Mr. Earnshaw’s Unusual Favoritism

Ever since Heathcliff comes to live with the Earnshaws, Mr. Earnshaw does whatever he can to protect him. On the first night Heathcliff spends at Wuthering Heights, Catherine and Hindley refuse to have him in their room, and Nelly Dean leaves the boy to sleep on the stairs. When he learns about what has happened, Mr. Earnshaw takes radical measures against the servant, as narrated by her, “I was obliged to confe

Emily Brontë clearly shows Mr. Earnshaw’s preference for his foster child through the character’s actions and words. Yet, she never introduces a compelling explanation for why he has this unusual preference. Also, throughout the story, there is not a very convincing motivation to clarify why Mr. Earnshaw brings a child of unknown background to his house. Many theories can be formed to explain Mr. Earnshaw’s words and actions. One speculation that could explain his atypical love for Heathcliff is that the boy is his legitimate son with another woman. This idea would also explain why Heathcliff is brought to Wuthering Heights and why he is Mr. Earnshaw’s favorite, since both Catherine and Hindley have serious flaws that would easily allow Heathcliff to be more esteemed. This assumption; however, is not conclusively supported by the text, and there is space for other hypotheses to be made. Nevertheless, it is certain that Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is a remarkably complex narration, and theories such as this can be made for other situations in the story, which may never be truly understood or com

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