Parallels: Wuthering Heights and Beyond

One of the major elements of Wuthering Heights that we discussed in class was the parallel between generations.

The first generation, composed of Edgar, Cathy 1.0, and Heathcliff, was driven by the wrong impulses, made bad decisions, or otherwise generally screwed things up.  The second generation, composed of Linton, Cathy 2.0, and Hareton, was initially affected by the decisions of the first; however, by the end of the book, Cathy 2.0 and Hareton have found happiness, in a way redeeming the faults of the first generation.

That being said, the parallel between generations reminded me of another work.

In the Star Wars universe, there are many similar parallels.  In the first generation, Anakin and Padme's love doesn't exactly work out, to say the least.  Multiple other errors are made by that first generation.  Anakin is analogous to both Heathcliff and Edgar in that he makes foolish decisions because of his love; as a result, everybody loses.

By contrast, in the second generation, Luke and Leia avoid making those same mistakes.  Luke and Leia learn that they are siblings, and Leia falls in love with Han Solo instead; in this respect, they're luckier than the Wuthering Heights trio, who had to go through a lot more before Hareton and Cathy 2.0 fell in love.  In a more broad sense as well, Luke's generation fixes the mistakes of Anakin's generation by destroying the Empire.

Essentially, both Wuthering Heights and Star Wars involve a second generation which rectifies the errors of the first, providing resolution to the story.