“The Women’s Movement” essay, by Lady Caroline Norton, of the “Cultural Documents and Illustrations” section in Wuthering Heights highlights the rights of English women during the nineteenth century. According to Norton, “A married woman. . .has no legal existence: her being is absorbed in that of her husband” (295). In addition, Norton informs readers that women were not allowed to defend themselves in court or compose their own wills later on in the essay (295-296). It was the primary job of a woman to tend to the needs and demands of her husband. For this reason, women did not possess legal rights, properties, or monetary funds. All possessions owned by a nineteenth century-English woman prior to marriage were defaulted to her husband once they were wed.
This is exemplified in chapter ten of Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. In chapter ten, Heathcliff decides to marry Isabella, Catherine’s sister-in-law, in order to become the heir to Edgar’s, Isabella’s brother, property. “. . .appalled by this fantastic preference. . .the possible fact that his [Edgar] property, in default of heirs male, might pass into such a one’s [Heathcliff’s] power, he had sense to comprehend Heathcliff’s disposition” Nelly explains in chapter ten (103). The “fantastic preference” Nelly is referring to in this quote is the shift of Heathcliff’s attention from Catherine, Edgar’s wife, to Isabella. This confirms Edgar’s suspicions of Heathcliff’s devious strategy to inherit the Linton properties. In accordance to nineteenth century English law, once Isabella marries Heathcliff, the property she is to inherit following the death of Edgar, will be given to Heathcliff, along with any other possessions or inheritances she may acquire before and after the confirmation of the marriage.
I am struggling with the meaning of this book. Is it a story about the evils of the British legal system and the power of literacy or is it a story of human triumph told from a dark perspective?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Heathcliff is a symbol for women of the time? Is Bronte showing women that they can rise up through literacy to fight the legal system the way Heathcliff did?
Heathcliff was seen as a lesser person, by many in the story, who went away learned to read and learned the law and came back a new person. He was then able to use the law to manipulate situations to get what he wanted from people he felt looked down on him and kept him from being happy.
Is Bronte using Heathcliff to show women the power of literacy?
Despite the rigorous laws that women had to obey of this time period, I thought they sounded worse in the documents than were portrayed by the women of the story. Catherine is very strong-willed and stubborn, not seemingly giving in to any of the demands of the men around her. She especially does not bend for her husband Edgar, yet he bends to her. It is interesting that Heathcliff does treat Isabella badly, however. Perhaps his because his motive to marry was not out of adoration but out of revenge, instead. I think maybe you get to see both sides of the coin and how it affects different women seperately.
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