I have many questions and doubts regarding sexual relationships of the characters in the book.
**Heathcliff + Isabella** — how did he even save sex with her if he hated her so much? this is beyond me. they marry when she was only 18.
**Hindley + Frances** — how was he allowed a union with a woman of no status not money? she was presumably 16 when brought home with him. so, a teenager already having sex with an older man there is also a quote from the book: “there they were, like two babies, kissing and talking nonsense”, based on which looks like a lot of romantic moments were spent in front of everyone else in the house. how far that kissing would come?
**Edgar + Catherine E.** — they married when he was 21 and she was 17. Cathy was presumably conceived the same year, so they clearly had sex at this age already. how did it feel since Catherine had probably not received any education on the subject? did they feel like rightful masters of Thrushcross Grange at this young age? judging from the book, they were very much in love + considering they were so young, living alone (with no children) at such a big property probably meant a lot of kissing and hugging everywhere?
**Heathcliff + Catherine E.** — what are your speculation about any sexual intercourse or overall intimacy? maybe when running off to the moors?
**Linton Heathcliff + Cathy** — their whole relationship seems very queer and platonic. however, since Cathy was very passionate, she should have for sure exhibited some desire for intimacy towards Linton? I don’t believe though that he would answer it.
**Hareton E. + Cathy** — the most natural couple to me, considering they both were very passionate and lively people. would be very interesting to see how their relationship unfolds.
**Ellen** — the canon is that she has no family?
(all assumptions about the characters’ age are taken from the almanac [https://wuthering-heights.co.uk/timeline](https://wuthering-heights.co.uk/timeline))
by empress_crown
3 Comments
Do you understand that “teenager” is a 20th-century concept? It evolved over time and due to a lot of historical influences – for example in the great depression there was no work, so more people stayed to finish high school who previously would’ve simply left, started working, and begun families, and then in the 1950s you see the establishment of a consumption culture aimed at adolescents that in turn helps to establish the cultural idea of the teenager.
Through most of human history there was no such thing as teenagers. You got married, you had kids. Among the laboring classes, this happened quite young; in classes where men needed more education or were waiting on inheritance, they would be older but they would still marry very young women. Because the point of marriage for such men was to have a male heir, fertility was a big selling point.
If you think these people are getting married young, you should try reading Jane Austen! But no one’s doing anything wrong here. I mean, obviously Heathcliff is horrible to Isabella, but her age isn’t the problem there.
When we read this novel, we have to remember it was written by an unmarried woman who would have had little knowledge of the physical side of marriage. She would likely have known the mechanics, of course, but in her era, people didn’t discuss sex openly – or even allude to it, if they were the mannerly type.
So, she wouldn’t want to have any mention of sex in her book. As it was, critics already denounced it as immoral. So when we’re reading the novel, we’re reading of a world in which sex basically doesn’t exist. Babies just happen to married people.
Nellie not having a family is basically part of the author’s 19th century class privilege. Those wealthy enough to have servants didn’t see servants as fully actualized people with families of their own. You can see this same blindness extending to the 1940s (think of Mammy from *Gone With the Wind*, as an example.)
>Heathcliff + Isabella — how did he even save sex with her if he hated her so much?
Umm… you seem to have no idea just how horrible some people can be?? This is literally a thing. Plenty of people have sex and hate each other. Just look at any awful, failed marriage??
Also this was from a time in English history where people did NOT talk about sexual matters. We’re still quite reserved today (depending on where you grow up – there are massive differences in terms of background/class, etc.).