Wuthering Heights

Week 3(Quiz Chpts 23-28)

And Now…

Read “Papa Says Everything She Has is Mine”—marking

the text using the meta-cognitive markers

Women’s Rights in the Nineteenth Century

About property rights… The “one entity of marriage” –

Under nineteenth century British law, married women could not legally own property.

The common law doctrine of covertures dictated that upon marriage the man and woman legally became one entity, and that entity was the husband.

About property rights…• Single women and widows

Single women and widows – unlike married women – were legally capable of owning property.

About property rights…• Inheritance laws –

All property a woman took into her marriage became her husband’s, as well as any inheritances she received during the marriage.

Within Wuthering Heights, a character tries to exploit these laws to get revenge…

About property rights…• Inheritance laws (cont.) –

Generally, inheritances passed to sons only.

If a man had no sons, and he did not specifically provide for a daughter in his will, the closest male relative would often become the heir.

About property rights…• The Married Women’s Property Act –

The movement to change women’s property rights culminated in the passage of the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882, which ensured that married women had the same right to own property as unmarried women.

Why is this relevant? Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering

Heights during the beginning of the women’s rights movement in England.

The primary concerns of the movement were the lack of women’s right to vote and the lack of married women’s property rights. The latter issue arises in Wuthering Heights.

Back to Dates…• Did you find any?

• Are the events happening at those dates significant?

HOMEWORKRead Chpts 29-30

Do Now

What makes a good relationship?

Love and Marriage

• Generate a list of the marriages and love relationships in WH

• Rank the relationships in order, from – most to least passionate, – most to least loving.

Love Groups• Each group will write a brief description

of the couple’s relationship, referring to specific textual examples to make their claims.– Consider each character’s motivations for

becoming involved in his or her relationship (beyond “s/he was in love!!”). • Which characters fall in love and/or marry for

“good”reasons? • For “bad” reasons? • Why do the characters who make “bad” choices

feel compelled to make them?

Evaluation• Does Brontë approve of or

endorse the relationship?

• Think about the future of Cathy and Hareton. – Does the text provide any hints that

these characters, too, are doomed or have the potential to be happy?

SYMBOLS

Dogs and Relationships---Any connection there?

HOMEWORKRead Chpts 31-32

Do Now

TBD

Panel Discussion• Read and summarize the reviews

of Wuthering Heights----As a Group

• Individually---ask a question and make a comment about each review

• Be prepared to participate

HOMEWORKRead to the end of the novel

Do Now

Wuthering Heights Test

Do Now

Author’s Presentation

HOMEWORKRead Oscar Wao