A paragraph on Heathcliff

If a contemporary psychotherapist sat down with Heathcliff, in a neutral, quiet setting with plush sofa chairs and a tape recorder, he might be diagnosed as sociopathic. He has little to no conscience (the biggest indicator of a sociopath), and even where it regards the love of his life, the focus of his entire being, Catherine, he thinks of himself first. He is extremely intelligent, but uses this intelligence to extract revenge on alleged enemies. The thing is, if he were to leave them alone and go about his life, these so-called enemies would never interfere with him.

Yes, he is also a fellow to be pitied. A childhood devoid of parental love and guidance hardened him early on, so that the only people he could feel for were himself and Catherine. He describes his life as an adult to be a living hell, a constant torture of being without Catherine but always haunted by her. It is made clear to him that he is unwanted by all, that he is a lowly, undeserving, dirty gypsy-changeling, an evil to the Earnshaw family and anyone he comes into contact with. Instead of recovering from this abuse, he uses it to plan longterm revenge on everyone who ever had a part in torturing him. Even when the plan loses its flavor, Heathcliff's every endeavor is to stamp his enemies and social betters underfoot. Very few of his actions are good or well-intended, and even what he does towards Catherine is tainted by his selfishness. He was an extremely unlikable, but very engaging character.