Capitalists vs. Aristocrats: Exploring the Social Divisions of the Industrial Revolution through 'Wuthering Heights'

Introduction

Throughout the Industrial Revolution, the manual labour mode of production on manufacturing and agriculture has been transforming into a mechanisedpattern (Stearns, 2012). The capitalist classes, who acquire considerable wealth compared with the lower poor class, emerges from this trend (Stearns, 2012). With relatively new political opinions and significant fortune, they desire to obtain the parallel social status with the aristocrats, which producesmassive social divisions and turbulence in this period (Harvie et al., 2000).Along with the social status, they also wish to enjoy the similar aristocratic education, land right, religious discourse rights (Thompson, 2013). Wuthering Height (Brontë, 2007), published in 1847, is interpreted as a work of fiction filled with elements of Industrial Revolution (Kettle, 2016). Therefore, this essay will analyse the connections between this novel and the contemporary social situation including the portrait of social division, political context, and religious alteration.

Social Division

The Industrial Revolution benefit numerous individuals to attain abundant material resources to become the capitalist class which is substantially symbolised in Wuthering Height (Stearns, 2012). In that period, compared with the aristocrats and the capitalists, the pauper had experienced a perishing living condition due to the significant polarization of the rich and the poor (Harvie et al., 2000). For example, Heathcliff, who originally belongs to the low class, was found in a Liverpool slum with dirty exterior and shabbyclothing. On the contrary, Edgar and his sister signifying the nobles' children live in a marvellous grange with "crimson-covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass-drops hanging in silver chains from the centre, and shimmering with little soft tapers" (pp.74). Furthermore, Edgar Linton possesses a pretty face, light hair, fair skin, and decent behaviours which appear to be the features of the rich and the noble. The comparison of people's attitudes towards these two different communities can be discovered in Heathcliff and Catherine's adventure in Thrushcross Grange. In this segment, the noble and their servants consider the protagonist as "out-and-outer", "gipsy", "strange acquisition …in his journey to Liverpool" (pp.76), hence send him back to Wuthering Height. However, they treat Catherine as "Miss Earnshaw" (pp.76) and "made a distinction between her treatment and mine[Heathcliff's]" (pp.77). 

In addition, the differentiation between the lower class persons and higherclass ones is also reflected by the dissimilar language utilisations. Schieffelin et al. (1998) demonstrated that language employment, especially of the aristocrat-excluded and aristocrat-preferred usage, represents the certain social status and ideology. Heathcliff is considered to be "foul-mouthed" (pp.76) and leading the aristocrats to "notice his language" (pp.77) which indicates his vulgar and aristocrat-excluded language application. Likewise, Williams (2001) recorded that the Received Standard Pronunciation, learntprincipally by the higher class people, varied noticeably in the Industrial Revolution period to satisfy the requirements for an exclusive and so-called correct language to designate nobility. In the novel, Heathcliff "repeated over and over again some gibberish that nobody could understand" (pp.65) which also manifests his uneducated background and contemptible class origin. In this respect, to undercut the higher class people's status, Heathcliff teaches Hareton "fine words" and to "swear at" (pp.127) his father.

Moreover, English noble appreciates the unique aristocratic education which is conducive to retaining their dignity (Silver, 2013). In Wuthering Height, Heathcliff "had …lost the benefit of his early education ", "extinguished any curiosity he once possessed in pursuit of knowledge", and "yielded completely" his studies (pp.91). This scarcity of education contributes to the aristocrats' disapproval towards Heathcliff which exhibits the importance of knowledge in the higher social class. Also, to diminish the education background of Hareton who harbours the bourgeois class origin, Heathcliff deliberately sabotages the studying opportunity to depress Hareton's social status. Consequently, when junior Catherine who received Linton's teaching discovers that Hareton is collecting books, except her laughing at his ignorance, she "then laughed at for trying to remove it" (pp.282). Similarly, as an approach to reconciliation, junior Catherine help the boy become literate which presents a primary section of being an aristocrat.

The disparity between the lower class and the higher class also exposes in Heathcliff's other actions. For instance, Heathcliff, out of his self-abasementand love of Catherine, imagines developing the similar outward appearanceand behaviour pattern. After Catherine living in Thrushcross Grange, Heathcliff "might well skulk behind the settle, on beholding such a bright, graceful damsel enter the house, instead of a rough-headed counterpart of himself, as he expected" (pp.79) which also verifies his self-contempt. Out of this thought, he eventually obtains ownership of these two mansions to enter the higher society as the land right is the core right of the noble (Thompson, 2013).

Besides the distinctions between the subordinate class and upper class, the capitalism also confronts a position that they do not share the comparablesocial prestige with the aristocrats (Harvie et al., 2000). The patriciate in the Industrial Revolution has a higher social status than the middle class with extensive material resources which fabricates tension and division of these two subgroups (Harvie et al., 2000). In the novel, Wuthering Height which creating tumultuous and stormy atmosphere denotes the new bourgeoisie and Thrushcross Grange which constructing civilised and courteous atmosphere symbolises the aristocrats. To display individuals' overt class contempt upon the capitalists, regarding her own actions as wide, vulgar and coarse, Catherine attempts to maintain her goodliness, tidiness, and manners after staying in Thrushcross Grange. In this respect, Hindley's wife is concerned about preventing Catherine from "grow[ing] wild again here" (pp.78), suggesting the scorn towards the middle class lifestyle as well. Equally,Catherine, with the eternal-rocks-like love to Heathcliff, eventually chooses to get married to Linton since she considers that "it would degrade me[herself] to marry Heathcliff" (pp.102). This fear of " degradation" demonstrates in that English people merely interacted with others to preclude encountering the lower class individuals (Thompson, 2013). 

Furthermore, in Heathcliff's revenge, he intentionally compels junior Catherine to get married to junior Linton to facilitate Linton's loss of peerage and nobility, as a measure of realising equality. Additionally, in the ending of this novel, it depicts the marriage of two middle class people and the perdition of the noble class. Although the noblemen have maintained their social positions for a long time and there is no real defeat of them, the trend of the capitalists gaining more social power is well described in the novel.

However, there is also deficient portrait of core elements of Industrial Revolution. In Wuthering Heights, no trace of professional manager class which grown strikingly in that period has been declared (Harvie et al., 2000). The individuals in this class, because of their uncertainty about their social position, attempt to assist the noble and the upper-middle-class people acquire power for the acknowledgement and social status (Silver, 2013). In addition, Brontë, with an excessive concentration on only these two families,neglected almost all the other social classes and communities. In this regard, the working class organised by the trade union is an assignable social community which is predicted to revolt for their human rights (Harvie et al., 2000). Unfortunately, this class and even their mechanised mode of production have not been mentioned throughout the novel. The only manufacturing process portrait in the novel is agriculture implied by the Grange and countryside. In terms of the approaches of accumulating capital fund, the novel totally conceals the detailed process but only announces that people "didn't know how to gained his money" (pp.111).

Political Context

In the early stage of Industrial Revolution, due to the maldistribution of political power, the capitalistic class cannot attain enough or adequate interest which guides them to promote the reconstructing representation and franchise in Parliament (Stearns, 2012). Symbolised by the majority of upper classcharacters in the novel, the British royal especially Victoria vigorously protected their prerogatives which shows an uncompromising conservative thought (Williams, 2001). Some of the bourgeoisie, whereas, hold a more open and liberal political philosophy which also affect numerous noble people in Tory Party (Silver, 2013). In the novel, with nearly all the characters distaining Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw embodying the capitalists likes him which represents the new democratic thought. However, it appears that Wuthering Heights is not consistently accordant with the historical setting in Industrial Revolution. For instance, the ending of the novel anticipates the successful uprising against the aristocrats, but the reality is that the dominating department is primarily occupied by the patriciate throughout the Victorian period (Silver, 2013).

Religious Alteration

The advancement of industrialisation requires the development of science and manufacturing technology which conflicts the spread of religious beliefs (Jacob, 1997). In this regard, universally acknowledged after the Industrial Revolution, the Churches' voluntarily providing an elementary educational construction is unsatisfactory in an industrialised country (West, 1976).Similarly, the Benthamite and atheistic tide in an early stage, which was refuted by the intellectual and conservative appeal to Anglican convention, emerges from the capitalism (Williams, 2001). The Kirk epitomising the religion in the novel experiences a process from prosperity to the situation that "decay had made progress" (pp.312). Likewise, the status decline of church contributes to the abatement of worshipers and missionaries described by the narrator. Furthermore, due to the conflicts of asceticism and the boom of consumerism, "no clergyman will undertake the duties of pastor" (pp.54) because of the low income level. Additionally, that Heathcliff "bribes the sexton" (pp.271) can also represent the religion's surrender to the capitalism.

There is also an indication of the aristocrats' giving up their Anglicanismconventions: "The place of Catherine's interment, to the surprise of the villagers, was neither in the chapel under the carved monument of the Linton's, nor yet by the tombs of her own relations, outside" (pp.176). Before Industrial Revolution, there are not many nonconformists in the peerage, while this group advanced rapidly and even control extensive regions like Westminster (Stearns, 2012). In this respect, Brontë perhaps fails to depict the overall perspective of the religious transformation in the Industrial Revolution period. For example, the middle classes are active protestants and considerable manufacturers are nonconformists which have not presented in the novel (Stearns, 2012).

Conclusion

This essay has investigated the relation between Wuthering Heights, published in the Industrial Revolution period, and the contemporary social context. The social division, containing firstly the tension between the pauperand the higher class and secondly the inequality between the bourgeois and the aristocrats, was analysed via comparatively comprehensive evidence in the novel. Furthermore, the political circumstance which reforms to a large extent has been enumerated to match the description in Wuthering Heights. Finally, the religious change in that time denoting by the church in the novel has been discussed. In all respects, Brontë seems to convey the similar social ideology and complete picture of Industrial Revolution. Nevertheless, this essay also raised some imperfect sections in which the social reality is not fully composed. Due to the complicity of the social, political, and religiousconditions in Industrial Revolution, this essay may have limitations on draw analogies between the novel and the history. Therefore, a more reliable, valid, and inclusive examination is required in the study of Wuthering Heights.

Reference List

Brontë, E. (2007) Wuthering heights. Broadview Press.

Harvie, C., Matthew, C. and Matthew, H. C. G. (2000) Nineteenth-century Britain: a very short introduction. Oxford Paperbacks.

Jacob, M. C. (1997) 'Scientific culture and the making of the industrial West'.

Kettle, A. (2016) An introduction to the English novel. Routledge.

Schieffelin, B. B., Woolard, K. A. and Kroskrity, P. V. (1998) Language ideologies: Practice and theory. Oxford University Press.

Silver, H. (2013) A social history of education in England. Routledge.

Stearns, P. N. (2012) The industrial revolution in world history. Westview press.

Thompson, F. M. L. (2013) English landed society in the nineteenth century.Routledge.

West, E. G. (1976) 'Education and the industrial revolution'.

Williams, R. (2001) The long revolution. Broadview Press.