Women In Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is set in the Victorian Era of England, which means the rights of the characters are limited because of the laws. The rights of this time period were in favor of the wealthy men of society, especially those born into their status of wealth. It was almost unheard of to move up in the caste system, because it was so difficult. The women, especially those who were married, had very little rights because of the English Common Law. They had to seriously consider their options for marriage before marrying because their basic rights were transferred to their husband upon marriage. The laws in the time period of Wuthering Heights affected the character’s choices and the plot line of the novel. Heathcliff, an orphan brought into

“Under the common law doctrine of coverture, the property of a married woman passed into the hands of her husband” (Shanley 528). This law helps Heathcliff along in his plot for revenge, because Cathy, Edgar and Catherine’s daughter, could not own Wuthering Heights if she was married. In this time period, all Heathcliff had to do was wait out everyone’s death and get the right people married to each other. The women’s limited rights almost made it too easy for Heathcliff to get his revenge and take the property of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Wuthering Heights went to Edgar because Catherine was next in line and as her husband he received any land that would have been hers. Cathy was forced to marry Heathcliff’s son, Linton, which meant the property would go to Linton once Edgar joined Catherine in death. Heathcliff took control of the land because Linton was weak and gave it to him. “Finally, Lockwood cannot discern whether Hareton is a servant or a member of the family…” (Cory 9). Although Hareton should have been the owner of Wuthering Heights, he was skipped because he appeared to be a servant and was ignorant. “He does not know his letters” (Brontë 160). Hareton was purposefully never taught anything that could help him prove himself as the true owner of Wuthering Heights. “But poor Hareton, the most wronged, was the only one who really suffered much. He sat by the corpse all night, weeping in bitter earnest” (Brontë 246). After Heathcliff’s death, it becomes apparent that Hareton did love him, despite how awful Heathcliff was to him. Even though Hareton was technically the rightful owner of the property, he was uneducated and loved