The Victorian Society of Wuthering Heights

This summer we had to read the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. This paper will cover the development in Heathcliff, how Catherine Earnshaw influenced other characters even though we didn’t meet her in the story, the symbolism shown in the novel, how Wuthering Heights fits into the category of gothic fiction, as well as my own expert opinion of the story.

It must be noted that the values and ideas expressed here, are distinctive of an urban, WASP, middle-class ideology. In contrast, we see that the Western states had a completely different view of women. They were not settled yet in the Victorian age, and women had to work just as much as men, both on the land and inside the house, there was in many ways more

During the Victorian era, women did not have any rights, and they were abused and oppressed, as a result, policies in against discriminatory laws were existed. Women could not vote, could not own a property and they could not hold professional jobs apart from teachers or a domestic servant, factory workers or agricultural labors. At that time society did not consider that women need a proper education and consequently it was only for men. As a result, it was rare to find women in skilled jobs that required higher or intermediate education. Women then were generally expected to be housekeepers or housewives .The role of women did not go beyond a wife or mother who took care of her children and maintained her house of her husband in proper order. Furthermore, the status of women their rights and duties cannot be generalized since they varied according to the social class a woman come from. That means social class determines the traditional of women‘s life in which they live and work depending

Although Britain rose to a dominant world power during this time, the early Victorians lived in the midst of chaos. The onset of new developments affected every sphere of influence from industry and technology to science and medicine. England went from a country that based wealth on land ownership to a society who valued money above all. Instead of working side by side as was done in centuries past, husbands and wives of the Victorian bourgeoisie took a ‘divide and conquer’ approach to life. Men left their homes to work, and women stayed behind to take care of the home since money brought status and the most important place to showcase that status was in the home (Hughes).

It is imperative to note that principles formulated and expressed within the Victorian era have proven to be of crucial influence, as these past attached values however deleterious, remain ingrained in the social ethics and morals of today. The augmentation of industrialisation and imperial expansion consequently greatened the middle class and generated frontier violence, thereby constructing the ideology of the separate spheres of gender. This division fabricated the notions of how each gender should be positioned in a societal sense, as men were deemed to be the breadwinners, dominant forces engaging in physical labour to support the family, while females were the predominantly private gender, bound to undertaking household duties: cooking,

Middle-class women of the Victorian era did leave their homes - and not just to socialise but to visit the homes of the poor. These women used their position of privilege to export expertise in domestic affairs to those regarded as in need of advice, so they might attain the same high standards of household management. The power that middle-class women had achieved in the home was now used by them in order to gain access to another world characterized by, as they saw it, poverty, drink vice and

The Victorian period witnessed a time when women rights were hardly observed or even advocated for. The place of the woman was to get married and submit to the demands of the husband. Middle class women would get some education though few good jobs apart from being a governess would be availed to them. Higher education was not recommended since they were considered unable to handle mentally complicated tasks. They could also not be assigned physically demanding responsibilities as they were viewed physically weak. Women were discouraged from airing their views in the public. They were expected to be objects of beauty whose main responsibility was to please men, be seen but not heard, (Andersson).

During the Victorian era, a woman’s life revolved around domestic duties, form a young age they are taught to be submissive and obedient. They had no rights and were expected to

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is considered a masterpiece today, however when it was first published, it received negative criticism for its passionate nature. Critics have studied the novel from every analytical angle, yet it remains one of the most haunting love stories of all time. “Wuthering Heights is not a comfortable book; it invites admiration rather than love,” (Stoneman 1). The novel contains several different levels that force readers to ponder the text. It allows for individual interpretations of the novel. This makes the novel such a popular book to read. Wuthering Heights is a Gothic

The ideal woman in the Victorian Era was created around the belief that women were fragile dolls that could be manipulated and toyed with due to their inferiority to men. “By law, a woman was the property of her father, husband or even her brother,” (Haluk). Women were not allowed to be their own person. They could not own property (Thomas) or do anything outside of the home without their “owner” or another married woman (Hughes). They had to do all the work in the home and even though they were not labeled this way, many could be considered slaves to the men in their household. Others were trophies that their husbands wanted to keep polished. A woman also needed to be “innocent, virtuous, biddable, dutiful and ignorant of intellectual opinion,” (Thomas). Women in the Victorian Era were expected to be

Emily Bronte grew up in an oppressive society, being forced to learn in her own home and dealing with the deaths in her family, she felt the need to take control. In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, emphasis on the mistreatment of woman and the issue of control present themselves symbiotically. In the novel, the main female Catherine and the main character Heathcliff simultaneously unleash their darkest inner conflicts through various displays. Throughout the novel, it is evident that there exists a negative light on women when they are portrayed as immature, childish, and overly dramatic. The novel seems to reveal the repression of woman and control in male-dominated society. Ms. Bronte clearly expresses her personal opinion on feminism

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is considered a masterpiece today, however when was first published, it received negative criticism for its passionate nature. Critics have studied the novel from every analytical angle, yet it remains one of the most haunting love stories of all time. “Wuthering Heights is not a comfortable book; it invites admiration rather than love.” (Stoneman) The novel contains several different levels that force readers to ponder the text. It allows for individual interpretations of the novel.

“Wuthering Heights” is the epitome of classical literature written by Emily Bronte in 1847. This masterpiece unfolds the story of two lovers, Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff and how their intense love for each other succumbed to revenge. The novel centralises around the theme of revenge through the use of gothic elements. Gothic Literature and is a combination of fiction, horror and romanticism. Wuthering Heights effectively employs gothic literature elements to emphasis the characters, plot and action. These elements are significantly prominent throughout the book and employed for particular purposes. The setting of this novel contributes significantly towards the conventions of a gothic literature novel as it creates an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Throughout the novel Bronte evokes a sense of horror and builds tension through the use of setting. The plot of the novel is exaggerated through the gothic themes of revenge, death and decay, superstition, violence and madness. These elements heighten the tension and suspense of the plot. The characters in this novel are typical gothic characters that are driven by revenge and passion. They are exaggerated by the heightened plot and their actions are characteristics of a conventional gothic literature novel.

The role of women during the Victorian Era has been a prevalent topic over the course of the semester. Women during that time had limited rights, and the rights they did have were equivalent to that of children. Domesticity, caring for their husband and children was the focus of their livelihood. As England continued to grow and industrialize, women became more marginalized, while men continued to grow into dominant members of society, this is known as the notion of separate spheres. The notion of separate spheres was not limited to the role women and men had in the home, but extended into the streets and the workplace. Men were seen as formidable, intellectual, and the governing sex; whereas, women on the other hand, were disregarded as emotionally unstable, dominated by their sexuality, and submissive to men’s wants and desires. Women were not only given limited rights to the roles they had in society, but also were not given the right to choose whom they wanted to marry. A majority of women had no other option but to marry as a way to maintain their livelihood, unless they were members of high social standings. Additionally, the rights of a woman were again lessened after she wed. The moment a woman married, she automatically became the property of her husband. The limited rights she had before were stripped away: her property, identity, and value ceased to exist the moment she became the helpmate to a man. The ideology of the role women played did not

This essay will discuss the way in which the themes of Romance and the Gothic are portrayed heavily in Brontë’s novel, Wuthering Heights, while also being juxtaposed with dogged Realism, in a way that makes Brontë’s work significant and unprecedented. It aims to highlight how contemporary interpretations of the text as a timeless love story have undermined the powerful realism put forth by Brontë, in her deliberate language and refusal of societal conventions. It will also analyse the extent to which Kosminsky is able to represent these themes accurately, and where the shortcomings of the filmic representation become decidedly apparent. It will explore the representation of the sublime, and discuss how Brontë & Kosminsky’s views on gender and class appear to vary greatly, based primarily on which characters each text elects to focus on developing. Furthermore, it will focus on each text’s interpretation of gender conventions and character development.