What conclusions do you draw about Bronts
Brontė's novel seems to contain all the typical,traditional Victorian social values and divisions suchas the master of the house with servants below him andso on. Social distinctions were very much more markedand rigidly respected. We first glimpse what Brontėmight think of social stereotypes and divisions, rightat the start of the book through Lockwood, and laterthrough other narrators such as Nelly Dean. Lockwood is seen as the epitome of Victorian socialvalues and ideals, he is a normal Victorian gentlemanan agreeable but shallow character. He is perhaps asketchy attempt to portray a sophisticated townie. Heis a well meaning but rather confused and superficialperson, who is naive but also shows signs of maturityand intelligence inspite of moments of conceit.Lockwood is an honest narrator with no hidden agenda,his ordinariness, like Nelly contributes to thecredibility of the events he is caught up in and hearsof. Lockwood is used by Brontė to show what Victorianswould think of what they saw or heard, using theirsocial values. Right from the beginning of the bookLockwood tries to place Wuthering Heights into his ownconceptions of what society should be, he tries to put
Lockwood views Heathcliff as having "A genuine badnature" and by Nelly (when a landowner) as "rough as asaw-edge and hard as whinstone". These characters with"correct" social values and high status are theweakest characters, whereas the Earnshaws who aresocial outcasts are the stronger set of characters. The way Heathcliffacts is such that it seems that he has no regard forsocial conventions, as with Catherine when a childuntil her stay at Thrushcross Grange where she picksup the Lintons social values and is "Sociallyseduced. Thisis clear from Heathcliff's obvious suspicion ofstrangers: "He evidently wished no repetition of my intrusion. Brontė writes in such a way that we are not meant tosympathise with Lockwood, he is made out to befoolish, and his ideas with them. However Lockwood alsosees a parallel to this strangeness in seeing what isordinary, familiar and friendly such as the unseenkitchen and the carefully described dresser. However Brontė does evoke some sympathy for theLintons because of the harsh way they are treated, andthe Lintons are no different from the Earnshaws inthat they are both extremes of society. Lockwood views Wuthering Heights as a fairlyunfriendly place, and his narrative of the place andthe people in it suggests strangeness, conflict andperhaps the abuse of physical and social power. The Lintons of Thrushcross Grange it seems are almostcomplete opposites to the Earnshaws of WutheringHeights. In my view Brontė views Heathcliff asworthwhile. Isabella is made out to be quite pathetic, fainting,whining and weeping with her infatuation forHeathcliff. Heathcliff is a character would the reader couldeither sympathise with, or who can be seen as evil. Thedescription of the whole place makes it seem a veryunfriendly and cold dwelling.
Common topics in this essay:
Wuthering Heights,
Thrushcross Grange,
Dean Lockwood,
William Wordsworth,
Victorian Lintons,
,
Giaour Satan,
Brontė Heathcliff,
Heights Earnshaws,
Edgar Isabella,
social values,
wuthering heights,
victorian social values,
thrushcross grange,
victorian social,
victorian society,
epitome victorian,
lintons earnshaws,
brontė saying,
book lockwood,
social stereotypes,
epitome victorian social,
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Acceptance Essays
