AQA A Level English Literature. Wuthering Heights Context (AO3)
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- Created on: 19-02-20 10:52
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- Wuthering Heights Context (AO3)
- Pseudonyms
- Emily Bronte used "Ellis Bell" to concel her identity and so that she could get her work published
- Women could not publish books at the time, so using male pseudonyms allowed the Brontes to do so
- Charlotte and Anne used "Currer" and "Acton" Bell
- Surname was probably taken from Charlotte's husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls, to legitimise their work
- Victorian Life
- very strict social conventions were a normality
- Women had very few rights - reflected in Heathcliff and Isabella's marriage
- Women could not divorce their husbands, nor could they choose whom they married
- Women could not divorce their husbands, nor could they choose whom they married
- Arranged marriage for money and social status was commonplace
- At the time, nobody could believe that a woman wrote "Wuthering Heights", as the believed it was too scandalous for a woman to write
- Some believe that Emily's brother Branwell wrote it, as it suits his outlook on life, and there are many parallels between him and Heathcliff
- "Wuthering Heights" addresses Victorian issues such as slave trade, the evolving middle-class family, politics and class structures
- Heathcliff could be the child of a gypsy slave labourer, Cathy's conflict between loving Heathcliff and marrying Edgar addresses class divides and money
- Industrialisation forced more people into poverty and to live in slums
- Women were not usually able to engage in protest writing in England
- Life was increasingly urbanised and industrialised
- WH provides an unusual insight into rural life through the eyes of an urbanised man
- Religion
- Almost everyone was Christian
- The CoE and Catholic Church were still very popular
- The Church imposed strict rules on working-class people
- Divorce was disapproved of
- Women who had sex before marriage were viewed as "fallen" and "sinful"
- Hypocritical views - men of the Church sexually repressed women, but men could often do what they wished without repercussions
- The social hierarchy was to be obeyed at all times
- The Hierarchy was supposedly put in place by God
- Middle and upper-class men often had the most sexual freedom, and often had mistresses
- Some protested against the Church - William Blake with "London" and "The Garden of Love"
- The Book
- sold poorly when published and received bad reviews
- Victorian readers found the book shocking and inappropriate in its depiction of passionate, ungoverned love and cruelty
- Charlotte Bronte did not like it:“Whether it is right or advisable to create beings like Heathcliff, I do not know. I scarcely think it is.”
- Mixture of Gothic and romanticism
- Unsually dependent on characters
- Emily Bronte
- Born in 1818
- Had an eccentric, closely-guarded life
- Father was a church rector
- Raised by a deeply religious aunt
- wasn't very interested in religion
- Lived in Haworth, a poor industrial village, with unlimited access to the moors, where WH is set
- She died in 1848 at home on a sofa
- The Bronte Children
- Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, Anne
- Very creative, made up intricate imaginary worlds which inspired their poetry, written in tiny books
- Branwell was an alcoholic and died at home under the care of his father
- Viewed as the gifted one in the family
- Ther mother died when they were young, so they were brought up by their aunt
- All eventually died, and their father outlived them all
- Pseudonyms
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