Imagine, if you will, that the world was to meet its demise tomorrow, and life would once and for all cease to exist. In the midst of complete chaos and destruction, one thing is sure to be running through the minds of all of humanity: personal salvation. In the event that tomorrow would mark everyones death, Christians, Jews, Atheists, and Muslims alike would want to know, if salvation exists, did they manage to attain it? In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the world is not coming to an end, however, death is in the air and romantic, religious, and self-created salvation is evident everywhere. This tale of vengeance, jealousy, obsession, hate, and love details many kinds of …show more content…
In this case, Joseph and Nelly Dean’s pain and suffering are derived from sin and the cost of their sin. God says that salvation is achieved through accepting Jesus as our savior and living our lives in honor of him. Joseph repeatedly comments on the devil, heaven, Scripture, the Lord, and the Bible, proving his firm beliefs in the Christian faith. While almost every time he speaks Joseph manages to reference christianity, Nelly Dean is fairly more subtle in introducing her religious views. Upon responding to Heathcliff’s irrational fasting and happiness, Nelly Dean admonishes “you have lived a selfish and unchristian life; and probably hardly had a bible in your hands during that period” (page 313). She then goes on to say that Heathcliff is unfit for heaven and he should not be so happy and ready for death because in no way has he managed to earn salvation. This shows that Nelly Dean believes that God’s way to salvation is the only way and that is the path she has chosen to follow. Since Joseph and Nelly Dean would have to die in order for us to see their salvation, it cannot be declared whether or not they obtained it. It can, however, be said that in order to achieve salvation in heaven, both Joseph and Nelly Dean must first bear through the sinful and unrighteous life on