Read the original article. Press releases. Journalist resources. Search for an expert. Personal tools Web Editor Log in. Search Site only in current section. Advanced Search…. Search Site. Posted by ap at Oct 25, PM Permalink. Slavery in Yorkshire Until recently, however, generations of Anglophone literary critics overlooked the impact of slave-trading and slave-produced wealth on Yorkshire.
However, socially, the appearance of different races gives rise to various types of prejudices and discriminations: scientifically, race may not matter, but socially, it does; and fiction, which depicts humans as social beings, cannot very well ignore this.
Heathcliff is frequently described quite explicitly as being physically different in appearance, so the question of whether it is at least possible that he was of African or of Indian descent seems to me a not unreasonable question to pose. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on December 27, at am.
Hello, and thank you for your very interesting comments. Posted by Twinkly on January 8, at pm. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on January 9, at pm. I tried to write something here of what I make of this very strange novel. The plot is, I agree with you, rooted in the real world; but its depiction of passion untrammeled by any controlling influence is, I think, a stylized depiction; and its focus on two households on the moors, to the virtual exclusion of everything around it, strikes me as being very stylized indeed.
But the themes it deals with, in its uniquely stylized manner, are indeed the themes of this real world. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on January 13, at pm.
My apologies once again for the late reply! There are a number of points you raise that I think are worth discussing. The first is the separation I am making between plot and theme.
You say:. I accept that. You may well counter that one cannot explore an effect without depicting the cause, and that is undoubtedly true; but, it seems to me, it is true only up to a point. The chains of cause and effect in human behaviour are difficult, possibly impossible, to discern fully. An effect can have a very large number of causes, many or most of which remain mysterious and inscrutable to human perceptions.
Can we be certain that there were no innate features in their personalities that also had their parts to play? Or are we subscribing to a strict determinism, and saying that any people with such childhoods such as theirs would inevitably end up like this? I think it is indeed reasonable to consider separately the thematic aspects of the novel, and the mechanism of the plot. However, it does seem to me a bit of a stretch to conclude from this that the novel is essentially about yearning for childhood.
After all, we must also remember that the boy who claims to see the ghosts at the end sees Cathy as a fully grown woman:. We may conclude, perhaps, the Cathy only blossoms out of childhood once she is reunited after death with Heathcliff, but that seems to me too too schematic a reading.
For me, at the centre of the novel is not so much a yearning for childhood although that theme is undoubtedly there , but, rather, obsession, cruelty, violence, and that strange and intense twilight region where love and hatred seem to co-exist. How did all this come about? All human beings are ultimately mysterious. The novel, as we both agree, is rooted in reality: the author tells us the back-stories, and gives at least a partial explanation for these characters being as they are. But if the roots of this tree are in down-to-earth reality, the wild and waving branches seem to me to exist in some other sphere entirely.
It seems to exist in some feverish, nightmare mind that is purged of all restraint, and in which our passions — the id , if you like — are let loose, utterly unrestrained. It is this that affects me most powerfully when I read the novel. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on January 16, at pm. I agree with you fully that neither Cathy nor Heathcliff are metaphorical — i.
Neither are they disembodied passions or emotions or feelings. They are indeed, as you rightly say, real human beings. But the fictional world they inhabit is, it seems to me, a very stylised version of the real world. The focus of the novel is almost single-mindedly on the passions and obsessions and the often feverish and delirious states of mind.
And Dostoyevsky seemed to me to refuse to see human actions in terms of causality at all, so determined was he to present his characters with complete freedom of choice. Even without going to Dostoyevskian lengths, we are, I think, forced to admit that, beyond a point, humans are endlessly mysterious beings. This is what makes them so endlessly fascinating. Incidentally, I hope I am not appearing overly argumentative despite the title of this blog!
I do enjoy debate on books that I love, and i have thoroughly been enjoying this, and learning from it. Many of the things you say are forcing me to rethink my own views. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on January 19, at am. What are books blogs for if not to discuss books? When I read Wut hering Heights , I find myself transfixed by it all — but I am glad to view it all from teh outside, as it were!
Posted by argumentativeoldgit on January 23, at pm. Thank you for that. I do think that it is important for Heathcliff to be conspicuously different from others physically, and that a racial difference makes perfect sense in this context. However, I do get tired of seeing literature used as a battle ground for identity politics, and try to avoid going in that direction! I know this is an old article, but I just finished reading the book and I also wondered if Heathcliff was maybe not black, but definitely not solely white.
When he talked about Isabella not mentioning Heathcliff to Linton at all. Along with what you mentioned I came to the conclusion that he was not white. She never commented on his hair texture or described his features in great detail. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on March 13, at pm.
Hello Breah, I read the novel again since writing the above, and I am even more convinced now that Heathcliff was not white. It does not perhaps matter so much exactly what race he was, but I do think it important that Heathcliff is physically different from the others.
Why is our education system being so dumbed down? Why is our history being altered and downright lies put in their stead? Absurd fantasies! Posted by argumentativeoldgit on December 14, at pm. Since the Novel give hints of the America, being established. He could of been Native American in origin. Many settle Hints of the Americas in the book. Plus, i do not believe a slave trader, will have let a slave run around in the street, without being claimed for profit.
But, my plot hole for this story is how, and why would he be Liverpool. I did do some research, Native Americans did make their way to Europe, and Liverpool being a trade city. Many Native American jewelry and music was traded at that time, because it was considered exotic at that time.
But, it is artist nature, to make everyone a Heathcliff, and Catherine. So anyone can relate to the characters. Posted by argumentativeoldgit on November 6, at pm. The exact racial background of Heathcliff is uncertain. The point is that he is different, and is perceived to be such. I think it is likely that Heathcliff was of some mixed ethnicity — but then, who knows?
Rarely have I found myself so appalled by principal characters in a novel. But, at the same time, fascinated. It really is a very great nove, and, I think, quite unique in what it achieves. Until recently, however, generations of Anglophone literary critics overlooked the impact of slave-trading and slave-produced wealth on Yorkshire.
In his account, Heathcliff is the illegitimate son of Mr Earnshaw, born of a formerly enslaved woman who is brought to Liverpool docks from the Caribbean. The Legacies of British Slave Ownership database confirms that the Sills family had a large number of Jamaican slaves.
Historians have uncovered many more compelling details of how slave-produced wealth shaped the region. Wuthering Heights was published in It was written in the shadow of two formative international political events which alarmed the British public: the late 18th century French and Haitian Revolutions.
Indeed, her choice of actor happened almost by chance — Arnold does not herself challenge the idea that Heathcliff is not really black. Whether by accident or design, Arnold may well have got it right when she cast Solomon Glave and James Howson as Heathcliff.
0コメント