WUTHERING HEIGHTS
CONTEXT
GONDAL WRITING AND JUVENALIA The majority of Emily’s poetry derives from the juvenilia of Gondal, commemorating various events in the tumultuous life of Augusta Geraldine
Almeda, (the Queen of Gondal). Augusta’s unrestrained love affairs and her ruthless quest for power mark her out as a Byronic figure
The themes of revenge, power, and especially desire for death echo throughout the poems and prefigure the themes of wuthering heights
The heroes of Gondal tended to resemble the popular image of the Scottish highlander, a sort of British version of the ‘noble savage’: romantic
outlaws capable of more nobility, passion, and bravery than the denizens of ‘civilisation’
Similar themes of romanticism and noble savagery are apparent across the Bronte's juvenilia, notably in Branwell’s ‘the Life of Alexander Percy’
which tells the story of an all-consuming, death-defying, and ultimately self-destructive love and is generally considered an inspiration for Wuthering
heights
RECEPTION OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS WHEN IT Wuthering Heights was poorly received by critics and readers upon its initial publication
WAS FIRST PUBLISHED Many considered the portrayal of passion, cruelty, and violence in the novel to be savage and immoral
Most critics recognised the power and imagination of the novel, but were baffled by the storyline and objected to the savagery and selfishness of
the characters
LEGAL STATUS AND VIEWS OF WOMEN Women were completely dependent on the men in their lives, and were defined as wholly passive and completely void of generative power
RIGHTS OF WOMEN From the eighteenth century, conduct books for ladies proliferated, enjoining young girls to submissiveness, modesty, selflessness, and enforcing
the idea that they should be angelic
- This characteristic of being angelic implicates someone without their own identity
The one form of sexuality allowed to women without reservation was the exercise of her maternal function. Otherwise, she was expected to
remain completely passive
MARRIAGE An 1842 marriage manual by Elizabeth Lanfear entitles ‘Letters to Young Ladies on their entrance into the world’ observed that ‘A sensible
woman, to preserve the peace and secure the affections of her husband, will often sacrifice her own inclinations to his’
Prior to the passage of the Married Women’s property Act 1870 and Married Women’s property act 1882 the property and legal rights of married
women in Britain were severely limited or almost non-existent
Marriage abrogated a woman’s right to consent to sexual intercourse with her husband, giving him effective ownership over her body
Women were expected to revere her husband, the noble creature, and to submit herself to him with gratitude and devotion
COVERTURE Coverture was a legal doctrine whereby, upon marriage, a women’s legal rights and obligations were subsumed by those of her husband
Under English common law a married woman lost her legal independence, she could not enter contracts, sue, and her property and obligations
were mostly subsumed by those of her husband
, - The couple became a single legal entity
Any personal property acquired by the wife during marriage effectively came under the full control of her husband
CRUELTY TOWARDS Legal protection from domestic violence was not granted to women until the Criminal procedure Act 1854. Even this law did not outright ban
WOMEN violence by a man against his wife and children; it imposed legal limited on the amount of force permitted, as the ‘state reserved for herself’ the
power of unlimited force
PRIMOGENITURE Common law (in the period of the novel) required that realty be disposed of according to certain rules, with the chief rule being that only the eldest
male child inherited
Inheritance laws worked in favour of men
According to these laws, Cathay cannot inherit Thrushcross grange when her father, Edgar Linton, dies
- Instead, Linton (Isabella’s son) inherits since males have precedence
- Should Linton die, the property would revert to Cathy, as the sole surviving heir
It is for this reason that Heathcliff is so keen for Cathy and Linton to marry, for once they are married and Cathy is his daughter in law, her property
automatically becomes his
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION By the mid 18th century, Britain was the world’s leading commercial nation, controlling a global trading empire with colonies in north America and
the Caribbean
Higher social classes became more penetrable as earning potential rose and the middle class began to expand and prosper
Wuthering heights takes place in the very early 1800s in the midst of the industrial revolution
- Normative societal structures in England were being overturned
While there were greater financial opportunities available, racist and elitist attitudes continues to exclude dark skinned immigrants like Heathcliff
from achieving social equality
Before the wills act of 1837, property came under the control of the mortgagor, in this case Heathcliff, allowing him to sever the Earnshaw’s
lineages right to their property
Heathcliff speaks of ‘flinging Joseph from the highest gable’ and ‘painting the house front in Hindley’s blood’, and this dispossession of the
Earnshaws and the death of Hindley comes to pass later in the novel
Thus, Bronte’s description of Heathcliff’s exploitation of this is a striking comment on the use of legislation and industrial riches to gain power and
strip the lower classes of their autonomy
Tracking and analysing Nelly’s narration illuminates how the heights change from a dark and depressing estate to the bright and flowery place
with which we end the novel. Like England, the Heights experiences class fluctuations and uncertainty as its inhabitants attempt to return to
equilibrium amidst changes provoked by the Industrial revolution
Nelly’s narrative manipulation illustrates how the fictional world of Wuthering heights identifies the social complexities that were occurring in
England as a result of the Industrial revolution
, CLASS AND CIVILISATION After the industrial revolution, a man could raise his social standing by acquiring wealth, whereas in the past, one had to be born into an upper
class family in order to be considered a gentleman
The novel deals with the shift away from the old farming culture and the strict patriarchal family towards a more urban way of life with an
increase in equality for all
Chartists
The reform bill (1832) excluded women but was the start of a more equal representation in parliament
- The Chartist movement believed that this wasn’t enough (the movement was opposed to the bill’s limitations)
The movement continued to grow and continued to radicalise the working class
The movement demanded equal representation in parliament and the removal of property qualifications for MPs
Heathcliff (as the savage and even cruel demon-lover), and Catherine (as his active partner) are a protest against and a criticism of the Victorian
virtues of duty, humanity, pity, and charity which the marriage of Cathy and Edgar expressed
- Instead, their relationship is an affirmation of man and woman’s more primitive needs
RELIGION RELIGION IN Within Wuthering heights, a much more amoral vision of the universe is presented
WUTHERING Cathy and Heathcliff pursue their own version of spirituality and morality, negating the salvation of heaven and thus confronting society’s ideas on
HEIGHTS punishing damnation
The narrative is a rejection of organised relation in favour of a version of Romantic spirituality
Bronte found in Romantic forms of Protestantism a theology of feeling that privileged the individual consciousness above doctrinal or biblical
theology
CALVINISM The doctrine of Calvinism experienced a resurgence in the 1800s
Calvinists believed that God preordained who went to heaven and hell (Predestination)
Speculation about anything which God has not revealed through his Word is not warranted
BRONTE’S POETRY ‘No coward soul is mine’ expresses with a proud stoicism the scorn Emily felt for doctrinal debates
The religious faith she outlines here bears little resemblance to orthodox Christianity: there is no mention of Redemption through Christ
Rather, we see an affirmation of God’s presence in all aspects of his created universe. The universalism or pantheism allows freedom for
doctrine/orthodoxy, and opens the individual connection to the universe - a very romantic but still unique expression
The poem finds the solution to sectarian division not in a reconciliation of the denominations but in religious experience located outside the
institution of the church
CONTEXT
GONDAL WRITING AND JUVENALIA The majority of Emily’s poetry derives from the juvenilia of Gondal, commemorating various events in the tumultuous life of Augusta Geraldine
Almeda, (the Queen of Gondal). Augusta’s unrestrained love affairs and her ruthless quest for power mark her out as a Byronic figure
The themes of revenge, power, and especially desire for death echo throughout the poems and prefigure the themes of wuthering heights
The heroes of Gondal tended to resemble the popular image of the Scottish highlander, a sort of British version of the ‘noble savage’: romantic
outlaws capable of more nobility, passion, and bravery than the denizens of ‘civilisation’
Similar themes of romanticism and noble savagery are apparent across the Bronte's juvenilia, notably in Branwell’s ‘the Life of Alexander Percy’
which tells the story of an all-consuming, death-defying, and ultimately self-destructive love and is generally considered an inspiration for Wuthering
heights
RECEPTION OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS WHEN IT Wuthering Heights was poorly received by critics and readers upon its initial publication
WAS FIRST PUBLISHED Many considered the portrayal of passion, cruelty, and violence in the novel to be savage and immoral
Most critics recognised the power and imagination of the novel, but were baffled by the storyline and objected to the savagery and selfishness of
the characters
LEGAL STATUS AND VIEWS OF WOMEN Women were completely dependent on the men in their lives, and were defined as wholly passive and completely void of generative power
RIGHTS OF WOMEN From the eighteenth century, conduct books for ladies proliferated, enjoining young girls to submissiveness, modesty, selflessness, and enforcing
the idea that they should be angelic
- This characteristic of being angelic implicates someone without their own identity
The one form of sexuality allowed to women without reservation was the exercise of her maternal function. Otherwise, she was expected to
remain completely passive
MARRIAGE An 1842 marriage manual by Elizabeth Lanfear entitles ‘Letters to Young Ladies on their entrance into the world’ observed that ‘A sensible
woman, to preserve the peace and secure the affections of her husband, will often sacrifice her own inclinations to his’
Prior to the passage of the Married Women’s property Act 1870 and Married Women’s property act 1882 the property and legal rights of married
women in Britain were severely limited or almost non-existent
Marriage abrogated a woman’s right to consent to sexual intercourse with her husband, giving him effective ownership over her body
Women were expected to revere her husband, the noble creature, and to submit herself to him with gratitude and devotion
COVERTURE Coverture was a legal doctrine whereby, upon marriage, a women’s legal rights and obligations were subsumed by those of her husband
Under English common law a married woman lost her legal independence, she could not enter contracts, sue, and her property and obligations
were mostly subsumed by those of her husband
, - The couple became a single legal entity
Any personal property acquired by the wife during marriage effectively came under the full control of her husband
CRUELTY TOWARDS Legal protection from domestic violence was not granted to women until the Criminal procedure Act 1854. Even this law did not outright ban
WOMEN violence by a man against his wife and children; it imposed legal limited on the amount of force permitted, as the ‘state reserved for herself’ the
power of unlimited force
PRIMOGENITURE Common law (in the period of the novel) required that realty be disposed of according to certain rules, with the chief rule being that only the eldest
male child inherited
Inheritance laws worked in favour of men
According to these laws, Cathay cannot inherit Thrushcross grange when her father, Edgar Linton, dies
- Instead, Linton (Isabella’s son) inherits since males have precedence
- Should Linton die, the property would revert to Cathy, as the sole surviving heir
It is for this reason that Heathcliff is so keen for Cathy and Linton to marry, for once they are married and Cathy is his daughter in law, her property
automatically becomes his
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION By the mid 18th century, Britain was the world’s leading commercial nation, controlling a global trading empire with colonies in north America and
the Caribbean
Higher social classes became more penetrable as earning potential rose and the middle class began to expand and prosper
Wuthering heights takes place in the very early 1800s in the midst of the industrial revolution
- Normative societal structures in England were being overturned
While there were greater financial opportunities available, racist and elitist attitudes continues to exclude dark skinned immigrants like Heathcliff
from achieving social equality
Before the wills act of 1837, property came under the control of the mortgagor, in this case Heathcliff, allowing him to sever the Earnshaw’s
lineages right to their property
Heathcliff speaks of ‘flinging Joseph from the highest gable’ and ‘painting the house front in Hindley’s blood’, and this dispossession of the
Earnshaws and the death of Hindley comes to pass later in the novel
Thus, Bronte’s description of Heathcliff’s exploitation of this is a striking comment on the use of legislation and industrial riches to gain power and
strip the lower classes of their autonomy
Tracking and analysing Nelly’s narration illuminates how the heights change from a dark and depressing estate to the bright and flowery place
with which we end the novel. Like England, the Heights experiences class fluctuations and uncertainty as its inhabitants attempt to return to
equilibrium amidst changes provoked by the Industrial revolution
Nelly’s narrative manipulation illustrates how the fictional world of Wuthering heights identifies the social complexities that were occurring in
England as a result of the Industrial revolution
, CLASS AND CIVILISATION After the industrial revolution, a man could raise his social standing by acquiring wealth, whereas in the past, one had to be born into an upper
class family in order to be considered a gentleman
The novel deals with the shift away from the old farming culture and the strict patriarchal family towards a more urban way of life with an
increase in equality for all
Chartists
The reform bill (1832) excluded women but was the start of a more equal representation in parliament
- The Chartist movement believed that this wasn’t enough (the movement was opposed to the bill’s limitations)
The movement continued to grow and continued to radicalise the working class
The movement demanded equal representation in parliament and the removal of property qualifications for MPs
Heathcliff (as the savage and even cruel demon-lover), and Catherine (as his active partner) are a protest against and a criticism of the Victorian
virtues of duty, humanity, pity, and charity which the marriage of Cathy and Edgar expressed
- Instead, their relationship is an affirmation of man and woman’s more primitive needs
RELIGION RELIGION IN Within Wuthering heights, a much more amoral vision of the universe is presented
WUTHERING Cathy and Heathcliff pursue their own version of spirituality and morality, negating the salvation of heaven and thus confronting society’s ideas on
HEIGHTS punishing damnation
The narrative is a rejection of organised relation in favour of a version of Romantic spirituality
Bronte found in Romantic forms of Protestantism a theology of feeling that privileged the individual consciousness above doctrinal or biblical
theology
CALVINISM The doctrine of Calvinism experienced a resurgence in the 1800s
Calvinists believed that God preordained who went to heaven and hell (Predestination)
Speculation about anything which God has not revealed through his Word is not warranted
BRONTE’S POETRY ‘No coward soul is mine’ expresses with a proud stoicism the scorn Emily felt for doctrinal debates
The religious faith she outlines here bears little resemblance to orthodox Christianity: there is no mention of Redemption through Christ
Rather, we see an affirmation of God’s presence in all aspects of his created universe. The universalism or pantheism allows freedom for
doctrine/orthodoxy, and opens the individual connection to the universe - a very romantic but still unique expression
The poem finds the solution to sectarian division not in a reconciliation of the denominations but in religious experience located outside the
institution of the church
