Tuesday, May 5, 2015

What Violence Solves

Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends - they wound those who resort to them, worse than their enemies. 
Brontë, Emily. Wuthering Heights. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, 155

These are the words of Isabella Heathcliff née Linton. They are offered in response to a suggestion by Hindley Earnshaw that the two of them murder her husband, Heathcliff. I think there is some truth to these words. Just ask Michael Corleone. There is, on the other hand, also some truth to Hindley's retort that "treachery and violence are a just return for treachery and violence." 

And as long as we're talking truth here just let me say that if ever there was a character in literature more deserving of a healthy dose of treachery and violence it's Heathcliff. He's a real bastard. 

But also a lot of fun to read.  

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