‘Understanding who holds power and who is powerless helps to
reveal the cultural context in texts’
At first glance, the settings of Othello and Wuthering Heights
seem a world apart. The exotic beauty of Venice and Cyprus contrasts sharply
with the almost barren moors of Yorkshire. However, taking a deeper look at
both texts, specifically at who holds power and who does not, not only reveals
the cultural context but in doing so reveals the similiarities (and
differences) between these two texts.
Othello
and Heathcliff both came from difficult backgrounds, where they were all but
powerless. In both texts, each character clashes with the established social
order. For Othello, this moment comes in Act 1, Scene 3 when Brabantio
shows his furious opposition to the marriage between Othello and his daughter,
Desdemona. Brabantio is a wealthy man, and represents the powerful noblemen of
Venice. Othello, on the other hand is a foreigner and a former slave. On top of
this, he is black. In a time when people travelled less, staying closer to
home, his race and background cause a wealthy native of Venice like Brabantio
to see him as little more than a foreign mercenary. Othello has earned his rank
in Venice through bravery and merit, but it matters little in the eyes of
Brabantio. Othello came from a background where he was truly powerless, a slave
to another man. For men like Brabantio, this stain can never be washed away. No
good deed Othello could ever do, no brave victory he could win would ever
change his mind. Though the Doge intercedes on his behalf, this scene shows
that Othello will never be truly accepted by all who hold power in Venice. Similiarly, Heathcliff is thrown
into the social order of Wuthering Heights in Chapter 4, immediately clashing
with those who are considered to hold more power than him. Heathcliff
arrives at Wuthering Heights with nothing, not even a name. An orphan boy off
the streets of Liverpool, he is helpless when Mr. Earnshaw decides to bring him
back to the Heights. Nelly describes him as a ‘dirty, ragged, black-haired
child’ and Mrs Earnshaw sees him as nothing more than a ‘gipsy brat’. This last
insult implies that Heathcliff, like Othello, does not share the same race as most
in his society, and certainly not the same as the most powerful men in the
Georgian social order. Damningly, at first he is not even given a pronoun,
instead described as ‘it’ – a foreign object intruding on the blissful order of
things at the Heights. It
is difficult not to see how this resembles Othello’s treatment at the
hands of conservative, powerful men like Brabantio – simply a foreign asset to
be used to fight wars on behalf of the state, and to be kept away from their
daughters.
One
cannot read Othello or Wuthering Heights without coming to terms with the
immense power of men over women in both societies. In Othello, Desdemona
has precious little agency throughout the play. In one sense, the central
conflict revolves around her actions. On the other hand, her supposed
infidelity is nothing more than a fabrication of Iago’s imagination. The plot
rolls on without any real input from Desdemona. In Act 3 Scene 3, we see Iago
tactically use ingrained mysogyny to convince Othello that she has been
unfaithful. He tells Othello that women in Venice ‘dare not show their
husbands’, but they betray their trust. He convinces him that the infidelity of
Venetian women is well known. Othello believes this, firstly because he is a
foreigner to Venice, but also because the position of women in society has made
him open to believing just about any slander of them. In the end, Othello feels
it is his right, even his duty, to murder Desdemona. As her husband, he holds
the power of life and death over her. Othello is the master, Desdemona little
more than his servant. Likewise,
the marriage of Cathy and Edgar in Wuthering Heights is not one of two equal
partners with equal agency. In Chapter 9, Cathy confides to Nelly her
intention to marry Edgar. She is clearly conflicted when making this decision,
as she has strong feelings for Heathcliff. In the end, however, several factors
compel her to go through with the marriage, and her status as a woman cannot be
ignored in this. Firstly, as a woman she cannot hope to pursue a career in
politics or the army, two avenues of advancement in Georgian society and a very
society before it. Secondly, without a father, she will have much more trouble
in finding a good husband. Finally, Cathy is nothing if not ambitious, and
tells Nelly she wishes to become ‘the greatest woman in the neighbourhood’. However, the marriage will not
be an equal partnership, no more than the relationship of Othello and
Desdemona. Ultimately, in both texts, husbands and men hold power, and wives
and women must abide by their laws and whims.
However,
in the two texts, some characters do not meekly accept their lack of self-determination
and power and instead criticise and act against social norms. Emilia,
the wife of Iago, chafes against society’s reduction of women to passive
observers. Though she shows this throughout the play, Act 4, Scene 3 is when
she strikes at the heart of the subjugation of women with her words. Her
character contrasts with Desdemona, who cannot even imagine that some women
might be unfaithful to their husbands. Emilia says it is ‘their husbands’ faults’
if women ‘fall’. She also makes it clear that women are the equals of their
husbands, having ‘sense like them’. Although women have grace, as Emilia says,
they also have the desire for revenge, as their husbands do. These ideas were
certainly radical for the time, and succinctly describe the powerful and the
powerless. Cathy may not be as
overtly in opposition to the social order of her time, yet her clear affection
for Heathcliff was certainly not what was expected of a married woman. When
Heathcliff suddenly returns in Chapter 10, Cathy is ecstatic to see him,
declaring that she shall ‘think it a dream’ on the morrow to see Heathcliff
again after three years of absence. Her obvious love for Heathcliff would have
given Edgar plenty of cause to divorce her, if he had wished. Her behaviour is
shocking to the conservative Georgian society she lives in. Showing characters
acting against the social norms they grew up within the bounds of adds depth to
both texts. Cathy is stubborn, and will not let expectations of how a married
woman should act prevent her from seeing the person she clearly desires. Equally, Emilia stubbornly refuses
to accept her powerlessness in Venetian society. Ultimately, even though both women
do not manage to avert tragedy, their attempts not only help to reveal the
cultural context, but also inspire the reader to learn from their efforts.
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