Education and Bronte

Perhaps one of the most interesting cultural aspects of Wuthering Heights is it’s connection to education.  Many of the characters’ lives are bound up with education, or the lack thereof, and it seems to have direct collation to their personalities.  Without exception, the educated are fairly decent people– or as decent as one can find among such low mimetic characters– while the uneducated are rough and ill-tempered.

Edgar Linton, a properly well-educated gentleman, may be pampered and weak, but he is jovial and kind.  The Earnshaw’s maid, Nelly Dean, has read nearly every book in the grand library at Thrushcross Grange, and is therefore not only surprising well-spoken, but also well-mannered and good-natured.  Heathcliff, who is originally surly, seems to improve a little during his period of education.  When education and reading are stolen from him by his adopted brother, Hindley, he becomes more volatile and ill-tempered than ever.  Similarly, Harenton, Hindley’s son, is denied all education, and is therefore one of the most gruff and dislikable characters in the entire novel.  When he is taught to read by Cathy, his demeanor is remarkably improved.

Perhaps the only character in whom a direct collation between education and relative goodness is not readily apparent is Cathy herself.  She enjoys reading, and is well-taught, but she still mocks poor Harenton.  However, one deeper examination, even this seems to have some connection to education because the books she loves to read are taken away from her.  This deprivation of favored reading material seems to be the catalyst for her major faults, for when the books are inadvertently returned to her by Harenton, whom she finds trying to read them, her treatment of him begins to slowly improve.

Emily Brontë clearly meant to say something about education, and especially about books, that was an important statement during a time when only wealthy and middle-class men were permitted to have any formal education to speak of.  However, her statement was more important than she realized, for though the reasons have changed, it is still very valid today.