Hello sk80209:

As I recall, it was not "passion" that altered the destinies of Kathy and Heathcliff, it was elitism.  After Kathy had been exposed to life at a wealthy estate, suddenly everything that she knew previously was not good enough including Heathcliff.  After being rejected by Kathy, Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights to obtain a much higher station in life for the purpose of revenge against those who he believed wronged him.  It was a great novel.

Sincerely,

Gail Cooper