A Different Ending to Romeo and Juliet?

Throughout my reading of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, I couldn't help but notice certain similarities between it and Romeo and Juliet.  They are both about people who are in love with each other, but can't be together due to family issues.  The main difference in Wuthering Heights though is how Catherine and Young Cathy deal with their problems opposed to Romeo and Juliet.

In Romeo and Juliet, they both end up killing themselves because they can't bear to live without the other one.  In Wuthering Heights though, Catherine chooses someone else over her love, Heathcliff, in order to protect him, even though it makes her unhappy.  She decides not to be self-centered, but instead shows her love for Heathcliff by her sacrifice.  During chapter nine, Catherine decides to marry Edgar, "'Nelly, I see now, you think me a selfish wretch; but did it never strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggars? whereas, if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brother's power?'"  Catherine knows that she won't be marrying for love of Edgar Linton, but instead she will be saving Heathcliff and acting out of her love towards him.  Catherine knows if she were to marry Heathcliff, it would only bring harm to them both.  She is faced with a problem, and she chooses to overcome it; instead of thinking of what she wants, she decides to do what is best for both herself and her love.

The same is true later on in the story when Young Cathy decides to marry Linton Heathcliff in order to save both of them from the consequences they would face with Linton's father, Heathcliff.  Young Cathy doesn't necessarily love Linton, and thinks him to be a bit whiny, but she knows his father will hurt him if they do not marry.  She sacrifices herself to make him happy even though it could cause her great pain and struggle.  In chapter twenty-seven, Cathy visits Linton and he pleads with her, "'Oh! darling Catherine! you mustn't go, and leave me, after all.  You must obey my father, you must!'"  Cathy does not want to stay but she knows that Linton will be in harm's way if she leaves, and because she cares about him, she can't do that to him.  She marries him because she feels like she can't do anything else.

Romeo and Juliet were star-crossed lovers who killed themselves because they would rather die than live without the other person.  Both Catherine and Young Cathy choose to overcome their problems in a different and healthier way by sacrificing themselves for their loves.  When they are faced with adversity, they choose compassion and create a different ending to one of time's oldest love stories.