Advances in Social Science and Culture ISSN 2640-9682 (Print) ISSN 2640-9674 (Online) Vol. 5, No. 3, 2023 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc 42 Original Paper Wuthering Heights and the Sprout of Feminism Wang yujia 1 1 School of Language, Literature and Law, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Shaanxi Province, China Received: June 13, 2023 Accepted: July 19, 2023 Online Published: July 26, 2023 doi:10.22158/assc.v5n3p42 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/assc.v5n3p42 As I depicted in the last reading notes, the option that Cathy decides to marry Linton instead of Heathcliff is the inevitable corollary of firmly entrenched patriarchal, which absolutely can’t be denied; however, With further reading of content and grasp of author’s authentic milieu, the awakening descended on me that I err to simply attribute Cathy’s such choice to her surrender to the patriarchal ideology. On the contrary, this virtually manifests her unyieldingness and defiance against this irrational and barbarous social notion. I will remedy my errors as followed. Cathy, the heroine under the writing of author, incisively embodies the willful and stubborn. It seems that the rebellion and defiance are inveterately embedded in her disposition. Since she was a child, she was enamoured of the boundless wilderness where she usually carefreely roamed. Glaring compared with the other girls, she had avid affinity for the whip and often played with it. She trampled on the Holy bible and tossed it into kennel. She was accustomed to butting up against her father, a man, by words and deeds, and these discourtesies of her is considered as “flagrant” anti—tradition amid the male—dominated society. Cathy valiantly rushes out of the traditional choking definition of women—weakness, ignorance, humbleness, obedience and so forth. Sensibly, in the world which is structured in Cathy’s brain, instead of being reduced to the accessories of men and families, women are independent individuals with self ideology and the irrational gender disparity should be eliminated. Emily Bronte, the author of the book, “manipulates” Cathy to go against the mainstream and conveys the growling accusation towards the era shrouded by absurd patriarchy; nevertheless, I stuck in why such a resolute girl betrays her personality and marrys Linton who she doesn’t love. As analyses of many reviewers, “The vanity facilitates Cathy to make this decision” “Cathy’s true love can’ compare with the craving for the mobility of class” “Cathy ultimately yields to the patriarchy” which also correspond with my original opinions, I just still can’t subdue a sense of confusion. I turned to grope the surroundings of author once more. The family of Emily Bronte, in a manner, is a microcosm of patriarchal society. Her brother, as it were, the “atrocious tyrant” with male superiority, overrides the Emily Bronte and the remaining two sisters. Her brother leverage his male privileges to exploit them, www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 3, 2023 43 Published by SCHOLINK INC. which spurs Emily’s crashing dissatisfaction. Added the ascent of society, during that period, there existe minor educated women who begin to ponder upon their own value and hanker after the equality, and Emily Bronte is one of them. Whereas the early emerging hazy feminism lingers over on the verge of the society, which still can’t generate so immense power that can bring ruin to the male—dominated society, Emily Bronte resorts her indignation to the words in her work. In my perspective. I reckon that Cathy’s brother is the equivalent of Emily Bronte’s, both of whom exceedingly relish in the superiority which patriarchy brings them. The itch for the retreat of the patriarchal swallow prompts Cathy to pursue the power and right, thus it is possible for her to reverse her current suppressed situation. The marriage between her and Linton, for her, symbolizes not so much for so—called money and statue as for the intangible deterrence, the deterrence endowed her that bolster her morale to rival with her brother, to rival with the entrenched patriarchal. As portraied in the beginning, Cathy’s such choice is not the surrender to the patriarchal ideology, but her unyieldingness and defiance against this irrational and barbarous social notion, albeit the people, who uphold the belief that the marriage between Cathy and Linton indicates Cathy eventually compromises on the feudal patriarch, are superior numbers. After all, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people’s eyes. Despite the Wuthering Heights didn’t bring the heavy blow to the traditional solid notion and be acclaimed during that Victorian era when women were subjected to the male domination, Emily Bronte and the remaining two sisters indeed open the floodgates of female voice. The words under their pens inspire the awakening of female consciousness which in the past are deeply buried, and they also shore up women’s ccourage to struggle for the freedom, equality, independence, dignity…In retrospect, the road of feminism brim with trials and tribulations. Until today, the time virtually has witnessed trailblazing achievements in female business. I’m exuberant that in my day, I can watch a film, called the Lost Daughter, that challenges the traditional defination for a mother, instead of great and selfless, it presents a woman who forsakes her children and the whole family in order to pursue her own dreams. A series of issues has been intrigued by this movie, such as “Is the mother necessarily being the self-sacrificing character?” “Does a mother have the right to be herself?”; In the foreign periodical, I can know about that women take the paintbrushes to express themselves, which contributes to more and more female portraits under female gaze are emerging in the museum gallery walls. Double chin, fleshy arms, sagging chest, love handle and stockly legs are authentically disclosed by women’s paintbrishes. The female artist don’t idealize women, but to expose the real sides of women; From news I can see increasingly female names appear on the winners lists of The Nobel Prize, The Pritzker Architecture Prize, Turing Award and so on. The conspicuous achievements still can’t pay off the hardships towards the complete elimination of gender disparity. The existing “default parent syndrome” in family, the “glass ceiling” in work environment…consecutively make the issue of feminist stand in the teeth of the storm. We haven’t the vaguest idea of how long will this fight last, but what we are certain is that innumerable women from all over the world, just like Emily Bronte, will pour all efforts into the great fight for freedom and www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/assc Advances in Social Science and Culture Vol. 5, No. 3, 2023 44 Published by SCHOLINK INC. equality.