Suffering in WH and ATSS
1- Suffering due to class- inequality
2- Suffering in marriage
3- Suffering is promoted by those in ‘learned’ positions
In both ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘ATSS’, suffering is presented as a result
of inequality in social standings, as both Mariam and Heathcliff are
subjected to discrimination given their lowly standings, suffering as they
fail to be accepted into their respective families. From the very beginning
of ‘WH’, Heathcliff is constructed in a subtly racist discourse as belonging
to a dirty, primitive class. His introduction as a ‘dirty, ragged, black-haired
child’ immediately sets this up, as his ‘dark-skinned’ complexion seems
intertwined with the notion of dirtiness and lower social standing. Bronte
further establishes this through Mr Earnshaw saying “you must take it as a
gift of God; though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil.” The
use of “it” in describing Heathcliff dehumanises him as an object rather
than a person. Furthermore, the theological association of dark with the
side of the devil and light with the side of God is particularly poignant
given its use in the justification of racism and imperialism at the time of
Bronte’s writing, in regards to the conquests of the British Empire in the
19th century. The inequality of Heathcliff’s mistreatment in the Earnshaw
household, therefore, could be viewed in the sense of colonial racism,
which drives his suffering. His treatment in the hands of the Earnshaw’s is
that of a slave, with Cathy "spitting at the stupid little thing", further
portraying Heathcliff’s degradation as he suffers from the inequality
between the pairs’ social standings. The extent of this suffering is clear as
Heathcliff becomes ‘hardened perhaps, to ill treatment’, attributing a
regularity to the malice and inequality he is subjected to for his lowly
class. Similarly, Mariam is subjected to inequality for her social class in her
exclusion from Jalil’s family. Mariam represents a challenge to Jalil’s
reputation in her status as a ‘harami’. In Islam, sex is intended for
marriage only, and therefore Mariam being born out of wedlock would
have been socially frowned upon, which Hosseini points to in describing
her as from ‘illegitimate beginnings’- as such, Jalil marries Mariam off to
Rasheed to safeguard his own status ‘for fear of losing face’. Hosseini
depicts the inequality of this treatment by contrasting Mariam’s treatment
with that afforded to ‘her half sisters…both her own age’. The
juxtaposition between fifteen being a ‘good, solid marrying age’ solely for
Mariam and not for her half-sisters too highlights the inequality Mariam’s
harami status garners. As such, Mariam is resigned to suffering the fate of
being the ‘solitary eleventh pebble’, with the use of ‘solitary’
1- Suffering due to class- inequality
2- Suffering in marriage
3- Suffering is promoted by those in ‘learned’ positions
In both ‘Wuthering Heights’ and ‘ATSS’, suffering is presented as a result
of inequality in social standings, as both Mariam and Heathcliff are
subjected to discrimination given their lowly standings, suffering as they
fail to be accepted into their respective families. From the very beginning
of ‘WH’, Heathcliff is constructed in a subtly racist discourse as belonging
to a dirty, primitive class. His introduction as a ‘dirty, ragged, black-haired
child’ immediately sets this up, as his ‘dark-skinned’ complexion seems
intertwined with the notion of dirtiness and lower social standing. Bronte
further establishes this through Mr Earnshaw saying “you must take it as a
gift of God; though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil.” The
use of “it” in describing Heathcliff dehumanises him as an object rather
than a person. Furthermore, the theological association of dark with the
side of the devil and light with the side of God is particularly poignant
given its use in the justification of racism and imperialism at the time of
Bronte’s writing, in regards to the conquests of the British Empire in the
19th century. The inequality of Heathcliff’s mistreatment in the Earnshaw
household, therefore, could be viewed in the sense of colonial racism,
which drives his suffering. His treatment in the hands of the Earnshaw’s is
that of a slave, with Cathy "spitting at the stupid little thing", further
portraying Heathcliff’s degradation as he suffers from the inequality
between the pairs’ social standings. The extent of this suffering is clear as
Heathcliff becomes ‘hardened perhaps, to ill treatment’, attributing a
regularity to the malice and inequality he is subjected to for his lowly
class. Similarly, Mariam is subjected to inequality for her social class in her
exclusion from Jalil’s family. Mariam represents a challenge to Jalil’s
reputation in her status as a ‘harami’. In Islam, sex is intended for
marriage only, and therefore Mariam being born out of wedlock would
have been socially frowned upon, which Hosseini points to in describing
her as from ‘illegitimate beginnings’- as such, Jalil marries Mariam off to
Rasheed to safeguard his own status ‘for fear of losing face’. Hosseini
depicts the inequality of this treatment by contrasting Mariam’s treatment
with that afforded to ‘her half sisters…both her own age’. The
juxtaposition between fifteen being a ‘good, solid marrying age’ solely for
Mariam and not for her half-sisters too highlights the inequality Mariam’s
harami status garners. As such, Mariam is resigned to suffering the fate of
being the ‘solitary eleventh pebble’, with the use of ‘solitary’
