Feminist Characters In Pride And Juliet By William Shakespeare

The culture of set societal rules and conventions urges Catherine to be with Edgar, compelling her to be ‘the greatest woman of the neighbourhood’ due to them being relatively firm in their gentry’s status. This suggests the importance of her social status against the nature of her love for Heathcliff stating, ‘we would be beggars’, through employing the word ‘beggars’ the reader crafts the idea of her belief that she won’t survive without her status. Catherine admits ‘It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him’ Thus implying a swelling sense of her vanity and pride; enough to enjoy the position she gains from being married to Edgar despite her admiration for Heathcliff, being ‘more than (herself) than (she is)’and

Romeo and Juliet is a very sexist play. As much as we don’t want to admit it, sexism is still happening. Out of the nineteen apparent

Emily Bronte uses effects of the characters’ actions to show that individuals who exhibit narcissistic personality disorder cannot participate in a functional, fulfilling relationship. Her ideas gain clarity when looking at each relationship involving a narcissist individually. Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw’s ties, central to the novel’s plot, encounter numerous and nasty obstacles as a result of their unending love - for themselves. Despite claiming to love each other unconditionally, to the point where Cathy claims “I am Heathcliff” (Bronte ), they consistently act on their own urges with no concern for the other. Hence, their feelings never actually come to fruition before Catherine dies. Nevertheless, the mutual burning passion between the two not only results in love, but a fair amount of hatred. When Catherine’s illness leads her to her deathbed, instead of comforting her, Heathcliff berates her for causing him pain, going so far as to say she’s “possessed with a devil” (Bronte ) for the way she acts toward him. Before her death, many other issues were at hand. Another one of the faults in their “love” is their need to make each other jealous. Cathy marries Edgar for the wealth and honor (Bronte ch. 9) and Heathcliff marries Isabella to make Edgar angry (Bronte ch. 11) according to each of the star-crossed lovers. However, their ulterior motives are clear: to make the other want themselves more through jealousy.

William Shakespeare, in his play Romeo and Juliet, portrayed two young individuals trapped in the times when freedom to choose personal destinies was highly restricted. They lived in a very patriarchal environment, where women had no chance to experience youth, and men were expected to resolve conflicts with swords instead of words. Romeo and Juliet did not resonate with the expectations pressured upon them. The couple was quite unique compared to the others surrounding them – Romeo was not too interested in proving his manhood, and Juliet was not just a passive female figure accepting everything that was thrown her way. Juliet possessed some masculine characteristics, whereas Romeo was more feminine than it was acceptable back then. Possibly,

Eventually Catherine and Heathcliff became friends again and fall in love with each other. Although it was obvious that Catherine loved Heathcliff, Catherine felt obligated to marry someone from the upper-class, like Edgar Linton, instead of a peasant like Heathcliff. When Catherine was with Edgar she was forced to act like a proper lady and suppressed her real personality; but with Heathcliff, Catherine acted like she always has. This depicted a Victorian woman’s struggle to hide who she really was to find a good husband.

Caroline truly embodies the true Regency era woman while Elizabeth represents the evolving independent woman. These interactions, being extremely different, really bring out Elizabeth’s feminist side. It is clear that women were portrayed as a great inferior to men, never to pursue in any field or any profession. Their main job, to only suffice and satisfy the husband they

As Heathcliff and Catherine grew up together, the two engaged in an intimate friendship, but it came to an end once Catherine chose Edgar, a wealthier man, over Heathcliff. Heathcliff fled the town, only to come back with one thing on his mind: revenge. Heathcliff befriends old enemies such as Hinton to gain property, boost his reputation in town, and acquire wealth to try to compete with Edgar. Instead of hunting and fighting for Catherine’s heart, Heathcliff decides to marry Isabella, Edgar’s sister, to infuriate Catherine. Ultimately, Catherine commits suicide because she cannot live with Heathcliff being married to someone else.

Like Heathcliff, she was also a wild spirit, intrinsically inclined toward Wuthering Heights, yet capable of adapting to high-society living. However, she could not continue to ignore her inherent affinity for both Heathcliff and the natural world. Only as she approached death did she finally admit that she “[didn’t] want…Edgar” or Thrushcross Grange to be her home (Brontë 127). Catherine’s frantic love for Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights manifested as the “brain fever” that led to her death, symbolizing the conflict between her effort to fit into society and her longing for a life free of constraints with Heathcliff (Brontë 132). Despite his newfound suffering, Heathcliff continues to love Catherine, even after her

On the face of it, it would seem that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is self-destructive to an extreme. Due to the lovers’ precarious circumstances, passionate personalities and class divisions, it seems that fate transpires to keep them apart and therefore the hopelessness of their situation drives them to self destruction. However, although the relationship is undeniably self-destructive, there are elements within it that suggest the pain Heathcliff and Catherine put each other through is atoned for to an extent when they share their brief moments of harmony.

Catherine’s weak mentality is demonstrated in the way she causes and reacts to troubling situations. An example of her childish mindset is when Catherine locked Heathcliff and Edgar in the kitchen in order for them to get into a fight with each other. Catherine knows that this is not a good idea, but she does it for her own

By wedding Edgar, Catherine kept away from Heathcliff 's affection for her and basically avoided him in view of his social class. She sold out herself by disregarding her adoration for Heathcliff and denying herself satisfaction. This eventually eats her alive. Heathcliff also doles out some romantic betrayal to Isabella. He proves to be an abusive, mean, and cruel husband, not exactly what she signed up for Catherine betrays herself more than anyone by not marrying Heathcliff. She is denying herself love based completely on social structure. She represents betrayal both internally and externally by marrying Edgar. She knowingly breaks Heathcliff 's and her own heart.

Traditionally, female characters in literature are portrayed as weak and vulnerable to attacks, and rarely do these characters defy the common stereotypes. Most women were viewed as passive in contrast to men, forcing them to serve as secondary characters who aided the primary male roles. Few female character were able to gain control over their own lives, by defying traditional values, allowing them to create their own identity. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare explored the social boundaries of a wealthy Elizabethan society through Juliet, as she gains power and control over her own life by opposing her parents’ traditional ideals. Due to the ancient grudge between the Capulets and the Montagues, Juliet’s relationship with Romeo is not

Catherine’s love for Heathcliff is deeply passionate, but ultimately all-consuming and destructive. Even as a child, Catherine is “much too fond of

            Heathcliff is stubborn and refuses to compromise his beliefs and principles.  It mattered naught to him that Catherine was not only the love of his life but also the catalyst of catastrophe.  Catherine loved to toy with people.  She was happiest at the center of everyone's life and was a a master of manipulation.  Her father doted on her, Nellie catered to her whims, and Edgar endures the presence of a man he likes not at all out of love for her.

She was, in part, misled into falling in love with another man who was an item of a wealthy family. Realizing that she could never be with a laborer, she married Edgar, the man who lives in Thrushcross Grange, and suppressed her feelings for Heathcliff. On the other hand, Heathcliff is determined to be with Catherine because his love is so vigorous for her. “If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn’t love you as much as I do in a single day.” (pg). Not long after, Heathcliff heard Catherine say how she could never be with someone like him, and he felt like his heart had collapsed in on his lungs. He hastily slipped out of the town, and was gone for three years. He arrived back when he was moneyed and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, she had already moved on with her life so Heathcliff tried to make her envious by marrying her sister in law. His plan didn’t quite work as he had hoped, and Catherine soon died after giving birth. This news mortified Heathcliff, and he turned into a bitter old man rather briskly. He told her, “Stay with me always- take any form- drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” (pg162). He loved her so much that he wanted her spirit to haunt him, just so she could be with