Containing a multitude of ideas and themes, Wuthering Heights raises the question: what is Emily Brontë’s purpose that she wants the reader to grasp? It is plausible that the message pertains to women and the struggles encountered during that time. Brontë utilizes her characters in Wuthering Heights to show women’s struggles with being regarded as inferior to men in misogynistic, Victorian England. Brontë gives the reader a glimpse of the laws in effect that display the restrictions set on women. Inheritance laws play a pivotal role in driving the plot of the story and showing the injustices women suffer. Shortly before his death, Edgar Linton attempted to put Catherine’s fortune in the hands of trustees so that Heathcliff could not attain
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The reader’s first glimpse of how Heathcliff treats Catherine Linton is when he commands her to get the tea ready in a tone “uttered so savagely that I [Mr. Lockwood] started” (11). At this point in the story, the reader is not aware of Heathcliff’s diabolical nature, but it is made evident that he is a menacing character that will play a role in the theme of the story. When Heathcliff imprisons Catherine and Ellen in Wuthering Heights, Catherine’s bold behavior compels her to snatch the key away, but her effort delivers a myriad number of slaps on the sides of her head (279). This “diabolical violence” coupled with forcing Catherine to stay in the house further reflects the person Heathcliff is and Brontë’s attitude. Heathcliff is a wicked, controlling man that torments the lives of people around him. He tells Catherine that “I [he] shall enjoy myself remarkably in thinking your father will be miserable” (282). The intense malevolence of his character is displayed through his controlling, malicious, and misogynistic behavior towards Catherine and Isabella. Through the use of Heathcliff, Brontë is able to capture the inhumaneness of women’s treatment during the Victorian Era and direct a message to the rest of the world she lives
The reader’s first glimpse of how Heathcliff treats Catherine Linton is when he commands her to get the tea ready in a tone “uttered so savagely that I [Mr. Lockwood] started” (11). At this point in the story, the reader is not aware of Heathcliff’s diabolical nature, but it is made evident that he is a menacing character that will play a role in the theme of the story. When Heathcliff imprisons Catherine and Ellen in Wuthering Heights, Catherine’s bold behavior compels her to snatch the key away, but her effort delivers a myriad number of slaps on the sides of her head (279). This “diabolical violence” coupled with forcing Catherine to stay in the house further reflects the person Heathcliff is and Brontë’s attitude. Heathcliff is a wicked, controlling man that torments the lives of people around him. He tells Catherine that “I [he] shall enjoy myself remarkably in thinking your father will be miserable” (282). The intense malevolence of his character is displayed through his controlling, malicious, and misogynistic behavior towards Catherine and Isabella. Through the use of Heathcliff, Brontë is able to capture the inhumaneness of women’s treatment during the Victorian Era and direct a message to the rest of the world she lives