Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights, Chapter IX (1847)
Source checked by an editor
When and why it was written
- When
- From Wuthering Heights, published in 1847.
- Why
- Catherine tells Nelly why she loves Heathcliff, even as she plans to marry Linton.
What it means
Catherine describes love as recognition rather than choice: the other person is made of what you are made of.
The novel shows how much damage follows when that recognition is denied.
Our reading of the passage cited above, not a quotation from a commentary.
Read the source
Wuthering Heights, 1847
Your turn
What does this bring up for you?
Saved to this device only. Nothing is sent to a server.
Continue transfers only this reflection. Review your account before saving. Your original browser copy stays here.
Read next
There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter XXXI (1813)
We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.
Persuasion, Chapter VIII (1817)
Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.
Frankenstein, Chapter 23 (1818)