Fighting the Norm The famous economist and philosopher, Karl Marx, stated that “The ruling ideas of each age have ever been the ideas of its ruling class”. This theory is very applicable to Wuthering Heights as the socio economic picture that is painted by the author Emily Bronte is shown from the bourgeoisie, the term used by Karl Marx to describe upper social class, standpoint and their suppression of the proletarians, also known as the lower and working classes. The traditional upper social classes are strongly associated with the standards of their class and social norms cannot be ignored when we dissect the social class hierarchies as they were key components of the identity of that class. With the culmination of the novel, we view the
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In Wuthering Heights the husband traditionally brings the wife to his estate shortly after marriage. It held true for Catherine and Edgar, Isabella and Heathcliff, as well as Cathy and Linton. This social norm was accepted for the upper socioeconomic classes that respected the men’s ability to take care of the wife as stated by John Simkin earlier. The class hierarchy structure of England imposed many social norms that limited the freedom and options of living arrangements. Bronte explored the connection between the moving houses and captivity throughout the novel as the forceful relocation of the wives brought to their demise. Terry Eagleton explains that “Wuthering Heights, … confronts the tragic truth that the passion and society it presents are not fundamentally reconcilable” (Eagleton 396). As the plot progresses we see how the structure of society tears apart the passionate relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff. This is evident as how the living world is unaccustomed to change from the traditional English structure. Yet, Bronte leaves the reader with a glimmer of hope to follow the true love by making the location arrangements after death be based on passion. Heathcliff states his wish of “dissolving with her” (Bronte 248) as the final victory of the passionate lovers to be together for eternity after their life for an unconventional and creepy ‘living’ arrangement. Once again, Bronte brings out the pitfalls of the traditional practices of the elite social class and ends with the glimpse of unconventional idea that in the end love will cross social
In Wuthering Heights the husband traditionally brings the wife to his estate shortly after marriage. It held true for Catherine and Edgar, Isabella and Heathcliff, as well as Cathy and Linton. This social norm was accepted for the upper socioeconomic classes that respected the men’s ability to take care of the wife as stated by John Simkin earlier. The class hierarchy structure of England imposed many social norms that limited the freedom and options of living arrangements. Bronte explored the connection between the moving houses and captivity throughout the novel as the forceful relocation of the wives brought to their demise. Terry Eagleton explains that “Wuthering Heights, … confronts the tragic truth that the passion and society it presents are not fundamentally reconcilable” (Eagleton 396). As the plot progresses we see how the structure of society tears apart the passionate relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff. This is evident as how the living world is unaccustomed to change from the traditional English structure. Yet, Bronte leaves the reader with a glimmer of hope to follow the true love by making the location arrangements after death be based on passion. Heathcliff states his wish of “dissolving with her” (Bronte 248) as the final victory of the passionate lovers to be together for eternity after their life for an unconventional and creepy ‘living’ arrangement. Once again, Bronte brings out the pitfalls of the traditional practices of the elite social class and ends with the glimpse of unconventional idea that in the end love will cross social