The position of the women in Wuthering Heights concerning work

[Elo]

Hello!

We really need some help!
We're from the Netherlands and we're doing an essay on Wuthering Heights, and one of the question we need to answer is what the position of the women in the book is concerning work.
Unfortunately, we're stuck so we're hoping someone could give us some information/opinions/quotes.

Thanks in advance!

[Jackson Richardson]

Hello Elo. There's a lot of discussion about Wuthering Heights here:

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?109-Bronte-Emily

I hope this helps. However this board is not a place to do student's work for them. If you've read the book and understand the words, you should be able to work out some sort of answer to the question for yourself.

I must say it strikes me as question irrelevant to what makes Wuthering Heights a significant, interesting or great book, but that's the task you've been given.

Best of luck.

[kelby_lake]

If you've read the book and understand the words, you should be able to work out some sort of answer to the question for yourself.


To be fair, English is their second language. Are you studying the original or a translation?

The best thing to do if you want help on these boards is to offer some of your own ideas about what you think the question might mean and then people can help you with those ideas.

[kev67]

The only women mentioned who do work in Wuthering Heights are Nelly Dean, Zillah and the younger Cathy (so far as I can remember). Nelly Dean and Zillah are housekeepers. Nelly is a substitute mother to both Hareton and young Cathy. Nelly started work for the household young, as her mother worked for the Earnshaws too. Even when recounting the Earnshaw and Linton family histories, she is multi-tasking with her needlework. Most the other ladies appear not to be required to do much work, presumably because they belong to a higher social class. At the start of the book when Mr Lockwood visits Wuthering House, young Cathy refuses to do any work. Joseph complains at her and tells her she is no good, like her mother. By the time Lockwood went back to tell Heathcliff he was returning to London, young Cathy seems prepared to do some household chores, such as peeling vegetables. She also had to nurse Linton, previous to Lockwood's first visit.

There are quite a few feminist and Marxist critical essays floating about on the web, but I think they are more to do with property rights and education than work.

[kiki1982]

Yes what do you both (I supose ;)) mean by that topic and have you got any more ideas than the fact you need help? ;)

We are happy to help, but we need to see you have already made an effort.

What does the topic mean anyway?

In the meantime, have a look on our Whutering Heights forum (in the authors' section under Brontë Emily).

Good luck anyway and welcome to the forum :wave: