Women's Relationship With Men

MARRIAGE

Inextricably linked to violence and abuse
- "[Heathcliff] seized, and thrust [Isabella] from the room; and returned muttering—"I have no pity! I have no pity! The more the worms writhe, the more I yearn to crush out their entrails! It is a moral teething; and I grind with greater energy in proportion to the increase of pain."
Violent verbs
- "seized" and "thrust"
referring to her as a "child" and himself as her "legal protector",
- reflective upon the lack of Property Act - the wife's belongings belong to the husband after marriage, and thus essentially the wife becomes her husband's property
"yearning" to "crush" her "entrails" as it shows that he wishes to expel her of her will and hope, sadistically enjoying the task as he does so
more she "writhes", the more he wishes to do it
- deteriorates Isabella's "tiger" personality until she has "not the power to feel"
- noun "power" suggesting that feeling has become such a tenuous task for her that she is now numb, reflecting the wider patriarchal society that Bronte wishes to bring our attention to

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Rasheed physically abuses Mariam by "he shoved two fingers into her mouth and pried it open, then forced cold, hard pebbles into it."
Violent verbs
- "shoved"
- "pried"
- "forced"
Reflective of their wedding
- Rasheed had "no problem forcing [the ring] over her knuckles"
- foreshadowing Rasheed's abuse was inevitable, as he had "no problem" forcing her into the marriage
Shares the same sadistic enjoyment that Heathcliff finds in abusing his wife
- "his lips curled up into a sneer"
- the noun "sneer" indicating Rasheed's contemptuous and mocking attitude towards his own abuse.

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Women desire the same level of power as men
"she could ride any horse in the stable, and she chose a whip"
- PHALLIC SYMBOL
- Bronte's preference for masculinity

Mariam's fascination with Rasheed's gun
"She turned it over in her hands. It was much heavier than it looked [...] it was disgusting to her that Rasheed owned something whose sole purpose was to kill another person."
- PHALLIC SYMBOL
- Upholding patriarchal values that Mariam is "[Rasheed's] business"
- Unlike Cathy Mariam does not crave the power Rasheed has
- Upholding patriarchal values of women being delicate

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"If all else remained and he were annihilated the universe would turn to a mighty stranger."
"I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!"
"I am Heathcliff."
"Two words would comprehend my future–death and hell: existence, after losing her, would be hell."
- Loving relationships in the text have consequences
- Results in the transgression of boundaries such as life and death
- Dependence reflects the romantic era, Heathcliff and Catherine are punished by Bronte for not paying heed to their spontaneous overflow of feelings
- Claim losing each other will end their lives - Cathy dies of a broken heart
- References to "death" and "hell" reflect gothic genre
Despite this romantic dependence, Cathy must choose Edgar because "he will be rich."
- Women rely on marrying above their social status to recieve financial and social stability, it would "degrade" her to marry Heathcliff

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"Maybe it was senseless to want to be near a person so badly here in a country where bullets had shredded her own brothers to pieces."
"How could she ever cope with his permanent absence?"
- Can be interpreted as love
- But also as a chance for survival
- "He was her lifeline to the streets now."
- "I would kill with it for you"
Women rely on their men under the ruling of the Mujahadeen, and eventually the Taliban.

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Edgar was a very authoritarian father however also very loving
Shaped Cathy to be overly sheltered and naive
- "I don't believe he ever did speak a harsh word to her [...] but he trusted her to no one else."
Reflective of how Edgra won't let Cathy travel alone or outside of the Grange
Reflects patriarchal values of a daughter being her father's property, his to protect

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Edgar was a very authoritarian father however also very loving
Shaped Cathy to be overly sheltered and naive
- "I don't believe he ever did speak a harsh word to her [...] but he trusted her to no one else."
Reflective of how Edgra won't let Cathy travel alone or outside of the Grange
Reflects patriarchal values of a daughter being her father's property, his to protect

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Babi and Laila have a very loving relationship
He does not uphold patriarchal values of women being subordinate to men
- "Afghanistan is going to need you as much as its men, maybe even more"
Khaled Hosseini: "Afghanistan is doomed if women are barred once again from public life"
"Marriage can wait, education cannot."
Babi's insistence of Laila getting an education allows for her to help rebuild Afghanistan after the terror of the Taliban

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