The main action of the plot of Wuthering Heights centers around two separate relationship stories, with each consuming approximately half of the volume of the novel. Although the female components of both stories share the same name of Catherine, each have have striking differences that aim to demonstrate certain aspects of one another. Emily Brontë shows us two polar opposite situations that encouraged the relationships within the novel to go sour.

For the sake of chronology, the first relationship that took place between Heathcliff and Cathy will be analyzed first and foremost. Old Mr. Earnshaw found Heathcliff on the side of the road while out on a trip in Liverpool, as explained on page 39. Almost immediately after entering the home, the young Heathcliff came to have a profound liking towards Catherine, who happened to be Mr. Earnshaw's daughter. Despite the clear differences between the two, and with Catherine's brother having a profound hatred for the orphan boy, a deep, lifelong relationship was formed. To the reader, it would have seemed that the bond between the two was unbreakable: it was a near inhuman task to separate them. When Mr. Earnshaw died, however, the bonds of the relationship were strained as far as they could go. Hindley's abuse of power lead him to degrade Catherine and Heathcliff to pathetic levels. One night, they ran away, with no real destination in mind, but to simply get as far away as possible from the wretched home Wuthering Heights had become. When they arrived at Thrusscross Grange, the duo were attacked the by guard dogs employed by the Linton family.

Once discovered by the family, Catherine was taken in to the home, and out of a clear act of racism, Heathcliff was sent back to the Heights. During their separation, the two grew to miss each other terribly, and wanted nothing more than to be with each other. In her time at the Grange, Catherine was exposed to another male figure of her age; a young man named Edgar Linton. As the story continued, we discover that she had developed a liking to both Heathcliff and Edgar, but for very different reasons. She loved Edgar because he would grow up to become a wealthy man of status, and a marriage to him would augment her social status. Edgar had a weak persona, and was not one to pick his own fights. Heathcliff, on the other hand, was a strong hearted and willful young man. Despite all the abuse he withstood from Hindley, he was always pictured to have a strong, unconditioned love for her. Brainwashed with the Linton's unforgiving moral values, she still loved Heathcliff, but claimed she could never be with him.

At one point, she desired nothing more than to be a woman with status, and a marriage with Edgar would promise her that. This sentiment is perfectly expressed with the following quote, where Cathy states her contradicting feelings (page 87). " It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him; and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire". This relationship was doomed because of her indecisiveness, and led Heathcliff to destroy it upon his rise to power.

The second relationship of the novel is seen as being the polar opposite from the first one, despite some elements carrying through. This relationship takes place between Cathy jr. and Linton. Cathy is the daughter of the late Catherine, who died while giving birth to her. Linton is Heathcliff's offspring, but is completely different from him in every imaginable way. Catherine was sheltered her entire life by her father, she had never had any pears, nor had she seen any place other than the Grange and church. Once she was a teenager, she met Linton, and got to spend some time with him, and so she took a liking to him. This feeling was more out of fascination, as according to Brontë, she had never seen a boy before.

Having read many romantic books in her young life, she thought that falling in love with the young Linton would make her life more pleasant than it was, and so, in an immature and childish way, she did. Realizing that a marriage between his son and the immature girl could greatly benefit him, Heathcliff does everything in his power to encourage the two to elope. Heathcliff uses his sons sickness to his advantage, by suckering Catherine into making her feel bad for Linton. To keep his father from abusing him, Linton does what he is told and plays the part of the sick young boy who wants someone to love. Catherine falls for this trick, and becomes infatuated with him. Wanting to quickly wed them before Linton dies, Heathcliff imprisons Catherine and forces her to marry Linton. Once married, Linton reveals how sour he truly is.

He shows this by rubbing it in that his wife's possessions are all his, as quoted from Page 306. " I'm glad, for I shall be master of the Grange after him - and Catherine always spoke it as if it were her house! It isn't hers, it's mine! Papa says everything she has is mine!". Evidently, Linton never loved Catherine, but simply wanted to use her to gain everything she had: not only her material possessions, but also her pride and dignity. Catherine on the other hand, actually had feelings for him, and felt it was her responsibility to nurse him back to health. This relationship falls to pieces soon after the marriage, as Linton dies just days after his marriage. Once Catherine's father dies, control of the Grange falls to Heathcliff, and so his plan was fulfilled.

Having reviewed both major points, it is clear that Bronte is aiming to show us the true meaning of compassionate love. Although she makes the mistake of choosing Edgar over the one she truly loved, the everlasting love between Heathcliff and Cathy was still there. Instead of being a superficial, material love, such as the one seen between Catherine and Linton, Heathcliff and Cathy demonstrate that despite all the obstacles keeping them from being with each other, there is still a clear bond between them. This is in stark contrast to the superficial, immature love between the second generation of characters. Catherine, for example, claimed that she had a deep, compassionate love for Linton.

Through her actions, it is easy to determine that she only likes him because she is desperate to be with someone. This is why Edgar's attempt to shelter her failed miserably; not giving her any exposition to the world made her want someone else in her life; and Linton just happened to be the first one that fit her criteria as person to form a relationship with. Bronte's use of a double story merely highlights the compassion involved in the first relationship, and allows us to understand why Heathcliff completely ruins the lives of those who took away the one thing he loved in his cruel world.