“The convention of marriage is portrayed as a force which is detrimental to characters achieving their desires”
Set in the North of England, the convention of marriage is prominent in Victorian society. This is shown as very detrimental to many characters in Brontë’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ leading to marriages in which, neither the bride nor groom know each other well enough to spend their lives together, causing a breakdown of their relationship and pain for surrounding characters. Brontë shows that, without love, a marriage is unable to function and prevents those involved from achieving their desires. In ‘Scarlet Letter’, Nathaniel Hawthorne proves to the reader that an unfortunate marriage can lead to adultery, revenge and unhappiness, caused by traditional conventionality.
Catherine’s marriage to Edgar Linton is motivated by her desires to advance socially causing severe emotional damage for herself, Linton and of course, Heathcliff, who feels total adoration towards her. The force of conventionality is shown by Brontë here, as although Catherine is so powerfully in love with Heathcliff and has such intense feelings towards him, she marries Linton instead, with whom she shares nothing like the love and connection that she has with Heathcliff. Brontë not only shows here the faults within Catherine’s character but also the problems within society at the time, that money and status are most important in finding a husband. Heathcliff views this marriage as betrayal, bringing out the worst in his character as he dedicates his life to planning revenge. By denying herself union with Heathcliff she causes herself and Heathcliff deep emotional pain. The convention in Victorian society of marriage being a way of advancing socially ...
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...as an obligation, where you were unable to choose your husband or had to choose for financial stability rather than love and companionship. The Church at the time of the setting was highly condemnatory against sin, most particularly in this case where a woman betrays the contract of marriage as men were seen as the most important and respect worthy in a marriage with women treated as second class citizens.
In conclusion, one can see that in both novels the idea that the convention of marriage can cause many problems and can overall be detrimental to characters achieving their desires as in Wuthering Heights we see the torment of characters whom the marriage has caused pain and we also see the damaging effects of marriage in The Scarlet Letter as we see Hester’s love life shatter as she breaks the bond of marriage that was so sacred in the 17th century by adultery.
Both Stephanie Coontz in “Great expectations” and Archena Bhalla in “My home, my world” address the issue about marriage and arranged marriages. While Stephanie mostly speaks on couples don’t make marriage their top priority and don’t last for a long time. And she gives an example by saying that “People nowadays don’t respect the marriage vowels.” She also believes that in the 18th and 19th centuries, conventional wisdom among middle-class men was the kind of woman you’d want for a wife was incapable of sexual passion which has changed in the 20th century. Also that marriage was viewed in the prospective that work relationship in which passion took second place to practicality and intimacy never was important with male. Bhalla speaks
The angry tone of Wollstonecraft’s “Vindication of the Rights of Women” significantly contrasts with the cautionary tone of Austen’s “On Making an Agreeable Marriage,” seeking to reform society rather than guide people to live in that society. When Austen describes the drawbacks of loveless marriage, she writes that “Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection” (Austen 72-73). Austen uses “preferred” and “endured” to warn her niece against marrying too quickly, creating a cautionary tone. Moreover, “anything” emphasizes the miserableness of a marriage without affection, beseeching Austen’s niece to verify her love before diving headfirst into a marriage. In contrast, when demonizing the education system, Wollstonecraft
Throughout history, especially in the fifteenth century, it was extremely rare for a woman to choose her husband. The majority of marriages were planned by the head of the household, which was usually the father of the bride or groom. The purposes of these marriages were to gain power and social standings. This in turn also provided the chance for the heirs of the marriages to have possession of power, territory/land, and a set social standard for the family for all future heirs. This was more of a benefit for the men than the women, for the men could own territories and be the head of the household, women could not. Instead, a woman’s obligation was to fulfill their family’s jurisdiction in their future.
The complicated nature surrounding Heathcliff’s motives again adds an additional degree of ambiguity to his character. This motivation is primarily driven by Catherine’s marriage to Edgar and past rejection of Heathcliff, since he was a servant whom Hindley disapproved of. Prior to storming out of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff overhears Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (Brontë 87). The obstacles that ultimately prevent Heathcliff from marrying Catherine provide insight into Heathcliff’s desire to bring harm to Edgar and Hindley. The two men play prominent roles in the debacle, Edgar as the new husband and Hindley as the head figure who refused Heathcliff access to Catherine. Following this incident, Catherine says, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…” (Brontë 87). Catherine’s sentiment indicates she truly would rather be with Heathcliff, but the actions of others have influenced her monumental decision to marry Edgar. Furthermore, Heathcliff is motivated to not only ruin Edgar’s livelihood, but also gain ownership of his estate, Thrushcross Grange. This becomes clear when Heathcliff attempts to use Isabella
The central themes in The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables are very similar as they indicate Hawthorne's ideals through writing. Throughout both of these novels, the theme of heart vs. Head is very apparent. In The Scarlet Letter, the heart leads Hester and Dimmesdale to commit an dreadful sin, but the intellect thoroughly damns Chillingworth (Rountree, p. 78). This same theme is easily evident when we recall the characters of Colonel and Jaffrey Pyncheon in The House of the Seven Gables. Not only are these two selfish with what power they already posses, but they are ruthless in obtaining more land and wealth (Crowley, p. 74). In both novels, the theme of heart vs. head played the central plot of each and was also evident in smaller scenes throughout each. During the course of The Scarlet Letter, Hester is developing mind as Dimmesdale is gaining heart (Rountree, p. 91). When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest, Dimmesdale can at last be true; he can turn completely out of himself as their two hearts are once ...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the guilt bestowed upon two passionate lovers committing adultery reveals the corrupt and over-radical beliefs of a strict Puritanical society. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale face life-changing consequences after submitting to their emotions and committing sin. The narrator’s forgiving tone presents the society as being very strict in living by their social and religious codes. The administrative, or authoritarian, imagery conjured up by various scenarios with the scaffold, magistrates, and the mayor in hid castle supports the tense mood as Hester and Dimmesdale try to mysteriously elude the laws of their community. Hawthorne employs allegory to the names of many characters in the novel to suggest their vulnerable personalities as they, in many cases, become shaped by the Puritanical views. Most importantly, the abundance of symbolism, such as the scarlet letter “A” itself, hammers home the effects of the Puritanical moral values on the characters in the novel.
Catherine Earnshaw appears to be a woman who is free spirited. However, Catherine is also quite self-centered. She clearly states that her love for Edgar Linton does not match how much she loves Heathcliff. She is saying that she does love both, and she is unwilling to give one up for the other; she wants “Heathcliff for her friend”. Catherine admits that her love for Linton is “like the foliage in the woods”; however, her love for Heathcliff “resembles the eternal rocks beneath”. She loves Heathcliff and yet she gives him up and marries Linton instead, Catherine believes that if she marries Heathcliff it would degrade and humiliate her socially.
In the gothic novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, the author hides motifs within the story.The novel contains two major love stories;The wild love of Catherine, and Heathcliff juxtaposing the serene love of Cathy,and Hareton. Catherine’s and Heathcliff's love is the center of Emily Bronte’s novel ,which readers still to this day seem to remember.The characters passion, and obsession for each other seems to not have been enough ,since their love didn't get to thrive. Hareton and Cathy’s love is what got to develop. Hareton’s and Cathy’s love got to workout ,because both characters contained a characteristic that both characters from the first generation lacked: The ability to change .Bronte employs literary devices such as antithesis of ideas, and the motif of repetition to reveal the destructiveness of wild love versus a domestic love.
Among the social issues discussed in Wuthering Heights, one of the most prevalent is the treatment of women. This is especially highlighted with Heathcliff, who interacts with three women throughout story. Each woman sees a different man based on his motivation. Catherine sees a loving, beautiful person; Isabella sees an evil, spiteful creature; and Catherine sees an abuser. Heathcliff’s treatment of each woman is motivated by love, anger, and vengeance.
married. However, “for pragmatic reasons, the author’s conclusions favor marriage as the ultimate solution, but her pairings predict happiness” (“Austen, Jane”). Als...
Romanticism and Puritanism collide in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, as Hawthorne’s characters are dealt with a conflict between following one’s own moral code versus following the code of a pious and conservative society. Hawthorne introduces characters who are in a struggle to rebel against a stubborn society. Throughout his novel, Hawthorne allegorizes a Romantic moral that expressing one’s true beliefs and emotions is ultimately rewarding. Across their progression, the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth embody such Romantic moral.
His assertion focuses on how their relationship is a displaced version of symbiotic relationship between mother and child. Emotionally, Heathcliff is the world to Catherine just as a mother is to a child and a child to a mother. (p. 366). This statement is supported by a passage in the novel in which Heathcliff has left and she seeks him calling for him at intervals and crying hard enough to beat out any child (p. 88-90). Upon Heathcliff’s return, Brontë uses language that Wion believes depicts the cessation of their relationship’s development in the Freud’s oral stage of libidinal development (p. 368). Brontë uses phrases such as “drank from hers” when discussing them gazing at each other and “They were too much absorbed in their mutual enjoyment…” (p. 99, 368). The use of this language is interesting and begs us to question if its use was intentional to display the basicness and necessity of their relationship as if to say that they could just as easily not be together as they could stop consuming sustenance. The novel demonstrates many times that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is fundamental to their existence. A major piece of evidence supporting this is Catherine’s breakdown when Heathcliff leaves as well as when Heathcliff and Edgar’s disagreement reaches a point where Edgar forces Catherine to decide between himself and
Emily Brontë’s novel, Wuthering Heights, demonstrates a social criticism on women’s power to control their own fate and the ideal women in the nineteenth century. Specifically in Lyn Pykett’s, Changing the Names: The Two Catherines, a strong feminist perspective is explored. In her criticism she goes through many different analyses of Catherine Earnshaw-Linton and her daughter Cathy and what they represent in regard to a women’s power and social expectations in the nineteenth century. Pykett says that the two Catherines represent women’s true nature according to Brontë. Catherine Earnshaw-Linton is faced with the choice between two men but chooses based on what is accepted in her society, the man that can provide her economically, not the man whom she loves. This marriage to Edgar instead of Heathcliff is the source of Catherine’s problems and ultimately her demise. It causes one to question whether it is right to marry for the social aspect or for true love. Young Cathy seems to face the problem her mother has as well but she finds a way to be true to her nature and fight the tyrann...
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights can be considered a Gothic romance or an essay on the human relationship. The reader may regard the novel as a serious study of human problems such as love and hate, or revenge and jealousy. One may even consider the novel Bronte's personal interpretation of the universe. However, when all is said and done, Heathcliff and Catherine are the story. Their powerful presence permeates throughout the novel, as well as their complex personalities. Their climatic feelings towards each other and often selfish behavior often exaggerates or possibly encapsulates certain universal psychological truths humans are too afraid to express. Heathcliff and Catherine's stark backgrounds evolve respectively into dark personalities and mistaken life paths, but in the end their actions determine the course of their own relationships and lives. Their misfortunes, recklessness, willpower, and destructive passion are unable to penetrate the eternal love they share.
Many novels speak of love and indulging in passion, but few speak of the dynamics that actually make a marriage work. Jane Eyre is one of these novels. It doesn't display the fleeing passions of a Romeo and Juliet. This is due entirely to Bronte's views on marriage and love. The first exception to the traditional couple the reader is shown is Rochester's marriage to Bertha. This example shows the consequences of indulging in passion. The opposite side is shown through another unlikely would-be couple, Rosamund and St. John. Through this pair, Bronte reveals the consequences of indulging in duty. Another view of marriage is also present in the book, through the character Jane Eyre and her actions.