Premium Essay

Feminism and Wuthering Heights

In:

Submitted By anuragini
Words 2407
Pages 10
Studies in Literature and Language

Vol. 3, No. 2, 2011, pp. 25-27 DOI:10.3968/j.sll.1923156320110302.215

ISSN 1923-1555[Print] ISSN 1923-1563[Online] www.cscanada.net www.cscanada.org

Female Consciousness in Wuthering Heights

ZHAO Juan1,*

1 Institute of Foreign languages, Beijing Technology and Business University, China * Corresponding author. Email: zhaoj@th.btbu.edu.cn

Received 16 May 2011; accepted 18 August 2011

Wuthering heights , a representative work in Victorian Era by Emily Bronte, a famous female writer of the 19th century in Britain, has greatly influenced readers for generations. This article investigates the female consciousness in Withering Heights and analyses how Catherine rebels against the male-dominated society and pursues her love. The female consciousness includes the sense of independence and the pursuit of her true self. The spiritual equality is the foundation of happiness between lovers, and although women dace lots of obstacles in their struggle and fight against the society, a wonderful future to women is to be ushered in if they keep fighting. Key words: Feminism; Female consciousness; Rebellion; Spiritual pursuit
Z H A O J u a n ( 2 0 11 ) . F e m a l e C o n s c i o u s n e s s i n Wu t h e r i n g Heights . Studies in Literature and Language, 3 (2), 252 7 . Av a i l a b l e f r o m : U R L : h t t p : / / w w w . c s c a n a d a . n e t / i n d e x . p h p / s l l / a r t i c l e / v i e w / j . s l l . 1 9 2 3 1 5 6 3 2 0 11 0 3 0 2 . 2 1 5 DOI: 10.3968/j.sll.1923156320110302.215

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

When mentioning the literature in 19th century, nobody can avoid Wuthering Heights , which laid the foundation of Emily Bronte’s significant role in literature in the world. Wuthering Heights has been well known for its strangeness both in characters and in incidents. When first issued in 1847, it was not

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Wanderer Research Paper

...The role of women is always being defined and redefined in society whether it be today or 19th century England. Nineteenth Century England had distinct roles for women such as a mother or a wife and very rarely did women play other roles. So, when Frances Burney, Emily Brontë, and Elizabeth Gaskell stepped onto the scene they challenged the way society saw women and helped change the way not only 19th Century England saw women, but also society today. Tackling feminist issues, class systems, and matriarchal roles in books such as The Wanderer (Burney), Wuthering Heights (Brontë), and Mary Barton (Gaskell) these women obviously saw a lot that needed to change in their time. Prolific author, Frances Burney will be forever remembered by her book The Wanderer and how she depicted “women.” The Wanderer...

Words: 1706 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Victorian Elements in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontё

..."The Victorian elements in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontё" The Victorian Era, in which Brontё composed Wuthering Heights, receives its name from the reign of Queen Victoria of England. The era was a great age of the English novel, which was the ideal form to descibe contemporary life and to entertain the middle class. Emily, born in 1818, lived in a household in the countryside in Yorkshire, locates her fiction in the worlds she knows personally. In addition, she makes the novel even more personal by reflecting her own life and experiences in both characters and action of Wuthering Heights. In fact, many characters in the novel grow up motherless, reflecting Emily’s own childhood, as her mother died when Emily was three years old. Similarly, the vast majority of the novel takes place in two households, which probably is a reflection of author’s own comfort at home as whenever she was away from home she grew homesick. Emily Brontё’s single novel is a unique masterpiece propelled by a vision of elemental passions but controlled by an uncompromising artistic sense. However, despite the relative invisibility of Victorian influence in the plot and content, the attitudes of the Victorian Era make some impact on the story, and the novel is considered not only a form of entertainment but also a means of analyzing and offering solutions to social and political problems. Brontё may not highlight the social aspects in the novel, nevertheless the indications of Victorian society’s...

Words: 3665 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Marksist Reading of Pride and Prejudice

...uncontrollable. Her relationship with Heathcliff would, by most be considered good and healthy until the expectations of society ruin it. Catherine, though in love with Heathcliff, feels she cannot marry him because of his position. She instead marries Edgar Linton, and her relationship with Heathcliff becomes potent. The main tie in to feminism would be that without the burdens placed on women by society, Catherine could have lived happily with Heathcliff. To further emphasize this point, when Catherine's daughter Cathy is in a similar position as her mother, except having been lowered in social status, she is able to marry Hareton for love. ................................................................................................................................ Feminism can be seen in the character of Iabella Linton, The steps she takes to get away from Heathcliffs cruelty and unjust behaviour can be seen as remarkable for a woman in that period as fleeing an unhappy marriage was illeagal and she could risk being captured and punished by the law. She also refused to be known under the name Iabella Heathcliff and when aked by the inhabinent of wuthering heights what is your name she replies "I was Isabella Linton" she relises the consquence of her mistake she has made by marrying Heathcliff. She is also disowned by her brother Edgar "I am sorry to have lost her" after her marriage. This makes Isabellas decision to leave heathcliff seem even more admirable to readers today as she is...

Words: 791 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Gothic Fiction: The Role Of Despair And Horror In Gothic Literature

...supernatural events occurring, early on in Wuthering Heights, with narrator Lockwood being forced to stay overnight at Wuthering Heights due to an unforeseen snowstorm. Having been secured in Catherine’s childhood room, Lockwood wakes up from a frightful nightmare to the sound of tree-branches rattling against his window. When reaching out to remove the limb he instead finds himself grasping the hands of the ghost of one Catherine Linton, who has lost her way on the moors, claiming to have been “a waif for twenty years” (Brontë 21). 6. High, even overwrought emotion. The way the author narrate the feeling may be highly sentimental. Characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, and terror. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Ex: In The Mysteries of Udolpho, Emily's reaction to the object concealed behind the mysterious black veil - arguably the most potent mystery at Udolpho - is a vivid portrayal of the heroine's sensibilities. Overcome by the 'horror' of what she had seen, she drops "senseless on the floor" (2, 6, p.249). Emily faints many times throughout the narrative, a typical trait of sentimental heroines when they are overwhelmed with emotion. 7. Women in distress. As an appeal to the sympathy of the reader, a lonely and oppressed heroine often becomes a central figure. Ex: Annabelle Lee in Edgar Allan Poe Main heroine in Dracula 8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male. Ex: Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. Heathcilff is a mysterious figure...

Words: 1191 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Las Vegas

...Choice, Sports, Stem Cell Research, Steroids, Terrorism, Violence, War on Drugs, more... Business - Advertising, Business, Buy Web Sites, Economics, Finance, Management, Marketing, Sell Websites Education - ADHD, Learning, Philosophy of Education, Privatization, Public Schools, School Violence, School Vouchers, Teaching, Technology and Education, Test and Testing, Writing English Composition Essays - Analitical, Autobiographical, Argument, Cause/Effect, Classification, Compare/Contrast, Comparison, Conversation, Creative+Writing, Critical, Deductive, Definition, Descriptive, Description, Dialog, Division, Exploratory, Expository, Informative, Interview, Inquiry, Journalistic, Narration, Observation. Personal Narrative, Place, Profile, Process, Proposal English Literature and Literary Analysis - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A & P, Antigone, Apocalypse Now, Araby, The Awakening, Barn Burning, Beowulf, Beloved, Bible, Birthmark, Blade Runner, The Bluest Eye, Candide, Canterbury Tales, Catcher in the Rye, Cathedral, Chrysanthemums, A Clockwork Orange, The Color Purple, Comparing Literary Works, Crime and Punishment, Death of a Salesman, Death in Venice, Desiree's Baby, A Doll's House, Dr. Faustus, Epic of Gilgamesh, Everyday Use, A Farewell to Arms, Frankenstein, The Grapes of Wrath, Great Gatsby, Great Expectations, Glass Menagerie, Gulliver's Travels, The Handmaid's Tale, Heart of Darkness, The Iliad, Invisible Man, Jane Eyre, The Joy Luck Club, The Lottery, ...

Words: 503 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Mus 303: History of Rock Notes

...Listening Examples Heroin – The Velvet Underground * New York art scene, Andy Warhol, DIY attitude, Highly influential Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie * Glam rock, Ziggy Stardust as an alter ego, hard rock background band, space themes, heavily influenced 80’s big hair and shock rock. Welcome to my Nightmare – Alice cooper * Shock rock, influenced by the dark side and jim Morrison, elaborate stage shows, gothic imagery Get on Up – James Brown * Bass lines, rhythmic vocals (screams, grunts), R&B in the 50-60s, downbeat, music emphasizes Browns dance moves, “Take them to the Bridge” Mothership Connection * Sci-fi themes, glam influences (costumes, shows), George Clinton, Funkadelic = ROCK, Parliament = FUNK, Dr. Funkenstein If There’s a hell we’re all gonna go – Curtis Mayfield * First entirely original solo album, politically conscious, funk/psych influences, SUPERFLY Love’s Theme – The Love Unlimited Orchestra * Basis of disco string use, surprise hit for album, “Bad Girls” – Donna Summers * Queen of Disco, shit load of hits, Staying Alive – The Bee Gees * Contrast of machisimo and vocals, earlier a rock band, huge hit Search and Destroy – Iggy Pop & The Stooges * Punk, DIY attitude, stage diving, signed with MC5, Detroit, early punk Horses – The Patti Smith Group * Influential to Uk punk, female punk movement, CBGB Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones * Power chords, dirty, New York, short songs, CBGB Anarchy in the...

Words: 739 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Women Writers

...Those amazing women writers I decided to do this topic because so much information I found online connecting to it surprised me so much. I have seen that much of the research papers common opinion was ”Women writers can never write as excellent as men.” Is that true? In my opinion, these thoughts are too narrow and bigoted. The people who have this opinion probably already have their own preconceived notions before they’ve made their judgment. I know there are more men writers than female writers, but you can’t deny that there are a lot of excellent female writers in this world too. Some of them are very famous and the fictions they created are so popular nowadays. They affect countless reader’s minds and how they chosed their next books. For example, Agatha Christie’s << Murder on the Orient Express>> and Charlotte Brontë’s << Jane Eyre>>, are better than most books which are in the same genre. We can never ignore what women writers did to help build the history of world literature and their amazing fictions. They have their own advantages and disadvantages. One big positive quality that female writers have is that they can describe their character’s feelings and minds very well. Most of the time they can express feelings with their pens far better than men. Kegan Gardines believes that these differences in experience will be apparent in the writing. She gives examples of the characteristics of women’s writing that differ from men’s writing: “recurrent...

Words: 1827 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Miguel Street Handouts

... it relates much of what the author went thru. In the novel it’s expressed that is in wartime in Port­of­Spain, Trinidad. The story plot involves man vs. society. All the social problems in this novel make the setting as a barbaric one, but it’s the same society that visualizes “these problems” as something normal to their everyday living. Social Aspects      ∙   Masculinity:  There was a constant need to prove this, in any way possible in many aspects: women, work, money, etc.      ∙   Disregards towards women: as a way to prove masculinity, men had no respect whatsoever with the woman.      ∙   Gender Identity: throughout the novel this works out with socialization and how both genders clash with each other, as masculinity needs to prove itself over feminism.     ∙   Visualization of social problems by the narrator:  it’s quite interesting when the narrator that grew up with all these problems, and how can he distinguish them as he grows up. Being a witness of this since childhood it what makes this a cycle of path, making these problems “seem okay”. Plot Summary Note: Consider every chapter as its own short story narrated from the point of view of the speaker. Chapter 9: Titus  Hoyt  was  a  natural  guide,  a  philosopher,  and  an  active  member  of  the  local  board.  First  man the main  character  knew  in  Port  of  Spain.  The  narrator  met  him  one  day  when  he   got  lost,  coming  back from  the  market  to   get  to   Miguel  Street.  This  man  helped him get home, and he said “Cheerio”...

Words: 2316 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Learning Theory

...Beginning theory An introduction to literary and cultural theory Second edition Peter Barry © Peter Barry 1995, 2002 ISBN: 0719062683 Contents Acknowledgements - page x Preface to the second edition - xii Introduction - 1 About this book - 1 Approaching theory - 6 Slop and think: reviewing your study of literature to date - 8 My own 'stock-taking' - 9 1 Theory before 'theory' - liberal humanism - 11 The history of English studies - 11 Stop and think - 11 Ten tenets of liberal humanism - 16 Literary theorising from Aristotle to Leavis some key moments - 21 Liberal humanism in practice - 31 The transition to 'theory' - 32 Some recurrent ideas in critical theory - 34 Selected reading - 36 2 Structuralism - 39 Structuralist chickens and liberal humanist eggs Signs of the fathers - Saussure - 41 Stop and think - 45 The scope of structuralism - 46 What structuralist critics do - 49 Structuralist criticism: examples - 50 Stop and think - 53 Stop and think - 55 39 Stop and think - 57 Selected reading - 60 3 Post-structuralism and deconstruction - 61 Some theoretical differences between structuralism and post-structuralism - 61 Post-structuralism - life on a decentred planet - 65 Stop and think - 68 Structuralism and post-structuralism - some practical differences - 70 What post-structuralist critics do - 73 Deconstruction: an example - 73 Selected reading - 79 4 Postmodernism - 81 What is postmodernism? What was modernism? -...

Words: 98252 - Pages: 394

Free Essay

I Don't Know

...AS/A2 English Literature B Student Guide A-LEVEL STUDENT HANDBOOK CONTENTS PAGE | | | |What we Expect of A-Level Students |3 | |Overview of the AS and A2 Course |4 | |Assessment Objectives |5 | |AS Marking Criteria |6 | |A2 Marking Criteria |7 | |Selecting and Studying Texts |8 | |Approaching Essays – coursework |9 | |Punctuation Guide |11 | |Glossary of Literary Terms |12 | |Reading List ...

Words: 4760 - Pages: 20

Free Essay

Documebt English Thing

...Version 1 General Certificate of Education (A-level) January 2013 English Literature A (Specification 2740) LTA1C Unit 1: Texts in Context The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature Report on the Examination Further copies of this Report on the Examination are available from: aqa.org.uk Copyright © 2013 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. Copyright AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered centres for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to centres to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Set and published by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance. The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723) and a registered charity (registered charity number 1073334). Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. Report on the Examination – General Certificate of Education (A-level) English Literature A – Unit 1: Texts in Context: The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature – January 2013 PRINCIPAL EXAMINER’S REPORT: January 2013 LTA1C The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature The entry was around 2000 candidates, compared to nearer 7000 last summer and about 1400 the previous January, with the large majority of students choosing to answer on Duffy’s...

Words: 9361 - Pages: 38

Free Essay

A Room of One's Own

...A ROOM OF ONES OWN [* This essay is based upon two papers read to the Arts Society at Newnharn and the Odtaa at Girton in October 1928. The papers were too long to be read in full, and have since been altered and expanded.] ONE But, you may say, we asked you to speak about women and fiction--what, has that got to do with a room of one's own? I will try to explain. When you asked me to speak about women and fiction I sat down on the banks of a river and began to wonder what the words meant. They might mean simply a few remarks about Fanny Burney; a few more about Jane Austen; a tribute to the Brontës and a sketch of Haworth Parsonage under snow; some witticisms if possible about Miss Mitford; a respectful allusion to George Eliot; a reference to Mrs Gaskell and one would have done. But at second sight the words seemed not so simple. The title women and fiction might mean, and you may have meant it to mean, women and what they are like, or it might mean women and the fiction that they write; or it might mean women and the fiction that is written about them, or it might mean that somehow all three are inextricably mixed together and you want me to consider them in that light. But when I began to consider the subject in this last way, which seemed the most interesting, I soon saw that it had one fatal drawback. I should never be able to come to a conclusion. I should never be able to fulfil what is, I understand, the first duty of a lecturer to hand you after an hour's discourse a...

Words: 38194 - Pages: 153

Free Essay

Ielts Writing

...v105  some people claim that the disadvantages of the car are more than the advantages,do you agree or dis the birth of cars have made an enormous change to our life.in the past,we travel from one place to another only by foot,nowaday,cars can do it .its goes withour saying that the invention of cars bring great benefit to all of us.but as proverb goes:no garden without weeds.car is not exception. owing a car has a lot of advantages.for one thing,car provide us the most convient way of transportation.we can get around freely without spenting a lot of time.emotionally,i always found driving is so exciting.for another,its the comfortable to drive a car.In winter.drivers always can stay warm and dry even in rainy whether,in addition,drivers are usually safe in their cars when they are out at night. Cars bring the human merits,their side-effects graudually come to the surface.firstly,to run a car need a lot of oil,which is getting less and less.the increasing number of cars contribute the lacking of energy.secondlly,as  more and more cars are used,the traffic ecpecially in big cities is getting heaver and heavier,which lead to the serious social problem--traffic jam.in addition,the inceasing numbers of cars ,which excaust sent a huge quantities of carbon monoxide into atmosphere.it make the air of cities unbreathabe,it strip people contact with frensh air. therefore,the new energy should be explored to replace the oil so that our envionmental pollution can be avioded .and th...

Words: 29495 - Pages: 118

Free Essay

My Life's Memoirs

...Twilight (series) |Twilight | |[pic] | |Complete set of the four books | |of the Twilight series and the spin-off novella, The Short Second Life of Bree| |Tanner. | |Twilight | |New Moon | |Eclipse | |Breaking Dawn | |Author |Stephenie Meyer | |Country |United States | |Language |English | |Genre |Romance, fantasy, young-adult fiction | |Publisher |Little, Brown and Company | |Published |2005–2008 | |Media type |Print | Twilight is a series of four vampire-themed fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenage girl...

Words: 35332 - Pages: 142

Premium Essay

Frankenstein

...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title ·  Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...

Words: 51140 - Pages: 205