preview

How Does Emily Bronte Create A Social Class Structure?

Good Essays

In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the natural social class structure is disrupted – or rather, re-ordered - by the introduction of “outside forces”. Three major categories indicate changes in social class: the natural inhabitants, the bourgeoisie, and outside forces. The natural inhabitants are, as expected, those who live a majority their life within the confines of Wuthering Heights and naturally morph classes to fill the needs of the house. The bourgeoisie are not exactly part of Wuthering Heights; instead, they take temporary roles within the house while still remaining distinctly separate. It follows that outside forces, or those who adhere to a social class structure other than the fluid form of nature, are what change the status …show more content…

Earnshaw almost forces to conform to the disorderly system, like an ill-fitting puzzle piece. He is raised in a civilization that delegates him as the lowest of the low, and it causes him to develop resentment toward those in power. It is important for the reader to take note of Emily Bronte’s belief in the natural organization of social class – one that morphs in disorder. Therefore, Heathcliff can be viewed as the antagonist as he tries to construct a social class system that puts him at the top of the food chain around the previously natural Wuthering Heights. Rather than forcing himself into the puzzle of Wuthering Heights, he tries to build a new puzzle around himself. When Mr. Earnshaw establishes Heathcliff as his favorite child, Hindley is appalled by this disruption to the status quo. As a result, Hindley tries to gain power for himself by bullying Catherine and Heathcliff into positions lower than him; Heathcliff caused the inhabitants to fight for the social class structure that they had previously ignored. This is shown again when Catherine longs to be part of the upper class, saying “if I marry Linton, I can aid Heathcliff to rise and place him out of my brother’s power” (82). Heathcliff’s application of a new social structure does not help him have power over …show more content…

Civilization, then, posts a direct opposition to this purity. The social organization embodied by the Lintons and Lockwood, as well as Heathcliff’s branch of rebellious social structure, are eventually thwarted by the natural power through Cathy and Hareton Earnshaw. This revival of the natural and isolated power of Wuthering Heights represent Emily Bronte’s argument that the natural order - that which cannot be controlled nor defined by civilization - is the purest form of social

Get Access