she is only my sister in name: not because I disown her, but because she disowned me" (p. 122). ... This part of Heathcliff's plot not only causes Isabella to live a miserable marriage, but also drives Edgar to feel betrayed by ...
Since he despises Heathcliff, he makes Heathcliff live as a servant, and separates him from Catherine, sending her to play with the neighbor's children, Edgar and Isabella Linton. ... Heathcliff slyly causes marital distress between the Lintons, and Catherine's early labor and death are attributed to an argument she had with Heathcliff as well. (155) Since Edgar's father left his estate to his daughter, Isabella, Heathcliff also sets his sights on Edgar s sister and deceives her into marriage (126) as payback for Edgar's theft of his childhood friend and one true love. I...
