In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights one of the characters, Edgar Linton, seems to receive a bad rap. In our class Socratic Seminar, the consensus was that he was not a good character. It seemed as thought the class was of the opinion that he was just there as a foil of Heathcliff. Everyone who spoke said that they could not find a hero in the novel or someone to root for. Edgar Linton is a foil of Heathcliff but this makes his character much better and in my mind raises him to a point of being the person that I was rooting for. However, I would not call him a hero.
In Wuthering Heights Edgar Linton does not start off as a good character. Early in the novel when he and his sister Isabella are young they are seen fighting over a dog. They both are acting like brats and Heathcliff loathes them. However, as the novel progresses Edgar Linton matures into a responsible and caring young man. After marrying Catherine (and before) he loves her very much and would sacrifice anything for her. When Heathcliff makes his visits to Thrushcross Grange to see Catherine, it makes her very stressed and ill. She cannot have both Edgar and Heathcliff. So, Edgar tells her to choose whom she wants the most, even if he is not the choice. Edgar wants for her to be happy over what he wants, which is of course to be with her. After Catherine has her daughter Edgar tries to protect her from harm and also tries to protect Linton from Heathcliff before Heathcliff comes and claims him. Cathy loves her father very much so this shows how much he cares for her. At least Cathy shows her love for Edgar better than Catherine.
In our culture, this often happens to people. The good in people is often overlooked because of other things that are less important, such as the way they look, the way they dress, where they are from or live, or the way they have acted in the past. Many people are not judged (for lack of a better word) by their character, but instead by the things listed previously. People can easily overlook the love that people show for each other and the sacrifices they make for each other. Catherine overlooks the love that Edgar Linton showed her. She marries him for his status and is unfaithful to him by the way that she shows so much love for Heathcliff. Edgar is just a toy to her.
Edgar Linton is a good person does not receive the treatment that he deserves. Edgar shows so much sacrifice and love to Catherine that is not seen by her. She selfishly sees Heathcliff over her own husband. However, Edgar is not a hero. A hero must be a role model that can be followed. Edgar is not a role model because he is very weak and he seems too spoiled.
