Patriarchy In Wuthering Heights

An interesting aspect worth noting in these three novels, Wuthering Heights, Wide Sargasso Sea and Grass is singing, is the concept of Othering the characters of female protagonists.

In Grass is Singing, it can be seen in Dick Turner’s validation of his own gender role by creating “other” in Mary. Jean Paul Sartre in his book, Being and Nothingness, has explained how one tries to create the “Other” in order to validate his own identity. Bell Hook in her essay, “Understanding Patriarchy” has explained how patriarchy has adverse effect on both man and women: by creating definite gender role for both of them. The fusion of Sartre’s concept of “other’ and Hook’s emphasis, on patriarchal adversary effect on both the genders, reveals another interesting

Wuthering heights is in itself the epitome of “other”, with all its wilderness and furious passion oppose to the Civility and Victorian identity signified by Thrushcross Grange. Catherine is in a perpetual struggle to wipe this “other” off and this struggle leads her to Hysteria and ultimately death. Edgar is weak-willed and submissive; he lacks the masculinity expected from Victorian society. Edgar is shown as if he is made out of glass and about to break at any minute, especially when Catherine loses her temper. As Nelly says: ' 'I observed that Mr. Edgar had a deep-rooted fear of ruffling [Catherine 's] humour. He concealed it from her; but if ever he heard me answer sharply, or saw any other servant grow cloudy at some imperious order of hers, he would show his trouble by a frown of displeasure that never darkened on his own account. ' ' The effeminate character of Edgars tries to create the masculine furious “other” in Catherine for the validity of his own Victorian identity of civility.

In the 2nd part of, Wide Sargasso Sea, where Rochester is the narrator, he seems meticulously busy in “Othering”

Homi Bhabha in his essay “Of Mimicry and Man: The ambivalence of Colonial Discourse” says that colonial mimicry is “the desire for a reformed, recognizable other, as a subject of a difference that is almost the same but not quite.” (Bhabha 86). In the eyes Antoinette’s husband, she is also “almost the same but not quite‘. And this unknown trait of Antoinette‘s character made Rochester afraid. He draws the comparison of this unknown trait of Antoinette‘s character with the wild nature of the island, which he wanted to tame into Victorian ideals. In this process of taming, he forgets that he is actually taking away Antoinette’s identity, which will destroy a part of himself as well as push her towards