Heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung me out into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke sobbing for joy. That will do to explain my secret, as well as the other. I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there, had not brought Heathcliff so low I shouldn't have thought of it. 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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker rejects conventional happiness and marriage for love that defines their very soul, even if it seems degrading.
- In plain terms
- I would rather be in hell with the person I love than in heaven with someone else.
- What can you take from it?
- True love matters more than social standing or comfort.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is love worth sacrificing stability?
- What defines a worthy partner?
Another view
Idealizing destructive love can lead to self-destruction.
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