I really enjoyed reading the cultural documents and looking at the illustrations because it really helped to understand what was going on around the world at that time period. I feel weird saying it, but I really liked the pictures because they really help put into perspective what the setting of the story might look like in real life. I have always wished I could see in real life what the author was describing and see how close I was to getting it right.
I was appalled at how English wives were treated during this time period. I knew that they had few rights, but reading this made it even more clear how few rights they had. The husband basically owned their wives and they could do nothing about it. Their possessions’ were all lost when they married, their hard- earned money could be taken right away from them, and the husband could even take the clothes off her back.
I thought the breakdown at the end of how titles work by descent was very interesting. It is mostly stuff that I already know, but it gives a very detailed explanation on how it works. I thought the example with two daughters and two sons was interesting. If both sons die, then the two daughters have to share the estate. Overall, a very interesting read that really helped to understand the background of the story.
I agree; these cultural documents and pictures are very interesting and certainly contribute to our understanding of the social standards surrounding the story of /Wuthering Heights/. I almost wish we had been assigned this portion of reading FIRST, so that I could have better understood the story and the setting. Perhaps I would have not been so confused or so frustrated by some of the characters' actions.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you point out that a woman's "possessions were all lost when they married," since (to my understanding) the possessions were never hers in the first place! It seems that property passed directly from father to husband, and the woman never had a hand on it whatsoever, yet we don't view a father's ownership of his daughter's possessions as oppressive. I wonder why that is. What is different about a father's ownership of a daughter's goods compared to a husband's ownership of his wife's property?
I agree that having the pictures as a part of the cultural documents was helpful. When people talk about Wuthering Heights, they almost always mention something about the moors. Having never actually seen a moor, or seen firsthand what the estates of this time period were like, it is often difficult to get a good mental image of where and who the characters are. Though, I will say that the picture that is said to be similar to the house Wuthering Heights was based on is much cheerier than I had imagined. In my mind's eye, it's much more of an Addams Family type abode. Much, much creepier.
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