Task 1
Evaluate the plight of Victorian women as seen in Catherine and Isabella’s situation.
In the novel ‘Wuthering Heights’, it can be argued that Emily Brontë sets out on a mission to exploit the oppression of women using dark symbolism, numerous female characters who suffer through abuse and torment and conventions of psychological and paranormal horror gothic tales to horrify the readers and warn them of the consequences of corrosive, damaging abuse of authority in certain families, especially from overbearing, selfish and dominating male figures and to critique the position of women within the institution of marriage and society.
Firstly, it can be argued that the plight of Victorian women is seen in Catherine Earnshaw’s situation when she marries Edgar Linton. As a rule for women at that point in history, she thus had to lose all the rights single women were permitted to have and eventually succumbs to madness under the pressure of their marriage. In Victorian times, the law was that women and all their possessions became their husbands’ property once they married. The submissive role Catherine is forced to undertake as a woman in the Victorian era has clear negative effects on her, which implies the harm such constriction does to a person. Indeed, when Edgar demands she ‘must’ choose between him or Heathcliff (with the forceful adverb ‘absolutely and modal verbs ‘require’ and ‘must’ reflecting his strict dominance over her), Catherine responds to this authority by breaking down into ‘senseless, wicked rages’ and eventually descending into a darker, more troubling state – the state of madness as she ‘stretches herself out stiff’, her cheeks become ‘blanched’ and ‘assume the aspect of death’. The semantic field of violence used to describe her behaviour emphasises her lack of control and the intensity of her rage as she ‘rings the bell till it breaks with a twang’, ‘dashes her head against the arm of the sofa’ and ‘grinds her teeth, so that you might fancy she would crash them to splinters’. Alarmed by the intensity of her rage, the reader gets the feeling that this madness is a result of her entrapment in her marriage to Edgar and that she is desperately thrashing out in frustration, feeling caged by her husband’s demands. This idea of a restraining strict marriage is reflected in the symbolism of books – which Edgar spends his time reading instead of caring for Catherine, something she resents him for. Indeed, books traditionally represent education and nobility – things Edgar Linton’s whole life revolve around as a high-class gentleman. Through her annoyance about his distraction with the books, Catherine could be accusing him of prioritising these things over her, as if he believes class and sophistication matter more than her. He is more willing to abide by the rules of society that dictate that a woman should be dominated by her husband’s wishes, than to care for his wife’s own well-being – something the law at that time ignored, believing it was only right for women to be completely under the rule of men. The idea of these suppressed female roles being unnatural and damaging is conveyed to the reader through the eerie underlying paranormal element to her fit, highlighted in the chilling and unnatural description of her ‘hair flying over her shoulders’ ‘her eyes flashing’ and the ‘muscles of her neck and arms standing out prenaturally’ – the adverb ‘prenaturally’ really emphasising the unnatural paranormal reaction she is having. This scene, made powerful through the intensity of its violence and terror, conveys Catherine’s torment to the reader and makes them feel both unnerved and compassionate towards her, seeing the chilling, horrible damage her suppressed emotions and lack of freedom is having on her. In addition, she imagines her husband and sister-in-law, the two high-class members of her family, looking at her 'terrified and repelled', 'solemnly' standing by watching her die and then being glad of her death, ‘offering prayers of thanks to God for restoring peace to the house’. This could represent Catherine's feel of being suppressed in her marriage and social status - she feels most disapproved of by her higher-class husband and sister-in-law. Her marriage with Edgar meant she was marrying into a higher-class family but she seems to suffer more than benefit from this, dreaming of abandoning the luxurious Thrushcross Grange ‘I wish I were out of doors’ and returning to the moors where she roamed wildly as a child. Her hallucinations about Wuthering Heights show how strong her wish to become ‘the half-savage, hardy and free girl’ she once was is and how deep it is that it is taking control of her mental health, making her see haunting apparitions ‘I see a face in the wall’. She wants to escape Thrushcross Grange, which symbolizes, as a house belonging to a respectable, high-class family, Victorian society with its strict rules towards women. Catherine’s hallucinations are her fantasy, her escape from the patriarchal entrapment of her marriage and the strict rules of Victorian society.
Furthermore, the suffering of women under the rules of the Victorian Era is shown in Cathy Linton losing her inheritance to Heathcliff. Through forcing her to marry his son, Heathcliff secures himself in the line of inheritance in the Linton family as Cathy’s last paternal figure – her father-in-law and uncle. His barbaric bullying to secure the Linton estate and property emphasises the unfairness and oppressiveness of this patriarchal system. Indeed, during the Victorian era, men were the preferred heirs and automatically inherited what their female relatives could have inherited due to their dominant position in society. Thus, when her father dies, Cathy’s inheritance goes straight to Heathcliff as the most dominant male in her family. This not only robs Cathy of her privilege and social position as a highborn young lady but forces her to live in poverty in the dilapidated Wuthering Heights manor – a degrading humiliation – and enables the greedy and evil Heathcliff to obtain even more power. Not being able to own property was damaging to Victorian women in general because not only there was a loss of mental development and independence of character gained by possession and thoughtful appropriation of money but also a loss of a fundamental moral right to own property and earnings.
In addition, Heathcliff’s abusive and tyrannical behaviour towards his wife Isabella represents the repression of women in the Victorian era in marriage. Women were the property of their father until they were married and the ownership then transferred to their husband. The law was that when a woman married, she lost all her rights as a single woman and her existence was entirely absorbed in that of her husband. Married woman lived under their husband’s protection or cover and were in his custody, which he was legally allowed to enforce. They had to submit to their husbands’ wishes at all times. Isabella is a victim of this very tyrannical system. She marries Heathcliff out of naiveté and finds herself entrapped in a violent and hateful marriage. Indeed, in Chapter 14, the abuse she suffers is shown when Nelly visits her and Heathcliff at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is physically violent with his wife, ‘seizing’ her and ‘thrusting her from the room’ and verbally abusive, using vulgar and zoophilic insults ‘creature’ ‘she degenerates into a mere slut’ ‘brach’. He gleefully establishes his dominant position as her husband in a patronising and tyrannical manner, disdainfully calling her a ‘child’, ordering her about ‘upstairs, I tell you!’ and patronisingly reminding her that he is her ‘legal protector and must retain [her] in [his] custody’, employing legal jargon which reminds the reader that his cruel imprisonment of Isabella is protected by the law. There is also an interesting contrast between the shape and structure of Heathcliff and Isabella’s sentences. Heathcliff usually addresses her with commanding questions – giving off an air of stern, even vicious authority: ‘you have written, have you?’ ‘And nothing since?’ – and his frequent use of exclamation marks echoing his firm, forceful tone: ‘that will do for the present!’. Isabella answers in shorter, meeker sentences, that diminish in length as Heathcliff presses on with his demanding questions: ‘To say that I was married, I did write- you saw the note’ ‘No.’. This contrast reflects the power balance in their relationship: Heathcliff is in the position of power – a dominant, tyrannical force prevailing over her, forcing her into an inferior position of vulnerability and weakness, reflected by her shorter, submissive answers to him. This represents the repressive structure of marriage during the Victorian era and highlights the submissive roles women had to take on.
In conclusion, Emily Brönte uses the stories of the women in Wuthering Heights to paint a dark, depressing portrait of the lives of women in the Victorian era – represented by Isabella, Cathy and Catherine- that reflects the injustice of unequal status of women in marriage, the cruel prevention of women expressing their freedom and intelligence, the consequences of toxic family relationships and unrealistic standards for women in society. However, it can be argued that Wuthering Heights is more forward-looking in certain aspects. For example, Isabella manages to flee her abusive husband and captor Heathcliff and find a better life in London with her son. She trumps his power as a male, displaying courage and strength as well as finding her freedom at last, and thus has shown her ability to resist the patriarchal society. In addition, Cathy Linton stays true to her promise that Heathcliff ‘won’t, from mere malice, destroy irrevocably all [her] happiness’. Indeed, she ends up finding love with Hareton and turns her life around, transforming the dark Wuthering Heights into a place of sweet love and harmony. This leaves the readers with a final glimmer of hope: she has finally escaped the patriarchal world of oppression against women despite her father-in-law’s tyrannical abuse– here the reader is encouraged that women can achieve freedom and escape society’s constraints!
Task 2
Make sure you understand the sequence of events in the narration through Isabella’s letter (Chapter 13). Make a bullet point list: What aspects of the story does this plot device make known to the readers?
Isabella’s letter reveals her marriage with Heathcliff has already turned sour – it was most clearly an act by Heathcliff to get revenge on Edgar Linton
On his return to the moors, Heathcliff inspected Thrushcross Grange’s grounds as if they were his own – he’s already executing his revenge plan, seeming fairly confident of it
Isabella discovers the dark atmosphere and neglected state of Wuthering Heights – an outsider’s look at the house gives the reader a clear view of the house and conveys the tragic degradation that has taken place in the house and amongst its members
Heathcliff insults Isabella and accuses her brother of making Catherine’s illness worse and promises to punish her for his deeds – the reader sees his cruel, unfair side and how twisted his beliefs are – his far-fetched cynicism seems to border on insanity, driven by his tireless desire for revenge on Edgar who mocked him as a child and stole his lover
Isabella admits she was wrong in eloping with Heathcliff ‘I have been a fool!’ – so strong is Heathcliff’s abuse that finally reality has trumped over her strong naiveté
Task 3
Edgar refuses to have anything to do with her- what is your response to his reaction?
When Edgar solemnly declares that ‘[Isabella] has disowned him’ and that they are ‘eternally divided’, one could argue he appears as rather overdramatic. The adverb ‘eternally’ sounds rather romanticised. I think Edgar’s attachment to social positions is made strong by his upbringing in a rich, sophisticated house with quite haughty parents – this is demonstrated in their scornful attitude towards the lower-class Heathcliff, Isabella once calling him a ‘frightful thing’ and calling for him to be ‘put in the cellar’ and Edgar making fun of his hair, calling it a ‘colts’ mane over his eyes’. Therefore his strong attachment to society and its rules prevents him from making an effort to preserve his relationship with his sister – who has disgraced the family name by eloping with a lower-class ‘gypsy’- and thus their relationship meets a tragic end. It is also a cruel victory for Heathcliff who wants to get revenge on the pair and succeeds by forcing this rift. However if Edgar would have lowered his pride and reached out to his sister, he could have saved Heathcliff the satisfaction of seeing the two siblings apart. After all, Isabella is his younger sister and he should be more mature than her and take initiative to repair the relationship. His refusal to see Isabella unless she ‘persuades the villain she has married to leave the country’ shows how deep his dislike of Heathcliff runs – he will have nothing to do with the lower-class man who stole Catherine’s heart from him and now Isabella’s.
Consider the perspectives of Heathcliff the outsider: Monster or hero? A Byronic hero?
It is often debated whether Heathcliff is a monstrous or heroic figure in the novel ‘Wuthering Heights’. To a certain extent, he could be regarded as a Byronic hero. Indeed, he is a mysterious, handsome young man with mysterious origins and a troubled past who is the main love interest of the story. His ambition and desire to experience the forbidden (he enjoys breaking the rules to impress Cathy by running off her into the moors, risking getting flogged by his older brother) could be seen as a rather attractive, wild and adventurous side to him. He is intelligent, cunning but unobtainable it would seem. Isabella, as a young girl, ‘evinces a sudden and irresistible attraction towards’ Heathcliff and insists she sees ‘an honourable, true soul’ in him. She must be attracted by his mysterious and dashing appearance. His ugly-duckling-style transformation from a rough servant to a gentleman after his mysterious three-year-disappearance is also very mysterious and impressive and the reader cannot help but feel admiration for this man who set out to change his life and succeeded.
But Heathcliff can only be called a ‘hero’ to a very limited extent. Byronic heroes usually have redeemable qualities but as Catherine says, Heathcliff is ‘no rough diamond’. He is just as hostile as he appears. Catherine warns her infatuated sister-in-law that Heathcliff does not ‘conceal depths of benevolence and affection beneath a stern exterior’. Heathcliff’s unpleasant nature is explored throughout the novel in various ways. He is fatally flawed. He is a violent man, beating Isabella and Cathy, young and defenceless women and inciting violence when he is annoyed by them: ‘“Drag her away!” Heathcliff cried savagely’, ‘Heathcliff had caught hold of her’, ‘he had his hand in her hair’, ‘he seemed ready to tear Catherine in pieces’ ‘he seized her with the liberated hand, and pulling her on his knee, administered with the other a shower of terrific slaps on the side of the head’. He is also sadistic, taking great pleasure in causing harm to other people: ‘I shall enjoy myself remarkably in thinking your father will be miserable: I shall not sleep for satisfaction’. His other faults include greed ‘avarice is growing with him a besetting sin’ and bullying ‘I know how to chastise children, you see’. He is completely unfeeling and cold, only viciously repeating to himself that ‘he has no pity’ when he has just abused the small and helpless Isabella. Even when his love Catherine dies, he has nothing but angry, bitter words to spew out, declaring that he wishes she would ‘wake in torment’ and branding her ‘a liar to the end’. This shows his dark, twisted perspective of life – he only sees the bad in even the good things, including his dearest love.
However, it can be argued that Heathcliff is neither monster nor hero – a tragic mix of the two, stuck in his own chaos and misery. His background is very sad - he was found as a ‘starving and houseless’ child in the streets of Liverpool by Mr Earnshaw who brought the ‘dirty, ragged, black-haired’ child home and raised him as one of his own. Favoured by Mr Earnshaw and rejected by everyone else, he becomes ‘a sullen, patient child; hardened, perhaps, to ill-treatment’ with Hindley and Joseph beating him frequently throughout his childhood. This is perhaps why he has violent tendencies as an adult – they are a reaction to his own mistreatment as a child. His potentially redeemable qualities are not exactly clear but at the beginning of the novel, we do see the soft, innocent child in him at one time in particular when he begs Nelly to ‘make him decent’ because ‘he’s going to be good’ to impress the newly-sophisticated Catherine. During this scene, Nelly manages to inspire him to become a cheerful and kind boy. His face ‘gradually loses its frown’, ‘brightens’ and ‘begins to look quite pleasant’ before Edgar arrives and ruins Heathcliff’s attempts to stay cheerful by rudely commenting on his long hair. Heathcliff’s anger overcomes him and he ‘dashes’ a ‘tureen of hot apple sauce’ against the offender’s face. Thus we can see that his innocence has been smothered by all the discrimination and unkindness he has been subject to because of his foreign roots and background, making him the hardened man he is later in the novel. Furthermore the physical degradation of the house reflects Heathcliff’s own descent into further darkness: he is becoming more and more intent on revenge and fierce in his hatred and cruelty, neglecting the house: ‘kitchen – a dingy, untidy hole’, the furniture ‘damaged’ ‘deformed’ and ‘obliterated by dust’. It is as if he is decaying along with the house itself. Yet the house is turned into a nice place at the end of the novel when Cathy and Hareton manage to restore peace and harmony to the house through their loving relationship. The renewed cheerful and friendly atmosphere of Wuthering Heights is shown through the fresh, pleasant ‘fragrance of stocks and wallflowers wafting on the air from amongst the homely fruit-trees’ (the connotations of flowers – sweetness, life and beauty – painting a romantic, almost magical picture of the place) and the welcoming, free look to the house with ‘both doors and lattices open’ and ‘a fine, red fire illuming the chimney’. The fact that such a dark place, haunted by violence and hatred, could be transformed into such a magical, cheerful place makes the reader wonder that maybe such a transformation could have been possible for Heathcliff if he had been surrounded by love as well. So perhaps there was a good side to him, just buried under years of hurt and abuse.
Task 4
Catherine warns Isabella about Heathcliff; she says, ‘he’s not a rough diamond. He’s a fierce, pitiless wolfish man’ - evaluate her assessment.
A ‘rough diamond’ is defined as a person who is generally of good characters but lacks manners, education or style. When Catherine tells Isabella Heathcliff is not a rough diamond, she means that he is devoid of goodness: there is no hidden compassion in him and he is exactly as he seems. She uses zoomorphism, calling him ‘wolfish’. Wolfs are animals associated with hunting, viciousness, cunning and the wild and by using this adjective, Catherine emphasises Heathcliff’s lack of civility, aggressive ‘pitiless’, ‘fierce character and greed through this dark imagery – he is hunting for revenge and benefits for himself at all times just like a wolf hunts for prey.