Lyn Pykett: Feminist Perspective

I liked the unconventional stance that Wuthering Heights took (at least according to Pykett) in terms of feminism and women’s place in society. The part where she analyzes the influence women generally hold and its comparison to Catherine in the novel was interesting: “Catherine’s story also dramatizes the limits of female influence. Her marriage to Edgar, which ironically she sees as a means of empowering herself to assist Heathcliff (p. 87), proves unable to reconcile the two men, and her belief in the power of her influence over Heathcliff is equally illusory” (p. 472). Despite Catherine’s dominating tendencies and desire for at least some notable power or control over the situation, the simple fact that she is a woman makes it impossible for her to hold any substantial decision-making ground or for her to gain the type of attention from men that they so easily give each other. The unconventionality comes from the fact that this marriage that Catherine enters into, rather than simplifying and normalizing her life as would be the case in most situations of this time, just further complicates and “compounds the problems of Catherine’s life and exposes its contradictions”. The presence of Heathcliff and Catherine’s feelings for him make her marriage to Edgar seem irrelevant and petty. The novel examines the choices women must make and this particular situation is a perfect example of how choosing society and normality over passion and love can often backfire and cause the type of misery that was probably meant to be avoided in the first place.