ipl-logo

Lyn Pykket's Essay Changing The Names: The Two Catherines

986 Words4 Pages

Changing the names and manipulating the paradigm of social constructs
- Assessing Lyn Pykket’s essay Changing the names: The two Catherines
Lyn Pykett is amongst many who have explored the critically acclaimed novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë from a feminist perspective. In her essay Changing the names: The two Catherines, Pykett explores the oppressive nature of the patriarchy and construct of femininity through a dissertation of the mirroring and counter-mirroring of the journey of the two Catherines as embodied in their changing surname .
While Pykett’s immediate preoccupation lies with the two Catherines, she additionally comments on how the view of Brontë, as expressed in the novel, contradicts that of contemporary (female) writers. …show more content…

Pykett begins by pointing to the “reformation” of the elder Catherine, following her stay at Thrushcross Grange, which creates the inner conflict she experiences as she adopts what Nelly refers to as a “double character without exactly intending to deceive any one” . This conflict, Pykett argues, arises form Catherine’s contradicting roles between the ideal feminine gentility and her “true”, pre-gendered, self, and is evident in Catherine’s wish to return to childhood and increasing identification with Heathcliff whom she refers to as “more myself than I am” . This suggests that, rather than being true to herself, Catherine is practicing gender normativity in correspondence with contemporary societal expectations, ultimately succumbing to the patriarchy. Hence, the conflict provides evidence for Pykett’s argument that constructs of femininity, and thus gender normativity, is produced rather than derived from a true/universal feminine nature . The argument, while convincing in itself, gains further probative force though the following dissection of younger Catherine’s navigation of feminine

Show More
Related

Rhetorical Techniques In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey Is A Bildungsroman

1113 Words | 5 Pages

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological development, of the protagonist Catherine Morland. This essay will analyse the language, and narrative techniques of the extract, and discuss how this excerpt suggests vicissitude in Catherine’s personal perspectives, and relationships. In addition, it will discuss the ‘domestic gothic’ and abuse ubiquitous in ordinary situations. Furthermore, it will argue how Austen’s rhetorical techniques work to encourage reader interest, and to exercise perception, when distinguishing between appearance, and reality. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the extract within the novel’s wider themes.

Read More

Misogyny In Jane Eyre

488 Words | 2 Pages

In her impassioned speech to Mr Rochester, Jane confronts his inherently misogynistic attitudes and emphasises her resolute belief that she and Rochester are equal, but morally she is superior. Despite Jane’s intense desire to be emotionally gratified, she refuses to compromise her own dignity to achieve this. Within this passage, Brontë exemplifies her own feminist values which criticise the current lifestyle of the Victorian marriage. In one of the rare instances where Jane openly conveys her view on gender roles and Victorian social hierarchies, she concurrently challenges Mr Rochester’s misogynistic beliefs.

Read More

Jane Eyre Patriarchy Quotes

920 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel written by Charlotte Brontë, the character of Jane Eyre is undoubtedly controlled by the patriarchy since childhood. Whether it be her older male cousin, the headmaster of her school, or someone she works for, the men in this novel use ever ounce of their title as a male to subject Jane to whatever they feel is right. The influence of men ultimately dictates Jane’s decisions in life and to claim the men to be anything other than an abuser is a product of blatant manipulation. The male characters in the novel Jane Eyre portray the control men impose on the women as well as the toll these actions take on the women’s lives.

Read More

Catherine Moreland In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

618 Words | 3 Pages

In Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen describes Catherine Moreland, an ordinary girl who becomes an unexpected heroine. Catherine Moreland led a simple life with her plain and pleasant family, and when looking at her childhood alone, she was certainly not destined for greatness, as most heroes are attributed to be. Austen details Catherine’s childhood and utilizes literary techniques to introduce and develop Catherine Moreland’s character. Throughout the passage, Austen uses indirect characterization and direct characterization combined with point of view to illustrate Catherine’s seemingly plain and simple personality. Austen begins with a description of Catherine Moreland’s home life and family, and through these descriptions, Catherine’s character is indirectly characterized.

Read More

A Critical Analysis Of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca

826 Words | 4 Pages

While the similarities in both plot and structure are obvious, the criticism that du Maurier moved “progressive social agenda of the original novel backwards rather than forward with the substitution of the fiery, passionate Jane for the meek and mild unnamed heroine” (Williams 51) is problematic when considering the differences du Maurier made even when she chose certain aspects and settings of Brontë’s work to incorporate in her own. The narrative of a young, unnamed female heroine, who in

Read More

The Memoirs Of Catherine The Victor

434 Words | 2 Pages

Winston Churchill once proclaimed, “History is written by the victor”. This quote can be interpreted in a plethora of different ways. However, I believe that it means the one who defeats and wins the on-going battle at hand, directs the next steps that will be taken in history. Catherine the II exemplifies the victor when she makes personal and dire sacrifices to advance her status, and become an empress. In her memoirs Catherine states "My heart did not foresee great happiness; ambition alone sustained me.

Read More

The Significance Of Passage In Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

715 Words | 3 Pages

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, is a bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological and maturity of the protagonist Catherine Morland, from youth to adulthood. This essay will analyse the language and narrative techniques of the set passage, and will discuss how this important passage suggests change in Catherine’s overall maturity and her subsequent friendships and relationships, and will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the passage within the novel’s wider themes. Northanger Abbey is a consciously designed comedic satirical novel, which breaks the mould of the novel in that it uses other novels to construct an alternative to the kind of novel usually read at the time. Austen could simply have written a gothic, or sentimental novel, but chose not to, and instead parodies them, and undercuts this popular fiction with irony, and satire.

Read More

Racial Stereotypes In Charlotte Bronte's Bertha Mason

502 Words | 3 Pages

Jane is a composed, modest English girl who is small and pale, contrastingly, Bertha is tall, dark, intemperate, and unchaste. (page ) The representation of Bertha Mason reinforced the fear of racial difference and of women that didn’t fit the cultural British norm. In another sense, Bronte’s use of race is also an allegory for 19th century inequality of class and gender - women’s dependence on men.

Read More

Northanger Abbey A Bildungsroman Analysis

1084 Words | 5 Pages

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological development of the protagonist, Catherine Morland. This essay will analyse the language and narrative techniques of the extract, and discuss how it suggests vicissitudes in Catherine’s personal perspectives and relationships. In addition, it will discuss the ‘domestic gothic’ and abuse ubiquitous in ordinary situations. Furthermore, it will argue how Austen’s rhetorical techniques work to encourage reader interest as well as exercising perception when distinguishing between appearance and reality. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the extract within the novel’s wider themes.

Read More

Analysis Of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

1098 Words | 5 Pages

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological development of the protagonist, Catherine Morland. This essay will analyse the language and narrative techniques of the extract, and discuss how it suggests vicissitudes in Catherine’s personal perspectives and relationships. In addition, it will discuss the ‘domestic gothic’ and abuse ubiquitous in ordinary situations. Furthermore, it will argue how Austen’s rhetorical techniques work to encourage reader interest as well as exercising perception when distinguishing between appearance and reality. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the extract within the novel’s wider themes.

Read More

Theme Of Self Alienation In Wuthering Heights And Frankenstein

2102 Words | 9 Pages

Firstly the obsessive love between Catherine and Heathcliff. Catherine claims that her love for Heathcliff “resembles the eternal rocks beneath –a source of little visible delight, but necessary” (73). She tells her housekeeper “Nelly, I am Heathcliff –he’s always, always in my

Read More

Gender Roles In Jane Eyre

933 Words | 4 Pages

Charlotte Brontë´s novel Jane Eyre is considered one of Britain´s most classical literary work. The story consists of a hybrid of three genres, the Gothic novel, the Romance novel and the Bildungsroman and many critics have praised the novel. Though, the novel got a great deal of good criticism in contemporary time, its immediate reception was controversial. The story plays out during the Victorian period in Britain where the social norms were strict and there was a big gap of equality between the genders. This essay will analyse how the gender roles are portrayed and if they are modern or traditional.

Read More

Narrative Techniques In Northanger Abbey

753 Words | 4 Pages

Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, is a bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological and maturity of the protagonist Catherine Morland, and her development from youth to adulthood. This essay will analyse the language, and narrative techniques of the set extract, and discuss how this important passage suggests change in Catherine’s role as Austen’s female bildungsroman. In addition, it will aim to decipher how linguistic presentations can have a profound effect, on a young imagination, and how reality can sometimes be misinterpreted with fiction and impede on the perception of moral and social relationships. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the passage within the novel’s wider themes.

Read More

Romanticism In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

1429 Words | 6 Pages

Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Brontë, published in 1847. The book's core theme is the destructive effect that jealousy and vengefulness have, both on the jealous or vengeful individuals and on their communities. Although Wuthering Heights is now widely regarded as a classic of English literature, it received mixed reviews when first published, and was considered controversial because its depiction of mental and physical cruelty was unusually stark, and it challenged strict Victorian ideals of the day, including religious hypocrisy, morality, social classes and gender inequality. Wuthering Heights, which has long, been one of the most popular and highly regarded novels in English literature. In my essay I will write about

Read More

Class Struggle In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

2773 Words | 12 Pages

The novel was published during the Industrial Revolution, a time of great economic change in which laborers fought for fair conditions at the workplace, and employers fought to defend themselves. People formed groups to work for their own benefit, thus causing the separation of classes. As a novel written during the Victorian era, Emily Bronte’s intensely class conscious novel Wuthering Heights is a story of protecting and improving one's social and economic class. Much of this struggle results from a distinct division of classes and is described through such ways as personal relationships, appearance of characters, and even the setting. The division of classes is based on cultural, economic, and social differences, and it greatly affects the general behavior and actions of each character.

Read More

More about Lyn Pykket's Essay Changing The Names: The Two Catherines

Related Topics

Open Document