Feminist Ideas in Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights

Women’s rights have been a question greatly discussed for quite some time, and the debate is still continuing despite the possibilities offered to women today. Feminism nowadays has evolved into a movement in a number of directions, starting with women equality and ending with homosexuality. However, feminism originally is an ideology that is based on equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism theory deals with analysing women’s social roles and experiences in relation to gender inequality. Traces of this ideology are vastly represented and can be found in a number of literary works, as notable examples are novels written by female authors (the Brontà « sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and others) during the Age†¦show more content†¦Nelly represents not only the power and wisdom of women, but also her compliance to dominance of men. ‘Nelly Dean is a manipulative creature who will go to considerable lengths to maintain the sta tus quo of male authority.’ (Whitley, 2000: xi) By adding this trait to Nelly’s character Brontà « reminds the reader of the order of the world. Even though the characters are fighting and representing women’s rights, they still do live in a man’s world – that is the novel’s connection with the reality. The character of Nelly is a great support to the statement of de Beauvoir (1949: 324): ‘At the present time, when women are beginning to take part in the affairs of the world, it is still a world that belongs to men – they have no doubt of it and women have scarcely any. To decline to be the Other, to refuse to be a party to the deal – this would be for women to renounce all the advantages conferred upon them by their alliance with the superior caste.’ All characters in the novel are living in a man’s world; nevertheless, the author has tried to change this world by the help of her characters. She shows a myriad of opportunities and different paths of life that woman can take, and more importantly she does not show a perfect world, where women get everything they want, she shows a world where woman do make mistakes, but at the same time they are the ones that pay for these mistakes and correct them. This novel is noteworthy for the fact thatShow MoreRelatedEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights: Mental Illness and Feminism915 Words   |  4 Pages Psychoanalytical View of Wuthering Heights Mental illness was viewed as being a self-inflicted disease during the time period Wuthering Heights was written in (Bloomfield 298). Many of the characters suffer from a form of mental illness, but not all of them can be seen as self-inflicted. Most of the illnesses are inflicted by the death of other characters. After Hindley’s wife dies in his arms, he becomes an alcoholic and foreshadows his own death due to his destructive behavior (Bloomfield 291)Read MoreMystery and Suspense in Gothic Novels758 Words   |  3 Pagesthe story enveloped omens or visions, supernatural or inexplicable events, overwrought emotion, women in distress, and a tyrannical male (Elements). Both Charlotte and Emily Bronte wrote gothic novels that used many of these characteristics, but their novels also transcended the boundaries of the genre. The novels Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre follow the gothic tradition in regards to setting, atmosphere, and supernatural events. However, both novels bre ak from tradition in the matters of feminismRead MoreFeminism And The Social, Economic, And Political Equality Of The Sexes1619 Words   |  7 PagesWuthering Heights: Feminism Feminism, or â€Å"The belief in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.† (Elinor Burkett, Laura Brunell paragraph 1) was a very popular topic in Victorian fiction, and still is to this day with the first signs of feminist logic appearing in 3rd century BCE for the attempted appeal of women’s use of expensive goods, and continuing on to the present day third wave of feminism. Throughout history, women have been seen as objects and toys to men, in which willRead MoreFeminism And The Social, Economic, And Political Equality Of The Sexes1616 Words   |  7 PagesFeminism, or â€Å"The belief in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes.† (Elinor Burkett, Laura Brunell paragraph 1) was a very popular topic in Victorian fiction, and still is to this day with the first signs of feminist logic appearing in 3rd century BCE for the attempted appeal of women’s use of expensive goods, and continuing on to the present day third wave of feminism. Throughout history, women have been seen as objects and toys to men, in which will never have equal rights norRead MoreWuthering Heights Alienism Essay1304 Words   |  6 PagesEconomic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1884, Marx claims that in a capitalist society, people value commodities more than human life as they are drawn into the belief that having more possessions leads to greater social status. Marx references the idea that everyone has the goal of driving others to â€Å"economic ruin† (Marx, 170) which suggests that humans have an innate greedy nature. By comparing the â€Å"quantity of objects† (Marx, 170) to â€Å"an extension of the realm of the alien powers,† (Marx, 170)Read MoreEssay on Wuthering Heights - Two Women, Two Sides of the Same Coin1270 Words   |  6 PagesJordan smith EGL120 Essay Student ID: 1051867 Word Count: â€Å"Identify and discuss various representations of woman in Wuthering Heights† The depictions of women in Wuthering Heights reveal that despair and happiness are direct outcomes of one’s decision to either be submissive to or oppose patriarchal constructs respectively. Catherine and Cathy II are portrayed as examples of both how giving power to patriarchal demands leads to misery and pain in contrast to how resisting patriarchalRead MoreAnalysis Of Emily Bronte s Wuthering Heights Essay2188 Words   |  9 Pagesa part of life to them at the time. One such author is Emily Brontà «, a woman who never married. She and her sisters experienced many familial hardships and began writing at a young age, perhaps as a coping mechanism. With this in mind and assessing trials and events in her life, one cannot help but find uncanny parallels between the characters of her novels and the social turmoil she witnessed. At first glance, Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Wuthering Heights may seem to be the tragedy of two young lovers. HoweverRead MoreHow does Emily Bronte use Gothic elements to enhance the novel ‘Wuthering Heights’? Discuss how Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘Jamaica Inn’ illuminates this.2086 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿How does Emily Bronte use Gothic elements to enhance the novel ‘Wuthering Heights’? Discuss how Daphne Du Maurier’s ‘Jamaica Inn’ illuminates this. In the Victorian era we saw the revival of gothic literature; it fictionalised contemporary fears such as ethical degeneration, unmediated spiritual beliefs against a stern religious faith and also questioned the social structure of the time. Although written almost 100 years apart both Wuthering Heights and Jamaica Inn share many themes and componentsRead MoreThe Love and Hate in Wuthering Heights5240 Words   |  21 PagesThe Love and Hate in Wuthering Heights Shi Xueping Introduction Wuthering Heights, the great novel by Emily Bronte, though not inordinately long is an amalgamation of childhood fantasies, friendship, romance, and revenge. But this story is not a simple story of revenge, it has more profound implications. As Arnold Kettle, the English critic, said, Wuthering Heights is an expression in the imaginative  terms of art of the stresses and tensions and conflicts, personalRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 PagesNOVEL SPIS TREÃ…Å¡CI INTRODUCTION 1 I THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NOVEL 2 II KEY AUTHORS 3 III KEY TEXTS 3 IV TOPICS 3 INTRODUCTION Many associate the word â€Å"Victorian† with images of over-dressed ladies and snooty gentlemen gathered in reading rooms. The idea of â€Å"manners† does sum up the social climate of middle-class England in the nineteenth century. However, if there is one transcending aspect to Victorian England life and society, that aspect is change. Nearly every institution of society was affected