8, depicts an incident of Catherine's hot-tempered wild nature which she could not hide in front of Edgar. Her real character is revealed in attacking the servant, her baby nephew, and Edgar.
Characterization & Narration Technique:.
The writer builds up tension prior to the quarrel scene in both, the characters and the readers, to introduce the violent storm which will take place. It also, serves to show the tensed feelings of the main party concerned, to reinforce the idea that whenever or wherever heathcliff appears everybody gets tensed, and is a warning that a problem is on the way to occur.
This scene reveals a lot about the three main characters concerned. .
a. Catherine:.
This scene clearly shows her to be a hypocrite who is deceiving Edgar and his family with her external look and polished manners in their presence which is the opposite of her real temper with her family at home. It also depicts her as ill-tempered and disrespectful to others. Moreover, it shows that she has a domineering aggressive character which leads her to act as mistress of the house in the absence of the real master. For example, she orders the servant not to clean the room in her presence and claims getting annoyed at the servants' interfering in her privacy with her friend. Also, she demands Edgar to say where he is going after she strikes him, forbidding him to leave by force then by tears and plea. She also threatens him for the first time to fall sick if he left her displaying her method of achieving her wishes which will eventually bring her tragic end. Moreover, this scene shows her selfishness and pride in attacking the servant, who is often her consulate, and expecting no complaint from her side. Finally, her cruelty and lack of mercy on weak creatures is apparent in striking both the servant and the helpless child. In conclusion, this quarrel gives a picture of the true manners of Catherine implying that her hot-temper will make the gentle and repressed life of Edgar Linton unsuitable for her.
