Feminist Criticism

Pickett’s observation of the two Catherines is very interesting.  She recites the Catherines that Lockwood observed in the books he saw and mentions how they all come about, except for Catherine Heathcliff.  Pickett presumes that identity reveals itself after both Catherine and Heathcliff’s death when they will together “wander the moors eternally”.  She goes on to talk about how Catherine’s decision with Heathcliff not only raises the question “What does a woman want?”, but also “What is a woman?”  During the course of the novel, Catherine made the transformation from simple to sophisticated for Earnshaw’s liking, but stayed the simple girl whenever she and Heathcliff were alone.  I found myself getting annoyed with the whole acting game and just wanting her to make her choice, whether it was the right choice (Heathcliff) or not.  She ultimately did, and I was not as relieved as I thought I’d be.  Certainly today, we would consider a “real woman” to be a variety of things.  If they aren’t proper, love fighting, and drink a lot, that’s all fine.  In the era in which Wuthering Heights took place, a woman was defined as sophisticated and proper.  She dressed nicely, spoke well, had a firm hold on her children, and a clean house.  Today, we embrace the idea that everyone is different, and they are, but in those times, different was likely to get you chastised.