《呼啸山庄》和《简爱》中仆人的作用和特点

《呼啸山庄》和《简爱》中仆人的作用和特点

Abstract(English) (i)

Abstract(Chinese) (ii)

Chapter 1 Introduction (1)

Chapter 2 The Roles of Servants (8)

Chapter 3 The Characteristics of Servants (27)

Chapter 4 Emily and Charlotte’s Presentation of Servants (46)

Chapter 5 Conclusion (51)

Bibliography (53i)

Abstract

In 1847,with the publication of Wuthering Heights,Agnes Grey and Jane Eyre,three

Bronte sisters caused great curiosity of the readers and critics,especially Emily Bronte,the authoress of Wuthering Heights,and Charlotte Bronte,the authoress of Jane Eyre.Jane’s

struggle for independence and her romantic love with Rochester and the passionate and controversial love between Catherine and Heathcliff have been reviewed for more than 100 years.Many critics have made tremendous contributions to criticism of the sources of the novels,their narrative styles and creating motivations as well as the analysis of the protagonists.This thesis,however,focuses on the roles and characteristics of servants in

these two novels.Even though servants are minor characters,it doesn’t follow that they

play no roles and have no characteristic and therefore can be neglected.Although two

novels tell quite different stories,readers can easily find some interesting and controversial images of the servants who are inseparable from the development of the protagonists and

the whole stories.When they are confronted with the changeable fate of the protagonists, especially when there is the lacking of the image of the mother,they participate in the

actions,even intending to influence the protagonists’judgment and showing their inborn conscience;some become totally callous and help to exacerbate the tragedy of the protagonists.But employed,dependent and fundamentally confined in a low social

position in patriarchal society in which men are supreme,they cannot understand the

exterior and interior struggle of protagonists,nor can they have independent thinking,

despite the fact that some of them are somewhat literate and strongly religious.By

exposing the conscience and callousness demonstrated by the servants in two novels,the

thesis intends to dig out the social and psychological state of the servants in the early 19th century,finding that they are still enslaved in the patriarchal society.It is clear that Emily

gives the reader richer and more vivid description of the servants,and pays more attention

to these people than Charlotte.ii

摘要

1847年，随着《简爱》、《呼啸山庄》、《阿格尼斯·格雷》的出版，勃朗特三姐

妹引起了读者和评论界的极大兴趣，尤其是《简爱》的作者夏洛特?勃朗特和《呼啸

山庄》的作者艾米莉?勃朗特。一百多年里，简对个人独立的不懈追求和她与罗切斯

特先生之间浪漫而又波折的爱情故事，凯瑟琳和希刺克利夫之间狂热而又颇引人争议

的爱情故事一直为人们所津津乐道。但是长期以来评论家们更多关注的是故事的主人

公而忽略了次要人物。本文着眼于两部小说中的仆人形象，对《简爱》中的女仆贝丝

和非而菲克斯太太、《呼啸山庄》里的耐莉和男仆约瑟夫进行了详细的分析。他们虽

处于隶属地位，但他们具有各自的性格特征，并在小说中扮演一定的角色。他们不但

亲眼目睹而且参加到了主人公跌宕起伏的命运当中，并试图施加影响以改变他们的命

运。通过对他们的分析，试图找出19世纪早期仆人的共同特征和生活状态，在他们

身上既可以看到人性光芒的闪烁，良心的展现，同时也发现了人性的麻木、酸腐、冷

酷、虚伪，但总的来说他们怎么也无法摆脱他们所隶属的父权社会对他们思想的深深

烙印，没有多少自己独立的思想和自我。同时，通过分析也发现艾米莉?勃朗特给了

这些人物更为细致的描述。

Chapter 1 Introduction

Grown up and educated in the early 19th

century in Haworth,an industrial town which

is straddling in the main route between Yorkshire and Lancashire,three Bronte sisters, Charlotte,Emily and Anne,drew much concern with the publication of their works,Jane

Eyre,Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey in the same year.

Over centuries,the protagonists in their novels,the Bronte’s living context and their

spectacular lives have been analyzed and explored by numerous ardent readers of their

novels and critics.

The thesis focuses on the roles and characteristics of servants in Wuthering Heights

and Jane Eyre.Although those servants are minor characters,it does not follow that they

don’t play a role and have no distinct characteristics.In my opinion,it is worthwhile to

attach importance to their roles and characteristics.The fact can’t be ignored that in both

novels the servants play a key role in the development of the changeable fate of

protagonists and the plot with the image of mother lacking.It is known that after giving

birth to six children,Maria,Elizabeth,charlotte,Branwell,Emily and Anne,Mrs.Bronte,

Maria Branwell,died when Charlotte was only six years old,and Emily only 3 years old.

After their mother died of stomach cancer in 1821,the four eldest girls suffered from protracted hunger,illness,and cold at the harsh Clergy Daughters’School at the Cowan

Bridge in Lancashire,model for the Lowood School of Jane Eyre.In fact,their two older sisters,Maria and Elizabeth,died at the school before Charlotte and Emily were withdrawn

and brought home in 1825.Under such severe reality,they must have been hungry for

warmth,comfort and encouragement from people living with them.With the responsibility

of caring for six growing children,Patrick Bronte got the help from Elizabeth Branwell, Charlotte’s aunt,and also he employed some servants to help him while he could throw

himself into religion,politics and his innovations.

It is recorded that in April 1820 Patrick brought his wife,Maria,his six children,

Maria,Elizabeth,Charlotte,Branwell,Emily and Anne as well as two maidservants to the

now famous parsonage in Haworth.Although his salary of around?170 was too small to

enable them to acquire any savings and any luxuries,he could afford the wages for some servants

1

.At that time in Haworth the Bronte family was among the list of gentlemen’shapter 1 Introduction

family.

According to Juliet Barker,in the kitchen of parsonage in Haworth the children would

gather round the fire to pass the long,dark winter evenings with their imaginary games and

to listen to the tales of their much-loved servant,Tabby Aykroyd,who stayed with the

family for thirty years

2

.

Their servant,Sarah Garrs recollected that in evening sessions Patrick gathered his

children around him“for re citation and talk,giving them oral lessons in history,biography

or travel”

3

.

As the only clergyman covering the entire chapel at that period,Patrick Bronte was

kept immensely busy.On average he baptized 290 children and carried out 111 burials a

year

4

.With the mother lost at their early age and the father who was highly busy,the

Bronte children needed the care and warmth from the image of mother.We have every

reason to believe that they got maternal love and counseling from Elizabeth Branwell,their aunt,who came to live with the Brontes after the mother died and Tabby Aykroyd,a

servant who lived with them for 30 years.The prototypes of Bessie,Mrs.Fairfax and Nelly

Dean were their aunt,Tabby Aykroyd and other maidservants.The influence those figures

had on the Bronte children was well presented in their novels.Since Charlotte had two experiences of being governess in 1839 and 1841,the creation of Bessie and Mrs.Fairfax

might have been inspired by the servants in her employer’s houses.While Emily had no experience of being governess,the presentation of Nelly Dean was probably mostly from

her own family and account of her sisters.

They had experiences of being children without the mother’s care,so they naturally

turned to old servant and their aunt to seek comfort and emit their inner plight.Due to long experience of living with the family and great knowledge of the family,especially of the master,Patrick Bronte,the servants tended to exert their influence on those children,which

helped the Bronte sisters to create the images of Nelly Dean in Wuthering Heights and Mrs. Fairfax,Bessie in Jane Eyre.

That is to say they experienced the life of living with servants personally.In their own

life they were strongly influenced by servants since they had lost mother,and meanwhile

their father was so busy.It is because servants,especially female servants,played anhapter 1 Introduction

3

important role in their real life that in their created works,servants also played a vital role. Among the servants characterized in these two novels,only Nelly Dean caused great

attention at a given period,especially in 1950s and 1960s.John Fraser gave a humane

analysis to Nelly Dean,declaring that Nelly did all the things in the name of action

5

However,James Hafley argued that Nelly Dean is'The Villain in Wuthering Heights'.She

is both ambitious and resentful of her lack of status within the family,and uses her

privileged access to people's emotional weaknesses to manipulate events so that she is left effective mistress of Thrushcross Grange

6

.More attention was given to the narrating

function Nelly played in Wuthering Heights,the critics think that her narration is not

reliable.

Through analyzing Nelly Dean,Joseph in Wuthering Heights and Mrs.Fairfax,Bessie

in Jane Eyre,the thesis is intended to show that they play an important role in the

development of the story,without their interference there would be another story.Their characteristics are stereotyped but complexed.Some are kind and conscious enough to give valuable comfort to the protagonists in trouble and isolation,exerting the profound

influence on protagonists to provide a shelter for them.Others are not totally callous and merciless,giving up the social bias to treat the protagonists cordially as they faithfully

maintain the social rules that they think to be conventional in light of norms of the

patriarchal society.Still others unconsciously lost their humane emotion and like a devil

living in the choking and isolated environment.

1.1 Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte and their creations

Living a seclusive life with her three sisters and one brother,Charlotte and Emily read voraciously and rambled on the moors.Together,the four remaining Bronte children (Charlotte,Emily,Anne,and Branwell)vividly detailed imaginary worlds in story form,

recording them in miniature volumes written in minute script.The three sisters,when

adults,drew on their early literary efforts and published a book of poems together under

the pen names Currer,Ellis,and Acton Bell,neutral appellations,since the female authors

were tended be looked on with prejudice.The fact that their book of poems sold only two

copies disappointed them and they were determined to support themselves as writers,thehapter 1 Introduction

4

young women began to work on novels thereaft er.Unfortunately Charlotte’s first mature

effort,The Professor,was rejected by numerous publishers,but the firm Smith,Elder&Co.

urged her to try a three-volume novel with more action and excitement.The result was the immediately successful Jane Eyre,a novel that treats the struggle for independence,

self-respect and social recognition of a woman in mid-nineteenth century Britain.In the

same year Emily published her novel Wuthering Heights,which tells a love story taking

place in two old isolated families.Anne published Agnes Grey.

The astonishing story of their family has been often told,but we should remember

from it the long apprenticeship in fantasy with their brother and sisters,the consuming

mental passion of Angria,the imagined world Charlotte created in the writings of her

childhood and youth.She enacted dialectic of fantasy and reason,or release and repression.

Her importance in the history of the novel is that they provide a bridge from Richardson

and the Romantics to modern psychological literature,to the experiments of James and Lawrence’s transcendentalism.Wuthering Heights is the most purely romantic novel but,

its energies are held in a dynamic balance by sophisticated technique.Its symbolism is established on a considered,symmetrical structure,its language is pellucid,and the double insulation of those phlegmatic reporters,Lockwood and Nelly Dean,ensures a

matter-of-fact rather than a baleful account of its wonders.Together with Jane Eyre and

Villette it accomplishes a late but complete accommodation of the romantic impulse to the formal demands of the novel.Though the main actions of their psychodramas take place in

the isolation of the moor,or the claustrophobic enclosure of house or mansion,the

topography and dating are real

7

.To our grief,they two all died very young,Charlotte died

on 31 March,1855,in the early stage of pregnancy,aged 38,Emily died of consumption

on 19 December,1848,aged 30.In her life,Charlotte created Jane Eyre,Professor,Shirley

and Villette,Emily left us only Wuthering Heights and some pieces of poems.

1.2 The condition of the working people in the early 19

th

century

In order to get knowledge of servants’social status and their living condition,it is

necessary to review the condition of the working-class which servants belonged to.By

doing this,the thesis is intended to explore the psychology of servants who escaped fromhapter 1 Introduction

5

the poorly ventilated wool working shops.Behind them,there was the harsh reality with

little dignity,poor sanitation and high mortality,before them,they witnessed the leisurely

and luxurious life of the upper-class and getting-on middle-class.There must have been

some strong conflicts on the bottom of their heart and even inner twist.Their inner

conflicts and twist must be represented i n their attitude to masters and account of masters’stories.With the Industrial Revolution,during the early nineteenth century very large proportions of the population hovered dangerously near some absolute subsistence level,

and were frequently below the borderline which,by any standards,delineated the

possibility of minimum health and moderate comfort.

The effect of industrialization on working-class living standards was uneven precisely

because the pattern of working-class skills and incomes was uneven,Thus,relatively

skilled workers—printers,carpenters,building craftsmen,fine spinners,engineering

workers,toolmakers,some iron workers,etc.—formed an economic‘aristocracy of labor’.

Their real incomes undoubtedly tended to rise,and by the end of the period the more prosperous among them enjoyed living standards and even lifestyles which were associated

with the respectable lower middle class.Of them,a modern social historian has written:

These were the workers who ate meat,vegetables,fruit and dairy products,lived in the best

and newest cottages and filled them with furniture and knick-knacks,bought books and newspapers,supported mechanics’institutes and friendly societies,and paid the heavy subscriptions to the craft unions

8

.Nor was it only these sorts of skills that received better

compensation as the industrial society emerged.Many factory workers and miners,

traditionally associated with the mainstream of industrial development,were among the

better paid of the labor force and also among the group which saw a rise in the purchasing

power of their wages.

Compared with skilled workers and the better-placed employees of factories and

mines,men and women with skills or occupational commitments unwanted by

industrialism or susceptible to the competition of the machine were much less fortunate. Agricultural laborers were under great pressure,as were casual laborers in towns.But the outstanding,and most heartbreaking,example of such casualties was undoubtedly the

hand-loom weavers employed mostly in their own homes.The fierce competition of thehapter 1 Introduction

6

power loom,the ease with which non-mechanized weaving could be learned,and the

reluctance of handloom workers to leave their jobs resulted in a remorseless squeeze on

wages

9

.

Rural working-class girls might receive some part of a basic elementary education (grammar,geography,and arithmetic)and then return to work as farmhands,mine laborers,

or various kinds of servants.In England in 1851,“over 10 percent of the female population

were working as maids,washerwomen,and charwomen”

10

.Urban working-class girls,

with or without education of any kind,generally labored at exhausting,menial,and often dangerous factory jobs in trades such as textile production,nailmaking,and match-making. Merryn William said it is worth remembering that,except where factories offered

alternative work,the majority of working-class women(13 percent of all women in 1851)

were servants of some sort for at least a few years of their lives.Novelists could hardly

help mentioning servants,as no middle-class family was without them,but they are usually

there only to open doors and bring tea

11

.Although they were great in number,servants

were invisible in eyes of their masters.

The wages of servants seem small.The labor of a man was cheaper than that of a

horse.In London,where there were at least 10,000 female servants always looking for‘a place’,from?6 to?10 was a typical yearly wage for a maid-of-all-work,including room

and board.An upper housemaid was paid?12 to?20 a year with allowances,though a

lady’s maid was paid only?12to?15,probably because she had extra pay in the way of

cast-off clothing.A cook could earn from?14 to?20 a year,and a private chef,butler,

steward,and housekeeper were higher,usually starting around?40 or?50 a year

12

.

The thesis is intended to analyze the roles and characteristics of servants in chapter 2

and 3 respectively,and further explores charlotte and Emily’s presentations of servants.

Notes on Chapter 1:

1

.Baker,Juliet.The Haworth Context,in Glen,Heather,ed.,The Cambridge Companion to:The Brontes.

Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,2004:27

2

.Ibid.28

3

.Ibid.30

4

.Ibid.18

5

.Fraser,John.The Name of Action:Nelly Dean and Wuthering Heights,Nineteenth-Century Fiction.hapter 1 Introduction

7

Los Angeles:California University Press,V ol.20,No.3,Dec.,1965:223-236

6

.Hafley,James.The Villain in Wuthering Heights,Nineteenth-Century Fiction.Los Angeles: California University Press,V ol.13,No.3,Dec.,1958:199-215

7

.Hemstedt,Geoffrey.The novel,in Lerner,Laurence,ed.,The Victorians:the Context of English Literature.New York:Holmes&Meier Publishers,Inc.1978:12-13

8

.Altic,Richard.Victorian People and Ideas.New York:Norton,1973:52

9

.Supple,Barry.Material development:the Condition of England 1830-1860,in Lerner,Laurence,ed., The Victorians:the Context of English Literature.New York:Holmes&Meier Publishers,Inc.1978: 60-61

10

.Altic,Richard.Victorian People and Ideas.New York:Norton,1973:52

11

.Williams,Merryn.Women in the English Novel 1800-1900.London:Macmillan Press.1990:12

12

.Brown,Julia Prewitt.A Reader’guide to the Nineteenth-Century English Novel.New York: Macmillan Publishing Company,1985:11-12r 2 The Roles of Servants

8

Chapter 2 The Roles of Servants

2.1 Women’s social context in early nineteenth-century Britain

Three of four servants the thesis focuses on are female and the protagonists with

whom they have more interactions are also female,therefore,it is necessary to get the knowledge of women in nineteenth century.In early nineteenth century,supply of female servants was in surplus.After receiving a basic education,they came to be servants

earning less money,doing tedious routine work,trying to be obedient,loyal and winning

the trust from the masters.

Since servants received the education and training which met the needs of the masters

in patriarchal society,most of them were not quite aware of the plight of the women

including the upper-class women.At that time,the law and the social environment were

not favorable to women.

In nineteenth-century in Britain the lives of married women did not offer more options.

Women in all social classes were denied legal identities separate from their husbands:

Once married,a wife could not sue or make a contract on her own nor could they

make a will without her husband’s consent.If he wished to confine her against her will,as

Mr.Rochester does his wife at Thornfield Hall,until 1891 he was well within his rights in

doing so.He could“correct”her if he wished,too,a right which was supposed to mean

only verbal chastisement but in practice often meant physical punishment

1

.That’s why Mrs.

Fairfax thinks highly of her master in spite of the fact that he locks his wife in an attic and

the mirthless laugh is often heard.

Not only did married women have limited legal protection,they also had highly

restricted legal rights to their children and property.In case of divorce,custody of the

children automatically reverted to the husband;In Wuthering Heights after the death of Isabella,young Linton is naturally handed over to Heathcliff although Edgar was a

magistrate and unwilling to betray his sister’s will.The situation improved somewhat

with the passage of the Infants’Custody Act of 1839,which allowed a mother to petition

for custody of children under the age of seven.Finally,prior to the Married Women’s

Property Act of 1882,any property that a woman owned automatically became her

husband’s upon marriage.G.M.Trevelyan wryly notes the irony in this last feature ofr 2 The Roles of Servants

9

early nineteenth-century law:“The law was in curious contrast to the words of the

marriage service,when the man was made to say‘with all my worldly goods I thee

endow.’It was really the other way around”

2

.

As of the early nineteenth century,British women had few options for social or

economic independence open to them,and the restrictions against which Jane struggles

would have been widespread among women in real life.The call for a meaningful

education for girls and women issued by Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights

of Women in 1798 went largely unheeded for the first half of the nineteenth century.

While affluent girls were trained in ornamental idleness,lower-middle and

working-class girls,if educated at all,were trained in propriety and deference to their

social superiors.“Charity schools”for“respectable”girls in reduced circumstances,such

as the Lowood School in Jane Eyre,churned out modest,well-mannered graduates who

would become governesses or schoolmistresses

3

.

2.2 Nelly Dean in Wuthering Heights

Nelly Dean cannot be ignored when we read Wuthering Heights,she is not only an

outsider of a big family invisibly observing the masters’secret and a narrator of the story

having happened in the Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange,but also an important participatant in the story,she witnessed the oneness and separation of Catherine and

Heathcliff,the marriage between Catherine and Edgar Linton,the temporarily miserable marriage between Catherine II and Linton Heathcliff and finally the happy marriage of Catherine II and Hareton.In addition,she is ambitious,repeatedly influencing her mistress

and masters to divert the course of the fate of masters.Strictly speaking,she nursed two children,Hareton and second Catherine whose mothers all died shortly after giving the

birth.In the end of the story,the third generation of the two families,Catherine II and

Hareton unified happily.As the foster-mother of the two,Nelly succeeded in reverting the development of the story into the conventional.But Catherine I ended up in tragedy

without getting what she wanted,because she never accepted what Nelly asserted which

was also what the patriarchal society demanded.Her story might be arbitrary,because she

is the only witness of the story,each character is judged by her moral standards complyingr 2 The Roles of Servants

10

with the norms of patriarchal society of the time.

Sandra M.Gilbert and Susan Gubar commented that as Milton’s cook,in fact,Nelly

Dean is patriarchy’s paradigmatic housekeeper,the man’s woman who has traditionally

been hired to keep me n’s houses in order by straightening out their parlors,their daughters,

and their stories.“My heart invariably cleaved to the master’s,in preference to Catherine’s

side”

4

,she herself declares,and she expresses her preference by acting throughout the

novel as a censorious agent of patriarchy

5

.

Her position in the family is very special,neither the older Mrs.Linton nor Mrs.

Earnshaw plays much part in the story.And without a mother figure,Nelly Dean naturally

ruled in the kitchen,which was connected with an everyday,productive life

6

.

Lisa Stemlieb considers that“as a character[Nelly]has experienced this story with

judgment and lack of emotion;as a narrator she is able to convey the intensity of feeling

that motivates nearly all her acquaintance”

7

.

No matter who is her master,Nelly Dean is a loyal servant strictly performing her

duties to keep the master’s house in order and stick to the patriarchal principles.Emily

Bronte demonstrates that the power of the patriarch,which is backbone of Nelly.Although

at the beginning,Edgar is not strong enough in body to combat with Heathcliff and also in

mind to resist the charm of Catherine,but Edgar’s power,begins with words,for heaven is populated by“spirits Masculine,”and as above,so below.Edgar does not need a str ong, conventionally masculine body,because his mastery is contained in books,wills,

testaments,leases,titles,rent rolls,documents,languages,all the paraphernalia by which patriarchal culture is transmitted from one generation to the next

8

.But with the

de velopment of the story,Edgar’s power became weaker and weaker,because his property

would be inherited by his nephew when he was dead since he had no son.During the

process from his possession to dispossession,he yielded to Heathcliff whom he called

“plough boy”.Only when his daughter married Linton,could she lead a decent life and

own Thrushcross.

Edgar is truly patriarchal representative despite his apparent effeminacy,so before the

marriage of Edgar and Catherine,Nelly naturally switches to Edgar.From the beginning,in

her eyes,compared to Heathcliff and Catherine,Edgar is a real gentleman with both classr 2 The Roles of Servants

11

and property and as an legitimate heir of the Thrushcross Grange.There is a sharp contrast between Catherine and Edgar,although they were born to the upper-class’s family,as a daughter,Catherine has no right to inherit the property,by nature she is closely linked with

a good marriage to sustain the rich life,that is to say,she must depend on a man who is legitimate heir to lead the life which she has been used to.Catherine has no what Edgar

will possess,in patriarchal society,she was inborn to be inferior to Edgar and must depend

on Edgar.When she was very young,Catherine lost parents,exactly an orphan without

right to attain property and who can not receive the parental love.Although Nelly Dean iss

only nine years older than her,to some degree,Nelly Dean takes the place to be a mother

to moralize her actions so that she grows up complying with the social conventions.When Heathcliff becomes possessed of property,Nelly aimed at his property for the sake of her

miss’happiness.In the end of the novel,with the death of Heathcliff and possession of

Hareton,Nelly finishes her last duty to fulfill her late master’s will,promoting and

witnessing the happy marriage between Catherine II and Hareton.She is always accompanying the masters in possession.Cathy II and Hareton marry happily and become

the owners of the two mansions.Elliott B.Gose,Jr.said that only Hareton and Cathy II

have a hope of recapturing what they were deprived of.Not only do they have a fire to

share,they have a mother to guide them.Their new start will be in the house with Nelly

Dean,who considers them“in a measure,my children”

9

.

In Wuthering Heights,when Catherine I and Hindley were young,Nelly was

reasonably the companion to them,she is the foster-sister to Hindey,the heir of Wuthering Heights.When Frances,the wife of Hindley and the only idol Hindley cared greatly,died

after giving birth to Hareton,naturally the duty of nursing Hareton fell into her hands.As

an only young heir with the mother lost,Hareton cannot get the normal parental love from Hindley who is addicted to drinking and gambling,hates him and tortures him,love and

care education from the foster-mother,Nelly,is valuable.As a foster-mother,Nelly is not

simple servant in the manor,but a mother role who can interfere with the fostered child’s

fate.

As she was subjected to Heathcliff,she betrayed her master Edgar.She cruelly treated

Catherine whom Edgar loved very much,produced the opportunities for Heathcliff to meetr 2 The Roles of Servants

12

Catherine,concealed the news of Isabella’s eloping with Heathcliff and pretended to search

the mistress’s room.Nelly went against the master’s will that he did not want hi s daughter

to touch anything concerned with Wuthering Heights and took Catherine to meet Linton Heathcliff,finally helped push second Catherine to the trap of Heathcliff.

She never refused the request and order from Heathcliff.When he returned three years

later,he first found Nelly was an ideal person who could help him inform Catherine of his anxiety to see her,she obeyed;When she was asked to bring a letter to Catherine and help

him to see Catherine the last time after he had a fierce confrontation with Edgar and

Catherine recovered from delirium,she yielded and helped him;when Heathcliff detained

second Catherine and forced her to marry his very weak,almost dying and selfish son in

order to get the property of Thrushcross Grange,Nelly gave in once again.After second Catherine married Linton Heathcliff and lived in Wuthering Heights,she stayed in

Thrushcross Grange,of course,as a servant she had no power to combat with Heathcliff,

but interestingly,she had measures to deal with Edgar and very critical of Catherine.

Maybe,tricks she played with Edgar were for the sake of loyalty of performing her duty,or

she had a shrewd insight on masters in patriarchal society and she knew the rules of

playing games very well,but Heathcliff did not play the cards conventionally.When

Heathcliff was getting on,she naturally switched to him.Nelly was cunning.It seems that

she was innocent in the tragic fate of the protagonists in her account,but in any case she

played an important part.She was in the same age of Hindley and Heathcliiff and nine

years older than Catherine,but she was very sophisticated and world-wise,training herself

as stable and unhurt no matter how greatly the surroundings changed.

It seems that Nelly is a witch.After the first meeting of Catherine and Heathcliff three

years after she married Edgar,Nelly had a talk with Catherine and she thought Catherine

should let Mr.Linton alone about him,otherwise they would have an open quarrel.It

became true later,there was a fierce confrontation between Heathcliff and Edgar which

threw Catherine into the brink of the madness.

Though Catherine ridiculed Nelly that the people would consider Nelly to be the

mistress,Nelly had no courage to oppose the mistress publicly,so she resorted to the

powerful master,not giving time to her mistress to lull her envy when she knew Heathcliffr 2 The Roles of Servants

13

intended to marry Isabella for she was the heiress of her brother.She spied all that

happened between Heathcliff and Catherine,and reported to her master to take measures to

drive away Heathcliff and protect the existing harmony.She succeeded in stimulating and

at the same time put Catherine approaching the death.What is most important is that at that

time she should know clearly that Catherine was pregnant.

Nelly Dean playe d a vital role in second Catherine’s life.In the first twelve years’

growing,because every person in Thrushcross Grange saw to it that young Catherine had

never been out of the park of Grange,she knew little about the outside world.When her

father went to fetch Linton to come,under the total guardianship of Nelly,Catherine

herself went to the Wuthering Heights where she metHareton who she refused to perceive

as her cousin.So that the secret of her father going to bring Linton home was revealed to inhabitants in Wuthering Heights.On the very night when Linton was brought to Grange,

Joseph came to ask to take him away.Because before Mr.Linton left for London he gave

the order that Catherine must not wander out of the park,even under her escort.In order

not to let known her negligence,she asked Catherine to conceal the event.She again

betrayed her master.As a housekeeper she did not perfectly fulfill her duty,only relying on concealment to avoid punishment.

When Cathy II reached sixteen,again it was Nelly who escorted Cathy to step on the

territory of Heathcliff where she met her cousin,very weak Linton,which made it possible

for Heathcliff to carry out his revenge plan as to how to grab the property of Grange.Nelly claimed she could not release her arm from Heat hclff’s seizing so that Cathy II again

stepped into Wuthering Heights.And to some degree she played a role of helper.In her

heart,she defended herself by imagining that the memory of first Catherine might disarm

him from desiring her injury.On the critical moment in Cathy II’s life,Nelly was seriously

ill,meanwhile Edgar Linton was also ill.Without the guardian,Cathy stealthily went out

often to meet her cousin Linton until she was detained,slapped and threaten to accept the marriage with Linton by Heathcliff who was afraid that Linton could not sustain to the

marriage with Cathy.On the very day,it was still Nelly who accompanied her there.In fact,

Nelly should have known the plan of Heathcliff who wanted to get the property of Grange through the marriage between his son and Catherine which he had revealed to Nelly threer 2 The Roles of Servants

14

years ago when she brought Linton to his hand.On surface,as a protector Nelly once again

failed to keep her miss from humiliation but she successfully fulfilled he r master’s will that

it was the best result that Cathy II married Linton because she had no right to inherit the property while Linton could.She always made enough preparations for her master.At the

early stage,she was aware that what the best home was for her mistress.Only she married

a man who was in possession of property,could a woman be respected and happy

especially for a woman who was born in a big family but had no right to inherit.There is a

sharp difference in treating Catherine I and her daughter,as a patriarchal housekeeper,

Nelly naturally worried about what her master worried,but she did not worry about Catherine’s fate.Nelly preferred Cathy II who was capable of suffering,sacrificing,

brought up as a lady,so she helped her step into a happy marriage which is the most

desirable consequence in patriarchal society.

2.3 Mrs.Fairfax in Jane Eyre

2.3.1 Governess in 19

th

century in Britain

As a governess,Jane Eyre was allowed to enter Thornfield and had an opportunity to

meet Mrs.Fairfax.In order to well appreciate Mrs.Fairfax’s cordiality to Jane,it is

necessary to know about the status in which the governess was at that time.Ostensibly the governess’s job was to teach the children of affluent families;in practice,however,her

responsibilities often extended to more general childcare that supplemented the care

provided by the children’s nursemaid,and to miscellaneous chores at the whim of her employers.Care and instruction of boys under the age of seven generally fell to the governess,after which the boys were either sent away to school or transferred to the care

of a male tutor.Girls often remained under the care of the governess,gaining tutelage in “accomplishments”deemed appropriate for a lady,until they were 17 or 18,the proper age

to“come out”into society.Over the years the roster of subjects that a governess was

expected to teach few lengthier and more elaborate,expanding to include a variety of arts

and languages and embracing such arcane skills as spinning glass or molding artificial

flowers from paper and wax.Hence Jane’s observation on her own preparedness to serve

as governess:she is qualified,she says,“to teach the usual branches of a good Englishr 2 The Roles of Servants

15

education,together with French,Drawing,and Music,”then remarks in addition,“in those

days,reader,this would have been held tolerably comprehensive”

10

.

Despite their refined attainments and often superior education,governesses held an

ambiguous rank within the household,supposedly above the servants but clearly not in the

same social stratum as the family.Thus,Jane must be deferential to her employer

Rochester and his upper-class visitors,such as the Ingram party;however,the housekeeper,

Mrs.Fairfax,distinguishes Jane(and herself)from Leah and John,referring to the latter

t wo as“only servants”

11

.Related to the governess’s unclear social standing was her

vulnerability to the sexual advances of an employer,for which governesses themselves

were sometimes https://www.360docs.net/doc/2917561156.html,ernesses were refined young women not immediately distinguishable from marriageable women of the upper-class,yet many Victorians looked askance at the governess,considering her a temptation to her employer and therefore a

threat to middleclass values.In fact,a governess risked sexual predation by employer since

she was economically dependent on him and lacked social power or connections that might protect her.

Never handsomely compensated for their work,governesses began to suffer severe

economic hardship in the 1830s and 1840s,a period in which widespread bank failures

brought trouble for workers in most occupations.Adding to the national economic

difficulties was another problem:swelling numbers of so-called“redundant women,”

single women compelled to support themselves because of their lack of inheritance and the

pe riod’s dearth of marriageable.Historians speculate that one source of this problem may

have been the large-scale emigration of single Englishmen to the America and Commonwealth colonies during the period.In any case,demographics and economics

forced increasing numbers of women into the workforce.Since governess was one of very

few socially acceptable occupations open to females at the time,the majority of

middle-class working women chose this profession.Their options were,in fact,limited,by

a sad irony of the era.

So fierce was the competition for a position that job openings grew scarce and salaries dropped.By 1841 there was an abundant supply of governesses;in fact,so abundant did

they become and so dismal their circumstances that the Christian Socialists founded ar 2 The Roles of Servants

16

charity for them,the Governesses’Benevolent Institution

12

.

Under such unfavorable conditions,exactly how many single women must have sat at

home like the Bronte sisters,racking their brains miserably to find alternatives to

governessing

13

?

2.3.2 Concealment to Jane Eyre

It is true and really valuable that Mrs.Faixfax was very kind to Jane and did not look at

her as an only servant,but it is worthy of noting that she concealed the secret that was well known in Thornfeild except Jane.How do we know?Before the party was held,everybody

was busy preparing for it,only Grace did not participate in it.Jane was very curious about anything concerned with Grace Pool,no other person showed a little interest in her except

gossip about her salary and difficulty in doing what she was doing at that time.Jane

overheard the conversation between Leah and a charwoman.

"Yes,"said Leah;"I wish I had as good;not that mine are to complain of,--there's no stinginess at Thornfield;but they're not one fifth of the sum Mrs.Poole receives.And she is laying by:she goes every quarter to the bank at Millcote.I should not wonder but she has saved enough to keep her independent if she liked to leave;but I suppose she's got used to the place;and then she's not forty yet,

and strong and able for anything.It is too soon for her to give up business."

"She is a good hand,I daresay,"said the charwoman.

"Ah!--she understands what she has to do,--nobody better,"rejoined Leah significantly;"and it is not every one could fill her shoes--not for all the money she gets."

"That it is not!"was the reply."I wonder whether the master--"

14

.

As a loyal housekeeper Mrs.Fairfax concealed the secret from Jane until the secret was

exposed by Mason.Although everybody knew that confinement of a wife in an attic was a

real hindrance to the marriage between Jane and Rochester and it was a great plot,Mrs.

Fairfax tried to cover the truth.She was loyal to her master but cruel to Jane.To some

degree she played a role of accomplice in pushing Jane into the plot and nearly destroying independence,self-respect and social recognition Jane pursued.She was not as talkative as

Nelly Dean,Nelly narrated the story of the two old families at the first meeting with Mr. Lockwood.But during so many quiet and dull evenings when Mrs.Fairfax and Jane satr 2 The Roles of Servants

17

together,she talked nothing about the mysterious laughing from the attic.

Mrs.Fairfax was very shocked when she was told that Mr.Rochester would marry Jane

in a month,“He r occupation(reading her morning portion of Scripture)suspended by Mr.Rochester’s

announcement,seemed now forgotten:her eyes,fixed on the blank wall opposite,expressed the surprise

of a quiet mind stirred by unwonted tidings.”

15

The reason why she was so surprised and even

skeptical was that she thought there was inequality of position and fortune as well as the

great difference in their ages.What’s more,she feared that Jane would find the reality

contrary to what she expected.Finally gentlemen in Rocheste r’s station are not accustomed

to marry their governess which was the accepted social norm.When Jane inquired the

possibility about the marriage between Rochester and Ingram,she thought there was big difference in their age.When it came to Rochester’s marr iage with a governess,it was

almost ridiculous,because she knew well the existence of his lawful wife who was mad

and locked in the attic she was aware that there was a gap between Jane and Rochester in

all aspects.She was strictly disciplined as a houseke eper who would not slip the master’s

secret out of her tongue.Her reasons show that she was conservative and strong advocate

of the social rules which the upper class held.Despite the fact that she was courteous to the governess;there was still great gap between the upper class and the governess.It was due

to her concealment of the secret at Thornfield that Jane came to the church with Rochester,

but it was interrupted by the advent of Mason.

2.3.3 Admiration to aristocrats

Mrs.Fairfax was a very faithful and capable housekeeper.When she received the note

from the master that there would be a big party in Thornfield,Mrs.Fairfax who thought

that Thornfield was too quiet for a long time was very excited about it,hastening making preparations,finding some more hands to wash,scrub what had been very magnificent in

Jane’s eyes.Even Jane herself dropped the work of teaching Adele to lend a hand in the preparations for the party.Mrs.Fairfax exclaimed that she did not know how many fine

people would come to Thornfield and gave a vivid and nice picture of Blanche Ingram who caused Jane’s unlimited imagination and even doubt and agony before she came.From her descriptions of Ingram,it is not difficult to find that she was respectful to the upper-classr 2 The Roles of Servants

18

and admired them very much.The party was a good occasion that lower-class people could

have chance to witness how hilarious life the upper-class were leading and witness the

elegance and gentlemen likeness of the aristocrats.She repeatedly called them“fine

people”and tried to describe how magnificently and brilliantly the dining–room were

decorated when the party was held in Thornfield.She was the representative of her master;

she had every reason to take pride in the life style of her master.

However,Jane quickly found that the charming and graceful Ingram who represented

the upper-class lady and Mrs.Fairfax thought highly of and loved too much was“very

showy,but she was not genuine:she had a fine person,many brilliant attainments;but her mind was poor,her heart barren by nature:nothing bloomed spontaneously on that soil;no unforced natural

fruit

delighted by its freshness”

16

.There was deep disparity between Mrs.Fairfax and Jane in

judging the people.Jane struggled against the marriage the affluent girls were educated to

seek,she thought marriage was that two persons stand side by side not that a husband

includes a wife.She could penetrate Ingram through her surface elegance;Mrs.Fairfax

could not find her vanity and she was pleased to find her master to have such a lovely decoration like Ingram.It was Ingram whom Mrs.Fairfax thought highly of who induced

other guests to say some bad words about the governess and laugh at governess when Jane

was present;she was not a real lady,totally ignoring the o ther people’s feelings.As she

was dispossessed of property and expected to find a rich husband to depend on,she was

still inferior in patriarchal society.Ingram was also cruel and emotionless,she called Adele

a“little puppet”with a mocking air,and she played on Mrs.Dent’s ignorance out of bad

nature in order to show her knowledgeability and supreme charm to capture Rochester’s

heart.Unfortunately Mrs.Fairfax was not clever and penetrating enough to find out

Ingram’s vanity,ambition and dilemma.Before Ingram’s arrival,Mrs.Fairfax drew a

nearly perfect picture of Ingram for Jane,thus strengthening her curiosity and anxiety of meeting her and at the same time Jane’s inner struggle against her self-inferiority became tenser.It is her depiction of Ingram that constituted the sharp contrast between Ingram in

the eyes of Mrs.Fairfax and Ingram in the eyes of https://www.360docs.net/doc/2917561156.html,pared to Nelly,Mrs.Fairfax is

a more faithful housekeeper who observes the family and knows clearly the history of the

family but keeps silent and who has never stepped out of the command of the master,r 2 The Roles of Servants

19

however,Nelly repeatedly plays tricks on her master and more cunning to find excuse to

cover her negligence.

2.4 Bessie in Jane Eyre:the concept of being a lady

The orphanhood in the world of the novel has a wider field of experiences open to

critics than would a child raised in a family:there are no protective parents to prevent adventures or misadventure from befalling an orphan as the action of a novel proceeds.

This is certainly true for Jane Eyre,who is thrown into several crises from which a parent

might have rescued her.

“In mid-century working-class areas it appears that 8 percent of the children lost both

parents by the time they were fifteen and almost a third had lost a t least one”

17

.

Once a child was orphaned,he or she had to rely principally on the sometimes

grudging willingness of relatives to assume guardianship.In Jane Eyre,the heroine’s

cold-hearted aunt,Mrs.Reed,took Jane in only because it was Mr.Reed’s dying w ish that

she did so.If no one consented to take in a child as a ward,that child was thrown on the

mercy of the parish for aid.Orphanages run by charities were few and far between,and

many were reserved just for very young children.Frequently,then,circumstances

compelled orphans to seek aid from the same sources as impoverished adults:neighbors,

the parish,and—in the most desperate—the poorhouse which Bessie repeatedly

warned Jane when she was not obedient and loving in Mrs.Reed’s eyes.

“You ought to be aware,Miss,that you are under obligations to Mrs.Reed:she keeps you:if she were to turn you off,you would have to go to the poor-house”

18

.

That is why Jane dreaded such place very much and had no way to escape from

suffering the bully from her aunt’s family.

In the 1790s,many rural parishes had adopted poor-relief policies,dubbed“outdoor

relief,”which supplemented the incomes of needy parishioners while still allowing them to

live outside of poorhouses.The aid,however,was woefully inadequate,and with it for

most recipients came the stigma of social shame.Moreover,the comparatively generous

outdoor relief policies lasted only a short while.In 1834 the New Poor Law curtailed such policies in favor of sending able-bodied adults and children to live in one of a swellingr 2 The Roles of Servants

20

number of increasingly prison-like workhouses where they earned their food by hard

manual labor like stonebreaking or grinding corn

19

.Another common task was tearing

apart fibers of old ropes until the fingers bled and were scarred with cuts.By 1836 more

than 42,000 children under the age of 16 lived in such houses.The regimen varied,but in

1836 inmates typically rose at 5:00 A.M.in summer,6:00 A.M.in winter,then labored 10

or 9 hours,respectively.Three of the hours were spent in school,at lessons taught by

ordinary,often illiterate workhouse officers.Scan diets resulted in malnourished children,

who,if disobedient,risked reduction of even this minimal diet,as well as beatings for boys,

and confinement in darkened rooms for both genders.The conditions were dismal enough

to strike terror in adults and children alike for more than a century.From 1834 until after

World War II,when workhouse premises passed in the control of the National Health Service—the threat of living in such an institution inspired dread in the poor.In Bronte’s

novel,Jane herself is threatened by the servant Bessie who warns her if she is not so

obedient and pleasing,she will be sent to the poorhouse.Through the description of the poorhouse by Bessie,Jane is under dilemma.On one hand,she is afraid of being sent to the poorhouse to lead a poor life materially,on the other hand,she has to tolerate the injustice

and insult.Of course,what Bessie did is just to lull Jane’s hared on her aunt and help her

win the favor from Mrs.Reed.

In Jane’s first 10 years living in Gateshead Hall,Bessie was the very important person

and the favorite company to Jane,an orphan,who couldn’t receive any sympathy and

kindness from her aunt,Mrs.Reed and her cousins and even from other servants such as

Mrs.Reed’s maid,Abbot.Bessie gave the orphan Jane the only cherished kindness and

care and intimate love.

The authoress gave a clear description of her capacity,personality,and appearance.In

Jane’s memory,Bessie“has been a girl of good n atural capacity,for she was smart in all she did,and had a remarkable knack of narrative;so,at least,I judge from the impression made on me by her

nursery tales.She was pretty too,if my recollections of her face and person are correct.I remember her

as a slim young woman,with black hair,dark eyes,very nice features,and good,clear complexion;but

she had a capricious and hasty temper,and indifferent ideas of principle or justice”

20

.Before she

came to Gateshead Hall she had worked in another family where she got the knowledge ofr 2 The Roles of Servants

21

school and what young ladies could get from school,“she boasted of beautiful paintings of landscapes and flowers by them executed;of songs they could sing and pieces they could play,of purses

they could net,of French books they could translate”

21

.

Eight years later when Jane finished six years’learning as a student and two years’

teaching in Lowood and was going to Thornfeild to be a governess,Bessie was the first

and also the last person to come to Lowood to say goodbye to her and she also asked her

the same questions about playing piano,painting,French and work on muslin and canvas

which she thought to be the accomplishments a real lady should master.After hearing that

Jane could be capable of those thing s she exclaimed that“you are quite a lady,Miss Jane!I

knew you would be:you will get on whether your relations notice you or not.”

22

Although Jane is

as plain as grass on the plateau,Bessie was confident in her,comforting and encouraging

her,depicting a slightly bright print for a forlorn orphan.

Isolated from the outside world and deprived of any love from the relatives,Bessie

provided the only source of the outside information for Jane.It was because of her

description of the school and the accomplishments young ladies should master that Jane

decided to go to school.For Jane,Bessie provided the shelter from the further bully at Gateshead,and thereafter she is allowed to go to school.It is the prospect Bessie drafted

for Jane that Jane got an opportunity to pursue her independent and decent life.If there is someone whom Jane misses when she is away from Gateshead,she must be Bessie.

On the eve of departure from Gateshead Hall,Bessie told her some of her most

enchaining stories,and sang her some of her sweetest songs.Jane said even for an orphan

as her life had its gleams of sunshine for her kindness and maternal love.

On the early morning Jane departed Gateshead Hall for Lowood,no one cared except

Bessie who got up,made breakfast for her and saw her off.

When Jane came back to Gateshead Hall from Thornfeild because Mrs.Reed was

dying and wanted to see her,Bessie was the first person Jane visited and received the

treatment the way Bessie treated her when she was a child.As a dependent maid,she gives

Jane as much as she can without any remaining.Thanks to her tales,kindness,

encouragement and humanity,the world is not so cold and harsh.r 2 The Roles of Servants

22

2.5 Joseph in Wuthering Heights

2.5.1 Religious restraints on Catherine and Heathcliff

In the nineteenth century,the Church of England wielded tremendous authority

because it was tied,on one side,to the government;on another,to the aristocracy and

gentry;and on still another,to education.

Joseph’s initial work in the family was to preach the religious s criptures,but he

mercilessly heaped the torture on the forsaken young people,Catherine and Heathcliff.In Catherine Earnshaw’s diary,it reads,“All day had been flooding with rain;we could not go to church,so Joseph must needs get up a congregation in the garret;and,while Hindley and his wife basked down stairs before a comfortable fire—doing nothing but reading their Bibles,I’ll answer for it-

Heathcliff,myself,and the unhappy plough-boy ere commanded to take our Prayer-books,and nount:

we were ranged in a row,on a sack of corn,groaning and shivering,and hopiong that Joseph would shiver too,so that he might give us a short homily for his own sake.A vain idea!The service lasted precisely three hours;and yet my brother had the face to exclaim,when he saw us des cending,‘What,

done already?’”

23

Only on Sunday evenings they were allowed to play,if they did not make much noise.

Catherine had to be subjected to her brother because as a daughter she had no right to

inherit the property of her father,when her brother became the master,unless he was full of sympathy she could live freely and decently.Joseph was aware of the inferior status of her,

so when the master and his beloved wife were reading Bible before the fire downstairs,he

forced the Catherine and Heathcliff to do praying for three hours in attic regardless of them shivering with coldness.Without the right to sit near the fire,Cathy I and Heathcliff were

tortured by Joseph with rigidity of religion and harshness of weather.No matter who was

the master,Joseph always stood in the place of the masters to put the burden on the weak people.

With the old master passing away,Catherine and Heathcliff could not get any respect, tenderness or love,they were deprived of many rights,and Joseph thought them ill children, tortured them and stimulated the master to punish them to get evil satisfaction.He seemed

to be a sherperd in the religious garment but turned out to be a wolf who tortured the two mentally and physically.Cruel Joseph would take away a share of bread from a starvingr 2 The Roles of Servants

23

child and extinguish the only dim light in the total darkness and coldness.When the young master Hindley and his wife sat closely near the fire piece,kissing and talking nonsense, Catherine and Heathcliff found an arch of dresser to enjoy temperoray peace and freedom

but Joseph found them,boxed Catherine’s ears,called them ill children and compelled

them to read the religious scriptures.Due to the negligence of his master to his sister,the

wicked Joseph turned to physical punishment on Catherine.Who entitled him to such

violence?It is religion and the superiority of masters.He turned to the master when the

two threw away the so-called good books so that Hindley came to seize one of them by the

collar and the other by the arm and hurled both into the backkitchen where Joseph

approved of the violence.He volunteered to heap bodily violence and evil words on the

two despised young people.

Joseph also lost the basic knowledge of how to receive the guests and how to show his politeness,he indulged Hindley in addiction to drinking and gambling,encouraged

Healthcliff to be more inhumane and drive away any decent person and thing.He and his

religion were not to save men’s soul but to tramp on the cultivation.

On his second visit to Wuthering Heights on a snowing evening,Lockwood was

annoyed by Heathcliff and insisted on leaving and grabbed the lantern from Joseph who

cried and ordered the dogs to knock him down until the maid servant came out and

frightened away the dogs with a pan.It is not known that the suffocating atmosphere

enhanced Joseph’s cruelty and sourness or his mercilessness properly matched the

atmosphere in the mansion.Joseph only preferred to bring suffering and pain to the

deserted and anyone who turned against his master,making no hearted and sensible

decision.He was twisted in psyche,only bearing in mind that he did anything out of evil

nature,despised and abandoned kindness,sympathy,politeness,and far away from the requirements in social intercourse.He could not bear the weak people who pursued their happiness and had their own voice.

2.5.2 Indifference to deforming growth of Hareton

Hareton was born and at the same time he lost his mother,so he was under charge of

Nelly.But when he was five years old,the only kindness and maternal love was takenr 2 The Roles of Servants

24

away with Nelly’s going to Thrushcross Grange.He lived with his drunken father,

revenging Heathcliff and sour Joseph who either ignored him or accelerated his

deformation.In this process,as an old servant in Wuthering Heights,Joseph did nothing to prevent his ruin,instead he encouraged him to be uncultivated.

Joseph contributed much to his deterioration,by a narrow-minded partiality which prompted him to flatter and pet him,as a boy,because he was the head of the old family.and as he had been in the habit of accusing Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff,when children,of putting the master past his patience,and compelling him to seek solace in drink by what he termed their“ofalld ways,”,so at present he laid the whole burden of Hareton’s faults on the shoulders of the usurper of his property.If

the lad swore,he wouldn’t correct him:nor however culpably he behaved.It gave Joseph satisfaction,

apparently,to watch him go the worst lengths:he allowed that he was ruined:that his soul was abandoned to perdition;but then,he reflected that Heathclff must answer for it.Hareton’s blood would

be required at his hands;and there lay immense consolation in that thought.Joseph had instilled into

him a pride of name,and of his lineage;he would,had he dared,have fostered hate between him and the

present owner of the Heights:but his dread of that owner amounted to superstition;and he confined