Conflict in Wuthering Heights and La Belle Dame Sans Merci :: miscellaneous

Conflict in Wuthering senior high and La Belle Dame Sans MerciThe conflicting theme demonstrated throughout Wuthering Heights is remarkably similar to the theme implicit in La Belle Dame sans Merci. This conflict is in the form of appearances, Illusion vs. Reality and man vs. nature and is personified through the characters, as well as the coincidence of Gothic pealings in both texts. In Wuthering Heights this parallel is shown through Heathcliff, who is vulnerable after go head over heel for Catherine. Similarly in La Belle Dame sans Merci the Knight is in exactly the same position, as Heathcliff, as hes entranced by the beauty that is La Belle. Both La Belle and Catherine have an illusional, captivating appearance that charms Heathcliff and the Knight, yet reality strikes when their true personalities are shown through their wild, parlous nature thats personified by gothic surroundings. La Belle is described as, Full beautifula fairys child, her hair was long, her foot was li ght, and her eyes were wild. (14, 15, 16)This translation creates a conflicting idea of her, on one hand there is this fascinating, beautiful and innocent woman, yet on the other hand there is this routine with gothic qualities and frightening wild eyes referring to nature. This is comparable to Catherine, A wild, wick slip she wasbut she had the bonniest eye, the sweetest smile, and the lightest foot in the parish. (Chapter V, page42)Catherines depiction is of a wild, groundless creature yet at the same time a beautiful, sweet and childlike girl. The use of wild in both Catherine and La Belles descriptions shows their similarity in nature. The similarities of their descriptions of a charming, appealing appearances compared with their saucy, wild natures demonstrate the comparison of conflict within these texts. After meeting with the knight, La Belle allows him to temporarily make her his object of affection. kind of coyly, she returns this affection with her looks of love and sweet moans (19, 20).The consequences for the knight are disastrous, as hes caught in the snare of her beauty and wiles, blinding him to the warnings of the changes in nature that surround him. This is exactly the case of conflict in Wuthering Heights, where Heathcliff is entranced by Catherine and her beauty in the early stages of his life. This is disastrous, as he is fuelled by jealousy of others close to Catherine resulting in the majority of conflict present in the latter stages of the novel.