The position of the female in 19th Century English society was of key import to Bront in Wuthering Heights, explore the validity of this statement.

‘The position of the female in 19th Century English society was of key import to Brontë in Wuthering Heights’, explore the validity of this statement.

During the early 1800’s, the period in which Emily Brontë wrote ‘Wuthering Heights’, English women were treated as inferior to men and as a result had sparse rights and were in possession of almost no power. Women were expected to conform to strict social protocols such as complete obedience and devotion to their husbands, were only able to pursue careers in restrictive badly paid roles such as governess, and were poorly protected by a legal system which universally favoured men- making it virtually impossible to escape from an unhappy, possibly violent marriage. Throughout Wuthering Heights, Brontë challenges the position of the female in English society by developing the characters of Catherine Earnshaw and Isabella Linton as strong, intelligent women who were ultimately broken by the social conventions which bound their spirit and ambition- forcing them into decisions which would destroy their lives.

Catherine Earnshaw is the female protagonist of the novel and is described as a beautiful, passionate woman who is torn between her socially degrading eternal love for Heathcliff and the prospect of conventional marriage with the upper class Edgar Linton, Brontë skilfully uses metaphor and incorporates themes of nature from the romantic period to convey the contrasting love Cathy feels for the two men with the analogy that “[Her] love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods; time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees.  [Her] love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath--a source of little visible delight, but necessary.” Throughout the novel both Heathcliff and Cathy echo these sentiments and it is made clear that Heathcliff and Cathy share passionate true love; whereas Cathy’s ‘love’ for Edgar is a superficial one which is forced on her by the demands of the society she lives in.  This assessment of the situation is corroborated by Cathy’s assertion that “if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it.  It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now”, here Brontë is challenging the role of women in society by suggesting that the social conventions of the time forced Cathy into the decision which ultimately shapes the rest of the novel. Furthermore, this statement supports the Marxist interpretation that the conflicts in ‘Wuthering Heights’ are a result of the bourgeois class oppressing the proletariats (in this case Hindley Earnshaw’s abuse of Heathcliff) and demonstrates Brontë’s interest in questioning the society and legal system of her time, which was harsh on both the lower classes and women- it was not until 1918 that all English women and men over 21 were allowed to vote; it is also clear that Brontë was knowledgeable about the English legal system as her utilisation of inheritance law and the way Heathcliff is able to exploit the law to abuse Isabella without punishment is completely accurate and further highlights the way women’s position in society is severely compromised by gaping holes in the English legislation.