Wuthering Heights as a Victorian Novel Arnold Shapiro

Wuthering Heights is in the same ethical and moral tradition as the other great Victorian novels. Its criticism of society is as fierce as Charlotte Bronte's or Dickens'.... [M ch! of the same spirit interf ses the novels of Charlotte and "mily Bronte. #or $oth %riters& society and %hat passes for civili'ation are synonymo s %ith selfishness. Both sho% family life as a sort of open %arfare& a deadly str ggle for money and po%er. Both see organi'ed religion as ineffective or hypocritical or so cold and harsh as to $e inh mane and deflected from tr e Christian ideals. (he characters in Charlotte Bronte's first t%o novels have to face many of the same pro$lems confronting the characters in Wuthering Heights, and they reach the same concl sions. Both )illiam Crims%orth *in The Professor+ and ,ane "yre re-ect the master.slave relationship as static and st ltifying and come to the teacher.p pil relationship as the one that allo%s for gro%th and the f lfillment of h man potential. Similarly& Catherine /inton and 0areton "arnsha% see the f tility of 0eathcliff's desire for revenge and domination *his seeing the %orld solely in terms of the master.slave relationship %hen love fails him+ and affirm civili'ation and civili'ed val es in terms of the teacher.p pil relationship. At the o tset 0eathcliff is m ch like the orphans in other Victorian novels..1liver (%ist& or ,ane "yre& or 2ip. 0e is alone& an o tcast& as m ch an 3alien3 or 3interloper3 among the "arnsha%s as ,ane "yre is in 4ateshead 0all. (he family here is defined m ch as Charlotte Bronte portrays it in Jane Eyre or in her third novel& Shirley. #irst& the family closes against the stranger. , st as the 5eeds fear ,ane simply $eca se she is different from everyone else and th s seems to pose a threat& so the "arnsha%s are repelled $y 0eathcliff's appearance. 0e looks like a 3gypsy $rat3 ... and Mrs. "arnsha% is ready to fling him o t of the ho se. , st as the 5eeds force ,ane to kno% her 3place3 $y making her live %ith the servants& the "arnsha%s attempt to deh mani'e 0eathcliff. 0e is an 3it3 to them ... & an o$-ect& not a person. 0e is given a first name& not a last name& as tho gh to emphasi'e that he can never $e part of the family.... 0eathcliff is as m ch a discord among the "arnsha%s as ,ane "yre is among the 5eeds. (he children are -ealo s of him. 1ld Mr. "arnsha% $ro ght him home instead of the presents they had e6pected. 0indley comes to regard his father as an 3oppressor3 $eca se of Mr. "arnsha%'s concern for the orphan. 0e sees 30eathcliff as a s rper of his parent's affections and his privileges.3 ... (he choice of %ords here..3oppressor&3 3 s rper&3 0indley's 3 persecuting the poor& fatherless child3..indicates that this family is still very m ch a tri$e& governed $y po%er and the desire for money rather than $y love. 1ne is reminded of s ch other Victorian tri$es as the Cra%leys in Vanity Fair or the 7orkes in Shirley. "mily Bronte $roadens her attack %hen she indicates the failings of organi'ed religion. In the 2reface to the second edition of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte critici'es those %ho conf se Christianity %ith sanctimonio sness8 3Conventionality is not morality. Self.righteo sness is not religion.3 Christianity is not the same thing as self.interest8 3appearance sho ld not $e mistaken for tr th9 narro% h man doctrines& that only tend to elate and magnify a fe%& sho ld not $e

s $stit ted for the %orld.redeeming creed of Christ.3 2receding her sister in this sort of criticism& "mily Bronte in Wuthering Heights condemns the pharisaical servant& ,oseph& %ho sees everyone damned e6cept himself and ses his 3sermoni'ing and pio s disco rsing3 ... as a %ay of gaining infl ence. ,oseph's religion is completely self.serving8 he attacks those o t of po%er in order to gain the approval of those in po%er. )hen Mr. "arnsha% is in control& he attacks 0indley. )ith 0indley in charge& he attacks 0eathcliff and Cathy. #inally& %hen 0eathcliff takes over& ,oseph savagely critici'es the yo nger generation. Among the masters& %e find the same hypocrisy and the same perversion of religio s val es. (h s& in a telling choice of %ords& "mily Bronte points o t that 0indley's 3paradise3 is his selfish idyll %ith #rances at the hearth& %hile 0eathcliff and Cathy are $anished to the $ack kitchen.... As :elly indicates& 0indley's religion& like ,oseph's& is egocentric8 3he had room in his heart only for t%o idols..his %ife and himself8 he doted on $oth& and adored one.3 ... 0indley's treatment of others follo%s the same selfish pattern as his 3religion.3 0e is as consistent as the Brockleh rsts in Jane Eyre, %ho en-oy all the l 6 ries of life themselves& %hile advocating Spartan a sterity for the poor.... (he rest of the people of the novel em late the "arnsha%s in their selfishness and lack of sympathy. (he /intons pres ma$ly are good Christians& yet they are repelled $y 0eathcliff $eca se he looks like a gypsy and therefore cannot $e a mem$er of their social class. 0ere one has only to think of Great Expectations or Vanity Fair to see that "mily Bronte is on the main road of Victorian social criticism& attacking those %ho - dge others solely $y s rface appearances or money or $irth. As 0eathcliff $itterly notes %hen he tells the story later to :elly& Cathy 3%as a yo ng lady and they [the /intons! made a distinction $et%een her treatment and mine.3 ... (he yo nger /intons follo% in the footsteps of the older generation. Isa$ella and "dgar are spoiled $rats& like the yo ng "arnsha%s and the 5eed children in Jane Eyre. (hey fight over their possessions. )orst of all& "dgar sho%s no real evidence of Christianity in his $ehavior to%ard Isa$ella. )hen his sister diso$eys his orders and r ns off %ith 0eathcliff& he c ts himself off from her and self.righteo sly $lames her for his o%n ina$ility to forgive8 3;(ro $le me no more a$o t her. 0ereafter she is only my sister in name& not $eca se I diso%n her& $ t $eca se she has diso%ned me.'3 ... Against this dark $ackgro nd ... & the novelist depicts the love $et%een 0eathcliff and Cathy. 5ereading Wuthering Heights, one finds that love is presented in almost completely negative terms& set forth in opposition to society and its val es& in a sense defined $y those val es. 1ne cannot emphasi'e this fact eno gh. 0eathcliff and Cathy do not e6ist in some dream.like vac m9 rather& they are the prod cts of the %orld that "mily Bronte clearly descri$es in the first part of the novel. (o a s rprisingly large e6tent they share the val es of that %orld& and the novelist& at least $y implication& critici'es their actions. It is simply not acc rate to say [as does Dorothy Van 4hent! that their relationship is 3irrelevant to the social and moral reason.3 In the opening half of Wuthering Heights "mily Bronte sho%s ho% Cathy's selfishness and her attempt to compromise %ith society's dictates keep her from f lfilling her love for 0eathcliff. In the closing half she

sho%s ho% 0eathcliff& in his fr stration and desire for revenge& $ecomes the n%itting tool of the %orld& em$odying all of society's egoism and cr elty.... (ho gh Dorothy Van 4hent is correct %hen she states that $oth 0eathcliff and Cathy re-ect ordinary concepts of h man $ehavior& "mily Bronte does not divorce her characters from ethics and morality entirely. Cathy& for e6ample& cannot $ear the idea that "dgar has his head $ ried in a $ook %hile she s ffers almost n ttera$le ang ish. 0eathcliff scorns "dgar's sense of 3 uty and humanity ... pity and charity3 *his italics ... +. And rightly so. 32re.moral3 "mily Bronte does not here re-ect these concepts thro gh her spokesman& 0eathcliff. She does discard the ordinary man's ordinary se of these terms. "dgar's pity and charity are directed& in the main& to%ard himself& since he has no real sense of %hat his %ife is like. 0e has never kno%n her. 0is d ty and h manity to%ard his %ife consist of his staying a%ay from her d ring her final illness. 0e s spects& like :elly& that she is play.acting and someho%& even tho gh she is in the final stages of pregnancy& he never takes the tro $le to find o t other%ise. In opposition to this sort of narro%ness and pettiness& Cathy makes t%o grand positive affirmations of her love for 0eathcliff& asserting at one point 3;he's more myself than I am'3 ... and later& 3;I am 0eathcliff'38 3; ... my great tho ght in living is himself. If all else perished& and he remained& I sho ld still contin e to $e9 and& if all else remained& and he %ere annihilated& the <niverse %o ld t rn to a mighty stranger.'3 ... 0ere Cathy seems to $e trying to do a%ay %ith the $o ndaries that separate h man $eings and trying to live in and for another person. She seems to %ant freedom from the restrictions of society.... #ree from the %orld's limitations& she %o ld $e contented& she says& %ith a niverse composed solely of herself and 0eathcliff.... [Despite! her no$le assertions to the contrary& [Cathy! is a creat re of this %orld after all. 1nce she gets a taste of life at the /intons' she decides that she en-oys gentility9 like her $rother& 0indley& she en-oys %ielding po%er and she tyranni'es "dgar and Isa$ella %ho give in to all her %hims. In :elly's %ords& she $egins 3to adopt a do $le character3 ... & acting one %ay %ith the /intons& another %ith 0eathcliff. In the 3catechism3 ... on love and marriage that :elly p ts her thro gh& she reveals that at least half her $eing has $een given to society. She %ill marry "dgar $eca se he is rich and handsome and $eca se he loves her& not $eca se she loves him. She thinks she can have her cake and eat it too8 marrying "dgar& she %ill have money eno gh to help her tr e love& 0eathcliff. In some %ays she seems scarcely $lame%orthy. /ike a child& she thinks she can control the %orld& %hen& in reality& the %orld controls her.... )here Cathy remains a child& 0eathcliff sho%s he has $een t tored only too %ell in the lessons ta ght $y 0areton& ,oseph& the /intons& Cathy herself. 1nce deflected from his love& he t rns aside $lindly from the path of freedom and openness and casts himself in the iron mold of revenge8 3;I seek no revenge on yo [he tells Cathy! ... (hat's not the plan. (he tyrant grinds do%n his slaves and they don't t rn against him& they cr sh those $eneath them. 7o are %elcome to tort re me to death for yo r am sement& only allo% me to am se myself a little in the same style.'3 ... 0ere 0eathcliff opts for stasis rather than development& for fi6ity rather than gro%th. (he %hole p rpose of the master.slave relationship& %hich he chooses = ite deli$erately& is to keep things al%ays the same. (he master& like the gentleman pholding the caste system& %ants to maintain his

s periority at all costs. 0e %ants to keep the slave $eneath his feet forever. In this %ay 0eathcliff $etrays himself and imitates the society that earlier had denied him his individ ality and h manness. 0e ends p playing society's game $eca se society too& as "mily Bronte has portrayed it in the novel& is $ased on the master.slave relationship8 the /intons and "arnsha%s and /ock%oods are grasping people %ho like the status!"uo $eca se it keeps them in po%er. Ironies a$o nd in the second half of Wuthering Heights as 0eathcliff accepts& and lives $y& the val es of the people he formerly detested and finds that these val es are as empty for him as they %ere for the others. (h s& after three years a%ay& he ret rns as a 3capitalist&3 some sort of s ccessf l $ sinessman. <sing force and trickery& he go$$les p $oth the "arnsha% and /inton estates. B t %hat does property mean to him> ) thering 0eights& %hich had at least $een a home %hen 0eathcliff entered it& is chaos and anarchy %hen he comes to govern it. In order to revenge himself on "dgar& he cr elly mistreats Isa$ella and the yo ng Cathy /inton. 7et& scorning $oth females& he gets no satisfaction from his vengeance& and he remains lonely and desolate& ha nted $y his visions of the first Catherine. "mily Bronte sho%s 0eathcliff $ecoming a parody of his former tormentors& of 0indley especially. 5eversing the golden r le& he does to his son& /inton& %hat 0indley had tried to do to him. 0is %ords even echo those sed earlier to descri$e him& as he calls /inton 3my property&3 3it.3 ... 0e $r tali'es 0areton& as he %as $r tali'ed $y 0indley& $y c tting him off from ordinary h manity and denying him an ed cation. 0e is even more monstro s than 0indley& ho%ever& $eca se he reali'es %hat he is doing. )here 0indley %as too savage or too st pid to nderstand 0eathcliff& 0eathcliff can empathi'e %ith 0areton& $ t he ses his empathy perversely& as a %ay of tormenting his fello% h man $eing8 3If he %ere a $orn fool [he says of 0areton! I sho ld not en-oy it half so m ch. B t he's no fool9 and I can sympathi'e %ith all his feelings& having felt them myself. I kno% %hat he s ffers no%& for instance& e6actly..it is merely a $eginning of %hat he shall s ffer& tho gh. And he'll never $e a$le to emerge from his $athos of coarseness and ignorance. I've got him faster than his sco ndrel of a father sec red me& and lo%er9 for he takes a pride in his $r tishness. I've ta ght him to scorn everything e6tra.animal as silly and %eak.3... All 0eathcliff has learned from his e6periences is hate. )ith devastating irony& "mily Bronte sho%s that this hatred plays right into society's hands& as 0eathcliff helps perpet ate the system that earlier he str ggled against and that he kno%s destroyed his chance for love.... Sym$olically& [the second half of the novel! $egins %ith a $irth& Catherine /inton's& %hich is descri$ed in m ch the same terms as %as the entrance of 0eathcliff. :elly calls Cathy a 3fee$le orphan3 and says she is 3an n%elcomed infant it %as& poor thing? It might have %ailed o t of life& and no$ody cared a morsel& d ring those first ho rs of e6istence.3 ... (ho gh the lang age is an echo of the past& ho%ever& Cathy t rns o t to $e the representative of a ne% generation& and %itho t the a thor's $eing foolishly optimistic& of a ne% set of val es& an ans%er to the old %ays. In the concl ding section of Wuthering Heights %e trace the ed cation of the second Catherine. She parallels her mother in her 3s nshine3 and in her imperio sness.... B t she differs from her mother also8 as her relationship to /inton indicates& she is open to others& receptive to

their needs. She responds to /inton $eca se he is a h man $eing and is in tro $le. (his is not the a%esome love claimed $y 0eathcliff and the first Catherine& perhaps& $ t h man sympathy..the same pity& charity& d ty& h manity that 0eathcliff re-ected in "dgar& the difference $eing that Cathy practices %itho t preaching.... [<nlike! her mother& she is not simply interested in self.f lfillment9 she %ants to help someone else. /ike 0eathcliff she has the gift of empathy. 0ers is a softened emotion& ho%ever& %hich makes her comprehend others and $ehave $etter to%ard them. )hen she is angry %ith 0areton $eca se he %ill not share her attit de to%ard 0eathcliff& he makes her nderstand $y appealing to her remem$rance of her relationship %ith her father8 3he fo nd means to make her hold her tong e& $y asking& ho% she %o ld like him to speak ill of her father> and then she comprehended that "arnsha% took the master's rep tation home to himself& and %as attached $y ties stronger than reason co ld $reak..chains& forged $y ha$it& %hich it %o ld $e cr el to attempt to loosen.3 ... 5esponding to 0areton's appeal& Cathy sho%s that a ne% %ay of life is possi$le. (he old system need not hold s%ay forever& after all.... (he final relationship descri$ed in Wuthering Heights offers a %ay o t of ... $arrenness and hope for the f t re. (he 3heaven3 of 0areton and Cathy& nlike that of 0eathcliff and the first Catherine& remains ndist r$ed and they can progress from childhood to ad lthood. (hey enter into a proper teacher.p pil relationship& %hich is different from any other %e have seen in the novel& since it implies m t ality& respect and for$earance& development and change. <nlike the master& the teacher %ants his p pil to gro% ntil he $ecomes his e= al. It is a tr ism that the teacher is ta ght $y his p pil. (he %ords that "mily Bronte has :elly se at this point nderlie the significance of %hat has taken place $et%een 0areton and Cathy. (hey have signed a 3treaty.3 (he former 3enemies %ere& thenceforth& s%orn allies.3 (he promise is that civili'ation& this time $ased on proper actions& not on the old mo things of the /intons and "arnsha%s& %ill $e reaffirmed8 3"arnsha% %as not to $e civili'ed %ith a %ish [:elly tells /ock%ood!9 and my yo ng lady %as no philosopher& and no paragon of patience9 $ t $oth their minds tending to the same point..one loving and desiring to esteem& and the other loving and desiring to $e esteemed..they contrived in the end to reach it.3 ... (his statement is not 3pre.moral&3 dreamlike& or sentimental. (he teacher.p pil metaphor is not merely 3li$eral3 %ish.f lfillment. As my analysis of Wuthering Heights has tried to sho%& "mily Bronte is totally clear.sighted a$o t the fail res of society and she is f lly a%are of the limitations and inade= acies of most people.... [She! descri$es her characters as not completely evolved into h man $eings8 /ock%ood is a 3snail&3 "dgar a 3leveret&3 and 0eathcliff at vario s times is a 3c r&3 or 3%olf&3 or 3tiger.3 /ike "liot in her description of the gro%th of Dorothea Brooke& ho%ever& like the other ma-or Victorian novelists& she has a sense of %hat society can $e. A$o t half %ay thro gh the novel& Isa$ella /inton indirectly indicates the f tility of the old %ay of doing things..the strict adherence to the lex talionis# 3B t %hat misery laid on 0eathcliff co ld content me [she asks :elly!& nless I have a hand in it> I'd rather he s ffered less, if I might ca se his s fferings and he might $no% that I %as the ca se.... 1n only one condition can I hope to forgive him. It is& if I may take an eye for an eye& a

tooth for a tooth& for every %rench of agony& ret rn a %rench& red ce him to my level.... B t it is tterly impossi$le I can ever $e revenged& and therefore I cannot forgive him.3... Isa$ella's is the system follo%ed $lindly $y most of the characters in the $ook& incl ding 0eathcliff. It is endless..%hen %ill the desire for revenge ever stop>..and finally& as the description of 0eathcliff's death sho%s& self.defeating. At the end of Wuthering Heights, "mily Bronte points to the only escape from this impasse8 she descri$es that slo%& grad al transformation of the individ al %hich alone makes ed cation possi$le and p ts a $etter society %ithin o r reach.... *Source: Arnold Shapiro& @Wuthering Heights as a Victorian :ovel&3 in Stu ies in the &o'el,& Vol. A& :o. B& #all& ACDC.+