What do you understand by the
Industrial Revolution? How did it change the relationship between different
social groups in Wuthering Heights?
The novel opens in 1801,
a date Q.D. Leavis believes Brontë chose in order "to fix its happenings
at a time when the old rough farming culture, based on a naturally patriarchal
family life, was to be challenged, tamed and routed by social and cultural
changes; these changes produced Victorian class consciousness and ‘unnatural'
ideal of gentility." In 1801 the Industrial Revolution was under way in
England; when Emily Brontë was writing in 1847, it was a dominant force in
English economy and society, and the traditional relationship of social classes
was being disrupted by mushroom-new fortunes and an upwardly-aspiring middle
class. A new standard for defining a gentleman, money, was challenging the
traditional criteria of breeding and family and the more recent criterion of
character. This social-economic reality provides the context for socio-economic
readings of the novel.
Is Brontë supporting
the status quo and upholding conventional values? Initially
the answer would seem to be "no." The reader sympathizes with
Heathcliff, the gypsy oppressed by a rigid class system and denigrated as
"imp" or "fiend." But as Heathcliff pursues his revenge and
tyrannical persecution of the innocent, the danger posed by the uncontrolled
individual to the community becomes apparent. Like other novels of the 1830s
and 40s which reveal the abuses of industrialism and overbearing
individualism, Wuthering Heights may really suggest the
necessity of preserving traditional ways...............................................................................................................
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.